Home Island
Island of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Home Island (Cocos Islands Malay: Pulu Selma) is one of only two permanently-inhabited islands of the 26 islands of the South Keeling Islands of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian external territory in the central-eastern Indian Ocean. The island contains the largest settlement of the territory, Bantam.
Islands_HomeIsland02.jpg)
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_76.jpg) Map of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands | |
_Islands_location_map.svg)  Home Island | |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 12.1178°S 96.8975°E |
| Archipelago | South Keeling Islands |
| Area | 95 ha (230 acres) |
| Administration | |
Australia | |
| Territory | Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
| Largest settlement | Bantam |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 448[1] (2021) |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
Description
It is 95 hectares (230 acres) in area and is home to about 500 Cocos Malay people in the village of Bantam. Local attractions include a museum covering local culture and traditions, flora and fauna, Australian naval history, and the early owners of the Cocos-Keeling Islands.[2] Bantam was formerly listed as the capital of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands by the European Union, until it was changed to West Island in 2012.[3]
The Home Island Mosque is one of the busiest places on the island, and the minaret is painted in territorial flag colours of green and gold.[4][5]
There is also a trail leading to Oceania House, which was the ancestral home of the Clunies-Ross family, the former rulers of the Cocos-Keeling Islands and is over a century old.[6]
History
Alexander Hare and Robert Clunies-Ross established the first settlement on Home Island in 1826, with a group of slaves Cluines-Ross brought. In 1831, Cluines-Ross gained control over the island after Hare left for Batavia due to his financial problems. In 1836, Cluines-Ross went to Mauritius to seek British annexation. George Clunies-Ross and his descendants were granted the island by Queen Victoria in 1886.[7]
27 houses on the island were destroyed by bombings in 1944.[7]
Education
Cocos Islands District High School operates a primary education centre on Home Island; most of the staff live on West Island and travel to their jobs on a daily basis. Secondary level students go to the West Island campus.[8]
Heritage listings
Home Island contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Captain Ballard's Grave[9]
- Jalan Kipas: Early Settlers' Graves[10]
- Home Island Cemetery[11]
- Jalan Panti: Home Island Foreshore[12]
- Jalan Bunga Mawar: Home Island Industrial Precinct[13]
- Jalan Bunga Kangkong: Oceania House[14]
- Jalan Bunga Mawar: Old Co-Op Shop[15]