Christmas Island National Park is on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia. The park is home to many species of animal and plant life, including red crabs during their annual migration, when around 100 million crabs move to the sea to spawn, and Abbott's Booby, an endangered bird that only nests on the island.The park protects & preserves the important ecological systems which characterize this beautiful tropical island: the magnificent rainforests, the ocean shores & reefs. The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, 500 km (310 mi) south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and 975 km (606 mi) ENE of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. It has a population of approximately 1,600 residents who live in a number of "settlement areas" on the northern tip of the island: Flying Fish Cove (also known as Kampong), Silver City, Poon Saan, and Drumsite. The island’s geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism amongst its flora and fauna, which is of significant interest to scientists and naturalists. Phosphate, deposited as Guano, has been mined on the island for many years. 63% of its 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi) is National Park and there are large areas of primary rainforest. British and Dutch navigators first included the island on their charts in the early seventeenth century, and Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company vessel, the Royal Mary, named the island when he arrived on Christmas Day, 25 December 1643.[3] The island first appears on a map produced by Pieter Goos and published in 1666. Goos had labelled the island Mony. The earliest recorded visit was in March 1688 by William Dampier of the British ship Cygnet, who found it uninhabited.[5] An account of the visit can be found in Dampier's Voyages, which describes how, when trying to reach Cocos from New Holland, his ship was pulled off course in an easterly direction and after 28 days arrived at Christmas Island. Dampier landed at the Dales (on the West Coast) and two of his crewmen were the first recorded people to set foot on Christmas Island. The next visit was by Daniel Beekman, who described it in his 1718 book, A Voyage to and from the Island of Borneo, in the East Indies.
Christmas Island National Park has been nominated as a candidate in the New 7 Wonders of the world campaign - in the category of Forests, National Parks and Nature Reserves. Show your support for the Christmas Island National Park now by voting in the New 7 Wonders of the world campaign. The Christmas Island National Park contains the last remaining nesting habitat in the world of the endangered Abbott's booby, the only nesting sites in the world of the Christmas Island frigatebird, supports the world's largest remaining robber crab population and probably contains the largest and most diverse land crab community in the world. Christmas Island is a non-self governing territory of Australia, administered by the Attorney-General's Department[11] (before November 29, 2007[12] administration was carried out by the Department of Transport and Regional Services). The legal system is under the authority of the Governor-General of Australia and Australian law. An Administrator (Neil Lucas, since 28 January 2006) appointed by the Governor-General represents the monarch and Australia.
The Australian Government provides Commonwealth-level government services through the Christmas Island Administration and the Department of Infrastructure. There is no state government; instead, state government type services are provided by contractors, including departments of the Western Australian Government, with the costs met by the Australian (Commonwealth) Government. A unicameral Shire of Christmas Island with 9 seats provides local government services and is elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Elections are held every two years, with half the members standing for election. Christmas Island residents who are Australian citizens also vote in Commonwealth (federal) elections. Christmas Island residents are represented in the House of Representatives through the Northern Territory Division of Lingiari and in the Senate by Northern Territory Senators. In early 1986, the Christmas Island Assembly held a design competition for an island flag; the winning design was adopted as the informal flag of the territory for over a decade, and in 2002 it was made the official flag of Christmas Island.
Christmas Island supports a wide range of unique and unusual species and habitats, and although it has been mined for phosphates for much of the past century, most of the natural ecosystem remains intact. The declaration of the Christmas Island National Park in 1980, and extensions in 1986 and 1989, placed over sixty percent of the Island under formal protection.
The Park contains the last remaining nesting habitat in the world of the endangered Abbott's booby, the only nesting sites in the world of the Christmas Island frigatebird, supports the world's largest remaining robber crab population and probably contains the largest and most diverse land crab community in the world. Christmas Island is one of the world's truly spectacular tropical seabird breeding stations. It's not just the number and variety of seabirds, or their magnificent splendour that make the island so remarkable, but also their sheer visibility. It is estimated that around 80,000 seabirds nest here annually. The rainforests of Christmas Island are also alive with unique species and subspecies of birds. Being laid-back islanders, all of these birds are very approachable, which makes a birding trip on Christmas Island an unforgettable experience. The park is managed by Parks Australia, a division of the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Parks Australia's activities are mandated by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Its duties include protection of the park's natural areas, its lifeforms and genetic resources, to maintain ecological diversity, and to manage visitor access for educational, cultural and recreational purposes. It latest management plan (2002) listed control of the yellow crazy ant as its highest priority.
The park administration has a staff of 17, and operates out of an office in Drumsite on the northern side of the island.The park is managed by Parks Australia, a division of the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Parks Australia's activities are mandated by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Its duties include protection of the park's natural areas, its lifeforms and genetic resources, to maintain ecological diversity, and to manage visitor access for educational, cultural and recreational purposes. It latest management plan (2002) listed control of the yellow crazy ant as its highest priority.
The park administration has a staff of 17, and operates out of an office in Drumsite on the northern side of the island.
