Home Island
{{Short description|Island of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = Home Island
| local_name = {{nativename|coa|Pulu Selma}}
| sobriquet =
| image_name = Cocos(Keeling)Islands HomeIsland02.jpg
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| image_map = Cocos(keeling) 76.jpg
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| map_caption = Map of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
| pushpin_map = Cocos (Keeling) Islands
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| coordinates = {{Coord|-12.1178|96.8975|type:isle_region:AU|display=inline, title}}
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| archipelago = South Keeling Islands
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| area_ha = 95
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| country = Australia
| country_admin_divisions_title = Territory
| country_admin_divisions = Cocos (Keeling) Islands
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| country_largest_city_type = settlement
| country_largest_city = Bantam
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Home Island, also known locally as Pulu Selma, is one of only two permanently-inhabited islands of the 26 islands of the South Keeling Islands of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian external territory in the central-eastern Indian Ocean. The island contains the largest settlement of the territory, Bantam.
Description
It is {{convert|95|ha|acre}} in area and is home to about 500 Cocos Malay people in the village of Bantam. Local attractions include a museum covering local culture and traditions, flora and fauna, Australian naval history, and the early owners of the Cocos-Keeling Islands.[https://www.cocoskeelingislands.com.au/home-island "Home Island"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213195232/https://www.cocoskeelingislands.com.au/home-island |date=13 February 2018 }}, Cocos Keeling Islands. Retrieved on 13 February 2018. Bantam was formerly listed as the capital of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands by the European Union, until it was changed to West Island in 2012.{{Cite web |url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-5000500.htm |title=Interinstitutional Style Guide of the European Union, Annex 5 - capital: ‘Bantam’ replaced by ‘West Island’ (change made on 7 Feb. 2012) |access-date=2 July 2025 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225012123/http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-5000500.htm |url-status=live }}
The Home Island Mosque is one of the busiest places on the island, and the minaret is painted in territorial flag colours of green and gold.{{cite web | title=Home Island Mosque | website=Flickr | date=10 June 2015 | url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/24835251399/ | access-date=16 March 2022 | archive-date=16 March 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316191838/https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/24835251399/ | url-status=live }}{{cite web | title=Cocos Keeling Islands Travel Guide | website=taste2travel | url=https://www.taste2travel.com/cocos-keeling-islands-travel-guide/ | access-date=16 March 2022 | archive-date=25 January 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125054411/https://www.taste2travel.com/cocos-keeling-islands-travel-guide/ | url-status=live }}
There is also a trail leading to Oceania House, which was the ancestral home of the Clunies-Ross family, the former rulers of the Cocos-Keeling Islands and is over a century old.[https://www.cocoskeelingislands.com.au/oceania-house-tour "Oceania House"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103093547/https://www.cocoskeelingislands.com.au/oceania-house-tour |date=3 November 2019 }}, Cocos Keeling Islands. Retrieved on 13 February 2018.
History
Alexander Hare and Robert Clunies-Ross established the first settlement on Home Island in 1826, with a group of slaves Cluines-Ross brought. In 1831, Cluines-Ross gained control over the island after Hare left for Batavia due to his financial problems. In 1836, Cluines-Ross went to Mauritius to seek British annexation. George Clunies-Ross and his descendants were granted the island by Queen Victoria in 1886.{{cite web |title=Obituaries |url=https://cocoskeelingislands.com.au/about/history-culture-language/ |publisher=Cocos (Keeling) Islands |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250702035034/https://cocoskeelingislands.com.au/about/history-culture-language/ |archive-date=2 July 2025 |access-date=2 July 2025}}
Education
Cocos Islands District High School operates a primary education centre on Home Island; most of the staff live on West Island and travel to their jobs on a daily basis. Secondary level students go to the West Island campus.[http://www.cocosdhs.wa.edu.au/ourschool.php?id=19 Home] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191125153813/http://www.cocosdhs.wa.edu.au/ourschool.php?id=19 |date=25 November 2019 }}. Cocos Islands District High School. Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
Heritage listings
Home Island contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Captain Ballard's Grave{{cite AHD|105361|Captain Ballards Grave|fn=9/04/001/0028|accessdate=15 May 2019}}
- Jalan Kipas: Early Settlers' Graves{{cite AHD|105362|Early Settlers Graves|fn=9/04/001/0026|accessdate=15 May 2019}}
- Home Island Cemetery{{cite AHD|105355|Home Island Cemetery|fn=9/04/001/0003|accessdate=15 May 2019}}
- Jalan Panti: Home Island Foreshore{{cite AHD|105363|Home Island Foreshore|fn=9/04/001/0029|accessdate=15 May 2019}}
- Jalan Bunga Mawar: Home Island Industrial Precinct{{cite AHD|105220|Home Island Industrial Precinct|fn=9/04/001/0023|accessdate=15 May 2019}}
- Jalan Bunga Kangkong: Oceania House{{cite AHD|105236|Oceania House and Surrounds|fn=9/04/001/0004|accessdate=15 May 2019}}
- Jalan Bunga Mawar: Old Co-Op Shop{{cite AHD|105409|Old Co-op Shop (Canteen)|fn=9/04/001/0027|accessdate=15 May 2019}}
References
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