19 Facts About Christmas Island

Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name.

Christmas Island had a population of 1, 843 residents as of 2016, the majority living in settlements on the northern edge of the island.

Christmas Island is situated at the peak of a basalt volcanic seamount which arose from the ocean floor in the Eocene era about 60 million years ago, when the ocean eroded cliffs from uplifts, forming steep terraces and cliffs at the central plateau.

Christmas Island's ship was blown off course in an easterly direction, arriving at Christmas Island 28 days later.

Christmas Island was administered jointly by the British Phosphate commissioners and district officers from the United Kingdom Colonial Office through the Straits Settlements, and later the Crown Colony of Singapore.

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Christmas Island has 80 kilometres of shoreline but only small parts of the shoreline are easily accessible.

Christmas Island is a non-self-governing external territory of Australia, as of February 2020, administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.

Under the federal government's Christmas Island Act 1958, Western Australian laws are applied to Christmas Island; non-application or partial application of such laws is at the discretion of the federal government.

Christmas Island remains constitutionally distinct from Western Australia, however; the power of the state to legislate for the territory is delegated by the federal government.

Christmas Island residents are represented in the House of Representatives by the Division of Lingiari in the Northern Territory and in the Senate by Northern Territory senators.

In early 1986, the Christmas Island Assembly held a design competition for an island flag; the winning design was adopted as the informal flag of the territory for over a decade, and in 2002 it was made the official flag of Christmas Island.

The annual breeding migration of the Christmas Island red crabs is a popular event.

Christmas Island was uninhabited until the late 19th century, allowing many species to evolve without human interference.

Christmas Island contains unique species, both of flora and fauna, some of which are threatened with, or have become, extinct.

The endemic Christmas Island shrew has not been seen since the mid-1980s and may be already extinct, while the Christmas Island pipistrelle is presumed to be extinct.

Fruit bat species Pteropus natalis is only found on Christmas Island; its epithet natalis is a reference to that name.

Christmas Island has been identified by BirdLife International as both an Endemic Bird Area and an Important Bird Area because it supports five endemic species and five subspecies as well as over one per cent of the world populations of five other seabirds.

Christmas Island is a focal point for seabirds of various species.

Christmas Island has access to a range of modern communication services.