Pulu Selma (Cocos Islands Malay) | |
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Geography | |
Coordinates | 12°07′04″S 96°53′51″E / 12.1178°S 96.8975°E |
Archipelago | South Keeling Islands |
Area | 95 ha (230 acres) |
Administration | |
Australia | |
Territory | Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
Largest settlement | Bantam |
Additional information | |
Time zone |
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.
It is 95 hectares (230 acres) in area and contains the largest settlement of the territory, Bantam, with a population of about 500 Cocos Malay people. 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.[1]
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.[2][3]
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.[4]
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.[5]
Home Island contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including: