I went on a birding trip to Christmas and Cocos Keeling Islands
organised by Richard Baxter for the period 24 November – 5 December
2008. Here are some notes based on my observations.
Regards, Laurie
Physical Geography
Christmas Island is a “high” island situated in the Indian Ocean at 10
degrees South and 106 degrees East (2,300 km NNW of Perth, 2,800 km W
of Darwin, not far south of the western edge of Java).
Most of the island is a plateau/tableland over 200 metres above sea
level. There are narrow coastal terraces, with sea cliffs making up
the bulk of the coastline. There are several relatively small
beaches. The island has a series of peninsulas and is shaped like a
terrier (facing east).
As far as I could see, the geology of island (above sea level) is all
sedimentary (limestone). There are extensive phosphate deposits on
the island. Given the island’s sub-equatorial location it is not
surprising that rainforest is the dominant ecosystem type. Given the
island’s proximity to SE Asia, however, the plants making up the
forest are somewhat different to what you’d find on Cape York
Peninsula. There is also very little surface water on the island
(there is rapid infiltration into the limestone) – any running water
outside of the wet season is spring-fed.
To my knowledge, other than bats & lying foxes, there are no native
mammals on the island. While there are several forest dwelling bird
species, land crabs appear to the dominant ecological agents – the
herbivorous red crabs play a key role in keeping the forest floor open.
The Cocos Islands are a series of “low” islands located 900 km WSW of
Christmas Island (12S, 97E). North Keeling Island is situated 24 km
north to the main island group.
In contrast to Christmas Island, the islands are all flat and less
than 4 metres above sea level. The main cluster of islands form a
necklace around a large lagoon – shallow to the south and deeper to
the north. In another contrast, the islands are sandy and are
surrounded by beaches. There are significant wetlands on several
islands, with the largest on North Keeling Island.
As the name suggests, coconut palms are the dominant vegetation on
most islands. North Keeling is a bit of an exception with an
extensive area of rainforest.
Human Geography
The first written record of Christmas Island was made in 1615, with
its name based on a Christmas day visit by an English ship in 1643.
An investigate by a British crew discovered almost pure lime phosphate
on the island in 1887. The British claimed the island in 1888 and
commenced phosphate mining in 1899. The island was administered from
Singapore until 1958 before sovereignty was transferred to Australia.
The bulk of the built environment is in the north-east corner where
the phosphate plant, port, aerodrome and residences are located.
There is a residential strip along the coastal terrace adjacent to the
port (The Settlement) and a larger cluster of housing on an
intermediate terrace at about 150 metres above sea level to the east
of the phosphate plant (Drumsite, Poon Saan and Silver City).
There are three ethnic groupings on the island – people of Chinese
descent who mainly live in Poon Saan, people of European descent
(including many from the Australian mainland) who mainly live in
Silver City and the Settlement, and people of Malaysian descent who
live in a high density kampong at Flying Fish Cove. The
administrative centre, main supermarket and much of the tourist
accommodation is located in the Settlement. There are smaller shops
and eating joints in Poon Saan and the kampong.
There is a mosque and Islamic school in the Kampong, a Catholic church
in the administrative centre and various temples scattered around the
island. There are Chinese, Malay and European cemeteries spread along
the terrace to the east of the Settlement. The state school is
located at Drumsite with a small agricultural plantation to the west.
The island’s landfill, sports complex and the original detention
centre are located near the airport, a golf course is located on a
broad coastal terrace on the road to a mothballed (casino) resort.
There is a pump house in the centre of the island, past and present
mine sites scattered across the island and a very flash but unused
detention centre at the north-west corner.
Due to the steep topography around the settlements, there appears to
be little pedestrian / bicycle activity on the island. There is a
wide diversity of motor vehicles on the island, including hoon and
prestige vehicles. This is strange given the limited mechanical
facilities on the island. The environment is hard on vehicles (strong
sun and salt exposure) and there are a number of abandoned vehicles
rusting in the residential areas. One house in Silver City was
completely surrounded by scrap metal.
Economically, the island is supported by the mining industry, tourism
and government transfers.
The first record of the Cocos group was made in 1609 by a ship
commuting between Java and England. The group was named in 1805 by a
British hydrographer and settled in 1826. The Clunes-Ross clan
arrived in 1827 and rapidly established their coconut-based dynasty on
Home Island. Charles Darwin arrived in 1836 and the Clunes-Ross
family were granted the islands in perpetuity by Queen Victoria in
1886. A telegraph relay station was established in 1901 and the
islands became a military base during WW2 with a population of up to
10,000 people.
The islands were transferred from the Colony of Singapore to Australia
in 1955, and the Commonwealth government purchased the islands (with
the exception of the Clunes-Ross home and grounds in 1978). North
Keeling Island became a National Park in 1995.
There are two settlements in the Cocos group. Most of the people of
Malay descent live in a relatively modern kampong (detached housing)
on Home Island. The port, council offices and shopping centre and the
Clunes-Ross establishment are adjacent to the kampong. The landfill
and cemetery are at the northern end of the island, the power plant
and fuel station are on the eastern side of the island and there is a
large area of market gardens/plantations/poultry and chicken sheds at
the southern end of the island. A deep sea rescue boat, the RJ Hawke,
is based at home island.
The other settlement, where the people of European descent live is on
West Island. The airport, state school, all the tourist accommodation,
an abandoned quarantine station and abandoned agricultural areas are
all located on West Island.
There are “holiday” homes situated on some of the other islands.
There is a regular ferry service running between West and Home Islands
($2 per trip). Late services operate on Wednesdays to allow people to
dine out at a restaurant on Home island. The ferry shuttles technical
and administrative staff to Home Island, and school students and
service staff to West Island.
There are many private boats on the islands and a number of these
cater to tourists. Most of the tourists to the Cocos group are into
water sports (swimming, diving, wind and kite surfing). The RAAF
(Orion patrols) is a frequent visitor to West Island. Economically
the area is dependent on tourism and government transfers.
There are far fewer cars on the Cocos islands (per head of population)
and far more bikes in evidence. Many people on Home Island travel
about on quad bikes and buggies (these are also used to tow boats).
Most of the cars on West Island are dual cabs and other commercial
vehicles.
Both Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands are dependent on visiting
cargo boats for the bulk of their supplies. Food supplies can get
tight when the cargo ships are late, and sometimes food is
airfreighted in. Fresh food can be quite expensive.
There is one airline (National Jet) that flies a twice-weekly
triangular service to Christmas and West Islands from the Perth
international terminal. This is an expensive service involving BAE146
planes. A Malaysian airline also services Christmas Island from KL.
Flights that can’t land on Christmas Island (and Jakata) due to bad
weather are diverted to West Island.==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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