What is Christmas Island best known for?

This huge biodiversity means that Christmas Island is often referred to as 'the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean'. The island is also known as the kingdom of the crabs. You can see more than 20 different land crabs here, including the enormous robber crab.



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Christmas Island began appearing on the charts of English and Dutch navigators from the early 1600s. But it wasn't until 1643 that Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company named the island after sighting it on Christmas Day.

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The island's phosphate mining heritage brought workers here from all over the region. Today Christmas Island has around 2000 residents.

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Working at Christmas Island is a challenging but immensely rewarding experience for anyone who wants to make a difference in a unique and highly fragile wilderness environment. Our current job vacancies are advertised on the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water website.

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In 1958, the island was excised from Singapore and sovereignty was transferred to Australia. As part of the transfer, Australia paid Singapore £2,800,000 as compensation for lost phosphate revenue. Christmas Island became an Australian territory on 1 October 1958 – a day still celebrated on the island as Territory Day.

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  • Abbott's booby.
  • Brown booby.
  • Christmas Island emerald dove.
  • Christmas Island frigatebird.
  • Christmas Island goshawk.
  • Christmas Island hawk-owl.
  • Christmas Island imperial pigeon.
  • Christmas Island thrush.


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Australia wanted control By March 1957, the UK agreed to transfer Christmas Island to Australia in return for a lump sum of $20 million Malayan dollars -- paid to Singapore as compensation for loss of phosphate revenue. This transfer was finalised on June 6, 1957.

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Christmas Island is an external territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean. The island is largely covered by rainforest and features many natural attractions such as blowholes, grottos, and wildlife.

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Surrounding the island is a narrow tropical reef which plunges steeply to the ocean floor. Within 20 metres of the shoreline, you can find some of the steepest drop-offs in the world reaching a depth of about 500 metres within about 200 metres beyond the edge of the reef.

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Swimming at beaches is only recommended at Flying Fish Cove under calm sea conditions.

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Christmas Island has a rich mix of cultures. A population of some 2000 people includes many Chinese and Malay Australians as well as people from mainland Australia. National park staff reflect this cultural mix. English is the official language but many people also speak Bahasa Malay or one or more Chinese dialects.

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That means you can score a great deal on popular duty-free items such as fragrances, leather goods, electronics, jewellery, watches and sunglasses. It also means Christmas Island has some of the cheapest alcohol in Australia – perfect for treating yourself to a beer or a gin and tonic as the sun goes down.

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Since the detention centre was built on the island in 2006, the island population of about 1,500 locals has jumped dramatically. Mr McDonald says the cost of living is now estimated at about 180 per cent above that on the mainland. An iceberg lettuce at the local store can cost as much as $12.

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Island life: While Christmas Island is a pleasant place to live most of the time, residents say it has its challenges. For example, flights to the island from mainland Australia are expensive.

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Language. English is the official language on Christmas Island. However, more than half of our residents speak a language other than English at home. While on the island, you might hear people conversing in Mandarin, Malay, Cantonese, Min Nan, Tagalog and a variety of other languages.

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Christmas Island International Airport Check-in counters are open two and a half hours before departure. Baggage carousels are located in the Arrivals Hall.

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Changing sovereignty As part of the transfer, Australia paid Singapore £2,800,000 as compensation for lost phosphate revenue. Christmas Island became an Australian territory on 1 October 1958 – a day still celebrated on the island as Territory Day.

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