Christmas Island Story

Christmas Island lies on the Indian Ocean and is only slightly more than 50 square miles (135km2) in size and has a population of just over 1,400 residents. The tiny island is located around 400 kilometers south of Jakarta is a territory of Australia. Named by Captain William Mynors, when he arrived on the island on a December 25 (Christmas Day, hence why the island is known as Christmas Island) onboard his East India Company vessel, the Royal Mary. Even after getting named, the island was left uninhabited for many years due to its thick rainforests and it was only during the early 1890s a small settlement was set up when phosphate was discovered in the island. Workers from Singapore, Malaysia and as far as China became the early settlers of the island.

Despite its tiny size, Christmas Island was not spared by attacks from the Japanese forces during World War II. Due to it being rich in phosphate, the island came under intense fire from Japanese submarines and vessels where it eventually fell into the hands of Japanese forces when British officers who were administering the island agreed to terms of surrender. After World War II, upon Australia’s request, the sovereignty of Christmas Island was transferred to Australia and since then has had plenty of asylum seekers and refugees seeking to call Christmas Island their home. Because of this, an Immigration Detention Center has been constructed and completed in 2007 and has the capability to house over 500 asylum seekers while they are being processed by the Australian government.

Christmas Island’s charm is perhaps best known through its intricate flora and fauna. Due to the island being mostly inhabited and over 65% of the island has been marked as a national park; the island is home to the most unique creatures and plants. Christmas Island’s red crab massive migration, where a sea of over 100 million red crabs move through the island’s settlement and towards the sea has been labeled by National Geographic and other nature guides as one of the natural wonders of the world. However, due to an infestation of the yellow crazy ant, the migration, though still epic in proportions happening around November, has taken a step back as the ants is believed to have killed over 20 million red crabs and building nests in the red crab’s burrows.

Despite its red crab mass migration and largely isolated lifestyle, the slightly over 1000 residents who call the island home have built residences and buildings of interests around the island, while still not affecting most of the flora and fauna of the island. The Christmas Island District High School is the only school located on the island and it serves students studying from kindergarten through Year 12. The island also has a recreation center and has a public library that is run mostly by the Government of Western Australia.

Scuba Diving

Bird Watching

Watching Red Crab Migration

Nature Walking

Weekly flights are available from Perth, Western Australia to Christmas Island Airport and there is a weekly charter flight from Malaysia and Singapore.

25 December is best known as a Christian holiday celebrated throughout the world. The Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus by traditionally going to church in the morning and spending the day mostly with families and relatives. However, writing about Christmas would be a terribly forlorn idea since most of the readers would already know the history of Christmas (a quick search on Google and reading up on one of the already millions of available articles would assist the less-informed). Hence, I decided to write this small story of a small island called Christmas Island, which I found quite fascinating. This tiny island is an exotic travel vacation travel destination for those tourists who seeks a change from other popular places. All the best to you.