AUSTRALIAN EXTERNAL TERRITORIES

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NORFOLK ISLAND

ORFOLK Island was uninhabited when discovered by Captain James Cook in 1774. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean at latitude 29° 02′ S., and longitude 167° 57′ E., and is in the form of an irregular ellipse. Its total area is approximately 14 square miles and its 20 mile coastline consists mainly of almost inaccessible cliffs rising from the water's edge. The climate is mild and subtropical. The average annual rainfall is 56 inches.

After serving as a penal station from 1788 to 1813 and from 1825 to 1855, Norfolk Island was abandoned. In 1856 the descendants of the "Bounty" mutineers, having become too numerous to subsist on Pitcairn Island, accepted an invitation given by Queen Victoria to settle on Norfolk Island and about 194 people settled in.

In 1856 the island was created a distinct and separate settlement under the jurisdiction of the Governor of the Colony of New South Wales. In 1898 it became a dependency of New South Wales and remained so until 1913 when, pursuant to the Norfolk Island Act 1913, it became a Territory of Australia. The Act provides for the Governor-General to make ordinances for peace, order and good government and for the establishment of a Norfolk Island Council. The Island is administered on behalf of the Commonwealth Minister for the Capital Territory by an Administrator appointed by the GovernorGeneral. The Norfolk Island Council may consider and tender advice to the Administrator on matters affecting the administration of the Island. The Council is formed of the Administrator as ex-officio chairman and eight councillors elected biennially.

The main economic activities are connected with the tourist industry including the operation of hotels and duty free stores. Regular sea and air services to the Island are available.

The population at 30th June 1971 numbered 1,683, including visitors.

CORAL SEA ISLANDS TERRITORY

The Coral Sea Islands Territory consists of several uninhabited islets between 10° S and 23° 30'S and between 154° E and 158° E. The Territory was established by the Coral Sea Islands Act 1969 (Act 58 of 1969) and is administered by the Department of the Capital Territory.

THE AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC TERRITORY

By Order in Council of the 7th February 1933 that part of His Majesty's dominions in the Antarctic Seas which comprised all the islands and territories other than Terre Adélie (which is a French possession occupying an area between 142° and 136° of E. longitude) which are situated south of the 60th parallel of S. latitude and lying between the 160th and 45th meridians of E. longitude was placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia. An Act was passed in June 1933 by the Commonwealth Parliament declaring acceptance of the territory, by the name of the Australian Antarctic Territory, as a territory under the authority of the Commonwealth Government, and the Order in

Council was brought into operation on the 24th August 1936 by a Proclamation issued by the Governor-General on that date. The Department of Science administers the Territory on behalf of the Commonwealth Government and the law operating there is that of the Australian Capital Territory.

The part of Antarctica comprised within the Australian Antarctic Territory is, like the rest of the continent, without permanent inhabitants. Its area is estimated at 2,333,624 square miles of land and 29,251 square miles of ice shelf.

In February 1954 a base, named Mawson, was set up in Mac.Robertson Land for the conduct of meteorological and other research. A second Antarctic base, named Davis, was established in the Vestfold Hills area, some 400 miles east of Mawson in January 1957. Australia assumed custody of the U.S. "Wilkes" Station on Budd Coast in 1959. In 1969 this station was closed and the scientific programmes were transferred to a new station named Casey, about one mile away.

Australia is a party to the Antarctic Treaty which was signed in Washington on 1st December 1959 and entered into force on 23rd June 1961.

HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS The islands comprise all the islands and rocks lying within the area bounded by the parallels 52° 30′ and 53° 30′ South latitude and the meridians 72° and 74° 30' East longitude. Sovereignty was transferred by the United Kingdom to the Commonwealth Government on 26th December 1947. They have been administered by the Commonwealth of Australia since December 1947 when an Australian station was established in Heard Island. The station has not been manned since March 1955 but Australian expeditions have visited the islands from time to time since then. The Heard Island and McDonald Islands Act 1953 provides for the government of these islands as one Territory of the Commonwealth of Australia.

COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, two separate atolls comprising some twenty-seven small coral islands with a total area of about 54 square miles, are situated in the Indian Ocean at latitude 12° 05′ S. and longitude 96° 53′ E. They lie some 1,720 miles north-west of Perth and 2,290 miles almost due west of Darwin, while Johannesburg is some 3,800 miles further distant to the south-west and Colombo is 1,400 miles to the north-west of the group.

The main islands are West Island, which is about six miles from north to south and generally under one mile wide, on which are the aerodrome and most of the European community, and Home Island, which is the headquarters of the Clunies-Ross Estate. None of the other islands in the atoll or North Keeling Island are inhabited.

The group of atolls is low-lying, flat and thickly covered by coconut palms, and surrounds a lagoon which has a harbour in the northern part but which is extremely difficult for navigation.

The climate is equable and pleasant, usually being under the influence of the south-east trade winds for about three-quarters of the year. However, winds vary at times, and meteorological reports from the Territory are particularly

valuable to those engaged in forecasting for the eastern Indian Ocean. The temperature varies between 70° and 89°F., and the average rainfall is about 67 inches.

The islands were discovered in 1609 by Captain William Keeling of the East India Company. The islands were uninhabited and remained so until 1826 when the first settlement was established on the main atoll by an Englishman, Alexander Hare, who quitted the Islands in about 1831. In the meantime a second settlement was formed on the main atoll by John Clunies Ross, a Scottish seaman and adventurer, who landed with several boat-loads of Malay seamen. In 1857 the islands were annexed to the Crown and formally declared part of the British dominions, and in 1878 responsibility for their supervision was transferred from the Colonial Office to the Government of Ceylon and then, in 1886, to the Government of the Straits Settlements. By indenture in 1886 Queen Victoria granted all land in the Islands above high water mark to John Clunies Ross and his heirs and successors in perpetuity. In 1946 when the islands became a dependency of the Colony of Singapore, a Resident Administrator responsible to the Governor of Singapore was appointed.

On 23rd November 1955 the Cocos Islands were placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia. The transfer was effected by an Order-inCouncil made by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second under the Cocos Island Act, 1955, of the United Kingdom and by the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955 of the Commonwealth of Australia.

Responsibility for the administration of the Territory rests with the Special Minister of State. The first Official Representative was appointed on 23rd November 1955 to take charge of the local administration of the Territory. Under the Official Representative Ordinance 1955-61 of the Territory, the Official Representative is given such powers and functions in relation to the Territory as are delegated to him by the Minister under the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955-66, or are otherwise conferred on him under that Act or by or under any other law of the Territory. The laws of the Colony of Singapore which were in force in the islands immediately before the date of transfer continue in force unless amended or superceded by subsequent Commonwealth legislation. There is an airport at West Island under the control of the Commonwealth Department of Civil Aviation. A fortnightly charter air service operates for the Commonwealth Government between Perth and the Cocos Islands by Ansett and T.A.A. alternately. Although there is no regular shipping service, vessels from Australia and Singapore call at intervals. A radio teletype link with Perth is maintained by the Administration. Local postal and telephone services exist, and a non-commercial broadcasting station operates.

The economy of the Territory is based on the production and export of copra grown by the Clunies-Ross Estate.

The largest population group is formed by the descendants of the original labourers and their dependents, mainly of Malayan origin. At 30th June, 1971, the population numbered 625 including 132 Europeans.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Christmas Island, the summit of a submarine mountain, is situated in the Indian Ocean, at latitude 10° 25′ south and longitude 105° 40′ east. It is 815 miles from Singapore and 1,630 miles from Perth; the nearest point on the Australian coast

is North West Cape, Western Australia, which is 875 miles to the south-east. The area of the island is approximately 52 square miles and consists of a central plateau of about 600 to 800 feet with several prominent rises up to 1,170 feet. The plateau descends to the sea in a series of steep slopes alternating with terraces, the last terminating in a sea cliff of 10 to 150 feet, which is continuous round the island except in a few places, the chief of which is Flying Fish Cove, where the main settlement is located and which is also the principal anchorage. The whole land is covered with tropical rain forest.

The climate is healthy and pleasant; from May to December the prevailing winds are from the south-east to east-south-east and from December to April (the wet season) they occasionally blow between north and west. The average yearly rainfall is about 68 inches and the mean average temperature is about 80°, which does not vary greatly throughout the year. The wet season lasts from November to April.

The economy of the Territory is based almost entirely on the mining and extraction of phosphate and there are several rock phosphate deposits in different parts of the island. For the purposes of working the deposits Australia has granted to the Christmas Island Phosphate Commission full licence to cut timber and to get all phosphates and other minerals in, on and from the Island. The Christmas Island Phosphate Commission employs the British Phosphate Commissioners to manage and control the operations. Present output is about 14 million tons per year.

Communications with the Island are maintained by ships operated by or chartered to the Phosphate Commission. These are bulk cargo vessels with limited passenger accommodation and sail from Singapore and southern and western Australian ports. There is at present no air service.

Responsibility for the administration of the Territory rests with the Special Minister of State. An Official Representative was first appointed on 1st October 1958 to take charge of the local administration of the Territory. Under the Administration Ordinance 1958-61 of the Territory, the Official Representative was given such administrative functions as the Minister directed. The laws of the Colony of Singapore which were in force immediately before the date of transfer continued in force unless amended or superseded by subsequent Commonwealth legislation. The first Administrator was appointed on 1st May 1968, to replace the former Official Representative. The Administration Ordinance 1958-61, has been repealed by the Administration Ordinance 1968, under which an Administrator, appointed by the Governor-General, governs the territory on behalf of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The laws of the Colony of Singapore are continued in force under the Administration Ordinance 1958 and 1968. In addition a separate judicial system has been established by ordinance.

The estimated population at 30th June 1971 was 3,044, consisting of 269 Europeans, 1,607 Chinese, 1,113 Malay, and 55 others.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Papua New Guinea extends from the equator to Cape Baganowa in the Louisiade Archipelago at 11 degrees 40 minutes south latitude and from the border with Irian Jaya to 160 degrees east longitude. The total area of Papua New Guinea is 178,260 square miles.

The central core of the mainland is a massive cordillera which extends some 1,500 miles from one end of the island to the other. This central core forms a complex system of ranges often separated by broad upland valleys. The central cordillera is bordered on north and south by an extensive zone of foothil's, drained to the north by the Sepik and Ramu Rivers and to the South by the Fly.

The main group of islands in Papua New Guinea is the Bismarck Archipelago, portion of the Solomon Islands, the Trobriands, the D'Entrecasteaux Islands and the Louisiade Archipelago. The main islands of the Bismarck Archipelage are New Britain, New Ireland and Manus. Bougainville is the largest of the Solomon Islands within Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea lies wholly within the tropics between the continents of Asia and Australia and has a typically monsoonal climate. Atmospheric temperature and humidity are uniformily high throughout the year with the mean maximum seldom exceeding 33 degrees Celsius and the mean minimum rarely falling below 22 degrees Celsius.

POPULATION

At December 1974 the estimated total indigenous population of Papua New Guinea was 2,654,509. The indigenous inhabitants of the country comprise a great diversity of physical types and a large number of linguistic groups. They may, in general, be grouped with the Melanesians who occupy the greater part of the Western Pacific. Probably the chief conclusions which can be drawn from physical studies made of the people is that their origins were diverse and that there had been a considerable amount of moving and mingling among the ancestors of the present day.

HISTORY

New Guineas was sighted by Portuguese and Spanish navigators in the early part of the sixteenth century. During the next 170 years other European navigators, most of whom were British or Dutch, visited Papua New Guinea In 1884 Germany formally took possession of what came to be known as the Trust Territory of New Guinea. The Administration of the new Territory, then known as German New Guinea, was placed in the hands of a chartered company, the German New Guinea Company, but in 1889 the Imperial Government assumed control. In 1914 the Territory was occupied by Australian troops and remained under military administration until 1921.

On 6th November 1884, a British Protectorate was proclaimed over the southern coast of New Guinea and the islands adjacent thereto lying between 141st and 155th meridians of east longitude and the 5th and 12th parallels of south latitude. British New Guinea, by which name the Protectorate was called, was annexed outright on 4th September 1888, thereby becoming a British possession.