West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands
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The island's west Iceland, also known as Pulau Panjang, is the main island and 6.2 km ², the largest island of the Australian external territory of Cocos Islands. West Iceland is an island of the atoll South Keeling Islands. The archipelago is located about 2768 kilometers north-west of Perth, 3685 kilometers west of Darwin, 900 km south-west of Christmas Island and about 1,000 km south-west of Java and Sumatra. The nearest mainland point of Australia, the Cape Low Point on the North West Cape Peninsula, at a distance of about 2,100 km.
The island has 141 inhabitants; However, most of the population of the Cocos Islands lives in Bantam on Home Iceland.
The administrative building of the government and the airport of the island group Cocos Islands Aerodrome located on West Iceland, as well as a grocery store.
History
When Captain William Keeling in 1609 reached the Cocos Islands, they were uninhabited.
The Southern Keeling Islands were first settled in 1826 by the slave traders and businessman Alexander Hare with 100 Malays, including his harem. John Clunies -Ross moved 1827 Home Iceland with 40 people that brought Clunies -Ross against their will there. Clunies -Ross installed an authoritarian social and political system. On 22 December 1837, was an unsuccessful revolt by Malays against it. Then put John Cluis Ross, the king called himself I. Ross, an agreement by which forced them to live in their homes and work for him or her to leave the island living on the Cocos Malay and bantamesischen and European families.
On the islands, coconut trees were planted and it produced copra and coconut oil. This was exported, while other products had to be imported.
The military occupied the islands from 1941 and at the end of the Second World War had to be withdrawn 3000. Furthermore, in 1800 civilians held on, had to be returned of which 900 to Borneo, Singapore and Christmas Island.
1944, the first time an administrator of the Australian Government for Home Iceland.
The Royal Air Force, Royal Indian Air Force and Fleet Air Arm built in March 1945, an airstrip on West Iceland, where thousands had to be felled by coconut trees. The runway was decommissioned in 1946.
In 1951, the Australian government, despite the opposition of the Clunies Ross family, the control of the islands and bought of them 150 acres on the runway. Since the runway was suitable for light aircraft only, it was fixed in 1952 and served by Qantas for refueling on its flights to Europe via South Africa.
Not until 1953 did the first government buildings were built on West Iceland, and subsequently came governmental and administrative and hospital staff. The Cocos Islands in 1955 declared the Australian outdoor area.
In the late 1960s, the authoritarian regimes of Clunies Ross family penetrated up to the United Nations, which sent a delegation there.
Only in 1978, Australia from the Cocos Islands to a self-determined outdoor area, as it bought up the islands for AUD 6.25 million. The Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands Shire in 1979 was founded on Home Iceland, which, however, only in 1984 the government was able to extend all the Cocos Islands.
1987 Kopraherstellung was terminated because of inefficiency and there is a high unemployment among the island's inhabitants.
Buildings and Monuments
In West Iceland dominate historical and existing modules from homes that were built from asbestos cement and partially prefabricated in Australia. Including two types can be distinguished. The houses of type T, which are called because of their shape so were built during the 1950s and renewed in 1979. They have three bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and living room and a porch. The Type 2 was also built in the 1950s, has the same number of rooms, but a large hall, which turns into a vestibule.
The historic building of the government administration was built in 1953. Located near the government building are asked on stilts listed buildings of type 2, which produce better climatic conditions inside the building.
The spatial arrangement and the buildings are unusual, perhaps unique to Australia, and a listed building.
Other listed buildings are located on West Iceland former Qantas Huts ( German: Qantas huts) that are important examples for the rooms of the Australian aviation history from the time when aircraft between Perth and Johannesburg in South Africa over the Indian Ocean a tank stay at the airport had to take of West Iceland. This building also served as the Indonesian government for military and private flights in the 1960s. They consist of six rooms, are clad in asbestos cement and wood and equipped with a northern porch. You are at the Sydney Highway at the corner of Clunies Ross Avenue of the island.
The West Iceland Mosque ( German: Mosque on West Iceland ) is of historical importance and is the religion of the Cocos Malays. The building of the mosque was originally located on Direction Iceland, where it served until 1966, the air and sea rescue station. and in 1996 was mined there.
Population
In 1981, 58 % of the population on the Cocos Islands Cocus Malay people and 26% of Europeans who lived mainly on western Iceland. Approximately 58.1 % of the population were Muslim.