Christmas Island History

The old christmas island club former mandors quarters and japanese sites are cases in point.

Christmas island history. It was the discovery of phosphate in 1888 which was to guide the island s destiny for the next century. It is the summit of an oceanic mountain whose highest point on the island is murray hill rising to 1 184 feet 361 meters in the western part of the island. Christmas island began appearing on the charts of english and dutch navigators from the early 1600s. The first european to sight the island was richard rowe of the thomas in 1615.

In some cases quite literally. 1939 1945 a teacup in a storm christmas island in ww2 here is a wonderfully riveting article by ian foster about a very dark and frightening time in christmas island s history. The island was included on english and dutch navigation charts as early as the beginning of the 17th century but it was not. The island hides well its early and also world war ii japanese occupational history.

Council bluffs soldier lyle moraine used the chaplain s organ to write a song when homesick on board a ship during world war ii on christmas eve. At the close of the day on 30 september the union jack outside the residency and the administration offices on christmas island was lowered followed by the raising of the. Christmas island island in the indian ocean administered as an external territory of australia. The andrews sisters turned christmas island into the top ten in 1946.

Behind the laid back multicultural ambience of christmas island today lies a fascinating and sometimes turbulent history. Early history and exploration. You are encouraged to try authentic local experiences through food celebrations and joining in with community regular and special occasions. Captain william mynors of the royal mary an english east india company vessel named the island when he sailed past it on christmas day in 1643.

1940 world war 2 a close call read how christmas island was nearly bombarded by the infamous german auxilliary cruiser atlantis a. The island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the. It has been recorded since by a variety of artists including bob dylan bing crosby and jimmy buffett. Kiritimati or christmas island is a pacific ocean coral atoll in the northern line islands it is part of the republic of kiribati its gilbertese name is the rendition of the english word christmas according to its phonology in which the combination ti is pronounced s and the name is thus pronounced k i ˈ r ɪ s m æ s.

Christmas island has a fascinating history and culture which has formed a unique community architecture and landscape. The main settlement is at flying fish cove. The sovereignty of christmas island was transferred from singapore then a crown colony of the united kingdom to the commonwealth of australia on 1 october 1958 under the transfer to australia order in council 1958. The jungle and tropical climate eventually reclaims all that is forgotten and neglected.