The Australian Indian Ocean Territories is the unit of Australia's federal government responsible for administering two remote island territories, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The territories are former British colonies transferred to Australia in the 1950s. Each territory has its own shire council but they share an administrator, who is appointed by the federal government and based at Christmas Island. The total population of the territories is less than 2500. Lights in the territories are managed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). Admiralty numbers are from volume Q of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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Christmas Island Lightbeacons
Christmas Island is located about 350 km (220 mi) south of western Java and about 1550 km (960 mi) north northwest of Australia's Northwest Cape. The eroded top of a long-dead volcano, the island was discovered by a British captain in 1615 and got its name when it was rediscovered by a second British captain on Christmas Day 1643. It remained uninhabited until it was annexed by Britain in 1888. It was attached to the Straits Settlements (Singapore) until administration was transferred to Australia in 1958. A large part of the island is now set aside as the Christnas Island National Park. Irregular in shape, the island is very roughly about 16 km (10 mi) in diameter. The population was 1692 at the time of the 2021 census. Christmas Island is accessible by twice-weekly air service from Perth.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands Lightbeacons
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands -- that's the official name, with the parentheses -- comprise two atolls in the Indian Ocean about 1375 km (885 mi) southwest of Sumatra and 2125 km (1320 mi) northwest of Australia's Northwest Cape. Discovered by the British captain William Keeling in 1609, the islands were uninhabited until the 1820s. In the 1830s the Clunies-Ross family, by then in possession of the islands, began importing Malays to work their copra plantation. Britain formally annexed the islands in 1857, attaching them first to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and then in 1886 to Straits Settlements (Singapore). Administration was transferred to Australia in 1955 and in 1984 the residents voted for integration with Australia as an external territory. The population, still with a Malay majority, was 593 in the 2021 census. The islands are accessible by twice-weekly air service from Perth. |
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Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: Southeast: North Western Australia
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Posted November 2, 2021. Checked and revised April 9, 2025. Lighthouses: 2. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.