Flag of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Use	Civil and state flag
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	April 6, 2004;21 years ago (2004-04-06)
Design	A green field with a palm tree on a gold disc in the canton, a gold crescent in the centre of the flag and a gold southern cross in the fly.
Designed by	Mohammed Minkom

The flag of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is a green field with symbols such as a palm tree on a gold disc, which represents the islands' tropical flora; a crescent, which represent the Cocos Malays; and the Southern Cross, which represent Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. The flag mostly uses the national colours of Australia.

The flag was designed during a flag designing competition in 2003. The winning submission was designed by teenager Mohammed Minkom. Minkom's design was formally declared on 6 April 2004 by then-Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories Evan Williams. Although its designation as such, the flag's design is not officially recognised by the Australian Government

Design and symbolism

The flag consists of a green field with a palm tree on a gold disc in the canton, a gold crescent moon in the centre of the flag and a gold southern cross in the fly. The palm tree represents the islands' tropical flora; the colours are Australia's national colours; the crescent represents Islam, ^[1] the religion of the Cocos Malays who make up a majority of the islands' population; and the Southern Cross is a symbol of Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. ^[2]

Status

Then-teenage Mohammed Minkom competed in a competition in 2003 ^[3] to design the official flag of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. He had won the contest and his design of the flag would be adopted by the territory. ^[4] Minkom's design of the flag was formally declared on 6 April 2004 by then-Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories Evan Williams. ^[3] Although it was adopted and regularly used as such, the flag's design is not officially recognised by the Australian Government, alongside the flag of Christmas Island. ^[5]

See also

• Flags depicting the Southern Cross
• Gallery of flags with crescents

References

1. "The Flag of The Cocos (Keeling) Islands". FlagDB. Archived from the original on 7 February 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
2. "Cocos (Keeling) Islands". FlagSpot. 2015. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
3. "The symbols of other territories of Australia". Australian Government . Archived from the original on 7 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
4. "When there was trouble in paradise". ABC News. 6 April 2019. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
5. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2022). "State and territory flags". Australian flags (3rd ed.). Australian Government. ISBN   978-0642471345.