Christmas Island - Sample Presentation.pptx

A sample country report based on Christmas Island. It covers the geography, history, and interesting features of the territory. The intention was for students to understand what material should be in a real report about a sovreign nation rather than a small territory.

1. Christmas Island Indian Ocean (an External Australian Territory) A Model Powerpoint Presentation

2. The Symbols of Christmas Island Christmas Island’s Domain Name is “.cx” These are the Unofficial Logo of Christmas Island It’s flag The National Flags of Australia The symbol of the Local Government

3. Introduction 2,600 km northwest of Australia Small Australian external territory With Cocos & Keeling, these are known as the “Australian Indian Ocean Territories” Total land area: 135km 2 Discovered in 1615 Known as "Australia's Galapagos“ Unique flora and fauna

4. Geography & Geology Has a lot of steep coastal cliffs Highest point: Central plateau rising over 360m Murray Hill 360+m V olcanic origin - Mystery Covered in coral!? Many beaches and coral reefs surround the island Surrounded and covered by protected national park areas

5. Climate Dense tropical rainforests: 60-70% of island Climate: Tropical, humid Temperature average: 23-29 C through the year 2 seasons: Wet (June-August) & Dry (May-September) Flora and Fauna: unique, although several of the native animals are now extinct Coral Reefs support unique sea-life

6. Demographics & Culture Approximately 2000 people Majority Chinese & Malay, minority European and Other Language: the de facto official Language is English, but Chinese (Fujianese, Cantonese and Mandarin) are commonly spoken by the majority, along with Malay.

7. Festivals National Holidays observed on Christmas Island Buddhist, Daoist, and Islamic Traditions are widely celebrated by the Islanders often as community events.

8. Discovery & Early History

9. Phosphate Mining

10. Becoming Australian

11. Important Historical People William Dampier: First European to explore and land on the island (1688) Sir John Murray: performed the first serious on the HMS Challenger. He was the person who really discovered the Island’s potential for Phosphate mining. John Davis Murray: Supervised early phosphate mining operations from about 1899 until the middle of the 1910s. He had been a recent graduate from Purdue University. Sadly no pictures seem to survive.

12. Ong Sam Leong Singaporean Chinese businessman (1857-1918) Involved in hiring labor for phosphate mining Made a sizeable fortune from his work on Christmas Island His tomb in Singapore is the largest at Bukit Brown Cemetery Represents the economic impact of Christmas Island's mining industry

13. Quirks of Christmas Island: Crabs! 28 of 90 crab species on the island are land-based Christmas Island Red Crabs ( Gecarcoidea natalis ) [Bottom] Estimated 45 million on the island Annual migration to the ocean Robber Crab or Coconut Crab ( Birgus latro ) [Top] One of the largest crab species in the world Can weigh over 4 kg and measure up to 1 meter between legs

14. The Great Migration! Annual event involving all of the red crabs on the island Crabs move from the forest to the ocean to breed Occurs at the start of the wet season (usually October/November but as late as January) Impacts daily life on the island, including traffic Attracts tourists and researchers from around the world

15. Current Challenges

16. Christmas Island Today Governed as an Australian external territory Local government: Christmas Island Shire Council -10 members Emerging as an important site for scientific research

17. Thank you for listening