Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cocos Islands, Territory of Australia

Last modified: 1997-09-15 by alexandre voscorian
Keywords: cocos | keeling | territory | island | australia | cluniess | ross | australia | brittish |
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• Flag
• Geography
• History
• Coat of arms

See also

• Australia
• City.net

The Cocos Islands fly the Australian national flag and do not have an individual flag. See at Ausflags site.

Brendan Jones, 08-DEC-1995

The Cocos Islands lay the Indian ocean, off the West coast of Australia, approximately one-half the way between Australia and Sri Lanka.

James Dignan, 1995-DEC-08

Between 1831 and 1857, the Cocos Islands constituted a feudal "fiefdom", and was ruled by John Cluniess-Ross. In 1886, Queen Victoria relinquished the islands to the Cluniess-Ross family, who then proclaimed their islands as a kingdom, and themselves as monarchs. Of course, this title was not recognized by the Brittish or the Australians. In the 1980s, after tremendous pressure, "King" Ross V. handed the islands over to Australia.

Jaume Olle, Christopher Vance, and Muller Harald, 01-AUG-1996

Nothing was found about a flag, but at the beginning of the century, the Cluniess-Ross family issued coins and banknotes with a coat of arms (coa). The shield is quartered. Fields 1 and 4 contain a standing bird (like a duck) looking to the right, 2 and 3 have a fish. In the center of the shield the letter "Z" is displayed. The shield is between two palm trees and stands on on a piece of soil. Below, there is a scroll with the motto "Pro Patria". There is also a crest, but it's hardly recognizable since the coins are very crude. However, it is not certain if this is the coat of arms of the Cocos islands. It is more probably the coa of the Cluniess-Ross family.

Muller Harald, 30-JUL-1996