"text":"Although Europeans had sighted the island at least as early as 1615, it was only named in 1643 for the day of its rediscovery. The island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888 with the discovery of the island's phosphate deposits. Following the Second World War, Christmas Island came under the jurisdiction of the new British Colony of Singapore. The island existed as a separate Crown colony from 1 January 1958 to 1 October 1958 when its transfer to Australian jurisdiction was finalized. That date is still celebrated on the first Monday in October as Territory Day. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia"
"text":"Muslim 19.4%, Buddhist 18.3%, Roman Catholic 8.8%, Protestant 6.5% (includes Anglican 3.6%, Uniting Church 1.2%, other 1.7%), other Christian 3.3%, other 0.6%, none 15.3%, unspecified 27.7% (2016 est.)"
"text":"named by English Captain William MYNORS for the day of its rediscovery, Christmas Day (25 December 1643); the island had been sighted by Europeans as early as 1615"
}
},
"Dependency status":{
"text":"non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport"
},
"Government type":{
"text":"non-self-governing overseas territory of Australia"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"The Settlement (Flying Fish Cove)"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"10 25 S, 105 43 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia General Sir Peter COSGROVE (since 28 March 2014)"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Administrator Natasha GRIGGS (since 5 October 2018)"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Australian prime minister; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia for a 2-year term and represents the monarch and Australia"
}
},
"Legislative branch":{
"description":{
"text":"unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms with a portion of the membership renewed every 2 years)"
"text":"under the terms of the Territorial Law Reform Act 1992, Western Australia provides court services as needed for the island, including the Supreme Court and subordinate courts (District Court, Magistrate Court, Family Court, Children's Court, and Coroners' Court)"
"text":"territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed; the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island",
"text":"<p><strong>note:</strong> as a territory of Australia, \"Advance Australia Fair\" remains official as the national anthem, while \"God Save the Queen\" serves as the royal anthem (see Australia)</p>"
"text":"The main economic activities on Christmas Island are the mining of low grade phosphate, limited tourism, the provision of government services and, since 2005, the construction and operation of the Immigration Detention Center. The government sector includes administration, health, education, policing, customs, quarantine, and defense."
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> the 18-km Christmas Island Phosphate Company Railway between Flying Fish Cove and South Point was decommissioned in 1987; some tracks and scrap remain in place</p>"
