Home Island

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Home Island
Pulu Selma (Cocos Islands Malay)
Cocos(Keeling)Islands HomeIsland02.jpg
Cocos(keeling) 76.jpg
Map of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Cocos (Keeling) Islands location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Home Island
Geography
Coordinates 12°07′04″S96°53′51″E / 12.1178°S 96.8975°E / -12.1178; 96.8975
Archipelago South Keeling Islands
Area95 ha (230 acres)
Administration
Australia
Territory Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Largest settlement Bantam
Demographics
Population448 [1] (2021)
Additional information
Time zone
Cocos(Keeling)Islands HomeIsland02.jpg

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.

Contents

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]

Home Island Mosque Home Island Mosque.jpg
Home Island Mosque

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:

References

  1. ↑ "2021 Home Island, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Archived from the original on 17 February 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "Home Island" Archived 13 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Cocos Keeling Islands . Retrieved on 13 February 2018.
  3. ↑ "Interinstitutional Style Guide of the European Union, Annex 5 - capital: 'Bantam' replaced by 'West Island' (change made on 7 Feb. 2012)". Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  4. ↑ "Home Island Mosque". Flickr . 10 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "Cocos Keeling Islands Travel Guide". taste2travel. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Oceania House" Archived 3 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine , Cocos Keeling Islands . Retrieved on 13 February 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Obituaries". Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Archived from the original on 2 July 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  8. ↑ Home Archived 25 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine . Cocos Islands District High School. Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "Captain Ballards Grave (Place ID 105361)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government . Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  10. ↑ "Early Settlers Graves (Place ID 105362)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government . Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  11. ↑ "Home Island Cemetery (Place ID 105355)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government . Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  12. ↑ "Home Island Foreshore (Place ID 105363)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government . Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "Home Island Industrial Precinct (Place ID 105220)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government . Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "Oceania House and Surrounds (Place ID 105236)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government . Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  15. ↑ "Old Co-op Shop (Canteen) (Place ID 105409)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government . Retrieved 15 May 2019.
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