Christmas Island

The Territory of Christmas Island is a small territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean, 2600 km northwest of Perth in Western Australia and 500 km south of Jakarta, Indonesia.

It maintains about 1,600 residents who live in a number of "settlement areas" on the northern tip of the island. It has a unique natural topography and is of immense interest to scientists and naturalists due to the number of species of endemic flora and fauna which have evolved in isolation and undisturbed by human habitation.

While there has been mining activity on the island for many years, 65% of its 135 square km are now National Park and there are large areas of pristine and ancient rainforest.

The island was inhabited until 1888, when British settlers from Keeling Islands (some 900 km to the south west) to collect timber and phosphate mining, using indentured workers from Singapore, China, and Malaysia.

The island was administered jointly by the British Phosphate Commissioners and District Officers from the United Kingdom Colonial Office through the Straits Settlements, and later the Crown Colony of Singapore.

At Australia's request, the United Kingdom transferred sovereignty to Australia; in 1957, the Australian government paid the government of Singapore £2.9 million in compensation, a figure based mainly on an estimated value of the phosphate forgone by Singapore.

The first Australian Official Representative arrived in 1958 and was replaced by an Administrator in 1968. Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands together are called the Australian Indian Ocean Territories and since 1997 share a single Administrator resident on Christmas Island.