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Christmas Island Archives Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) - Ruins, relics, stories and other interesting things

Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) - Ruins, relics, stories and other interesting things

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About

I love social history – how ordinary people lived, forgotten stories, ruins, relics, mysteries – Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) has the lot!

I have visited Christmas Island six times now. The first trip was in 2016 with my husband, some family and several friends. For them it was a very special and emotional trip. A return to their old home; the place where they had grown up. Some hadn’t been back in 31 years; others even longer. Our family’s tie to the Island started in 1973 when my father-in-law left Penang to work on “the rock” and we have family and friends living on the Island.

On that first trip my husband and his sister were very fortunate to be able to walk through the front door of their childhood home and explore inside. Their house in Settlement, opposite the CLA (Chinese Literary Association), had been converted into a museum; a plaque on it’s wall showing its opening date sharing the same day and month as my husband’s birthday!

For me, I was a newcomer. 30 years of hearing stories about Christmas Island made it feel familiar to me. Yet I carried no expectations other than to share the happiness of my travelling party returning to their young past.

What I didn’t expect was for the island to cast its spell on me almost immediately. I was mesmerised by the lush jungle, stunning land and seascapes and wildlife. The locals were lovely, and I made new friends. (You can read the various personal stories of Christmas Islanders at christmasislandstories.org.au) The hectic and chaotic outside world just melted away. I spent the next 10 days visiting and exploring and along the way discovering that the Island is also a very spiritual place.

The early history of the Island, coupled with ruins, old sites, an exciting find and stories from friends and family piqued my curiosity to an all time high. So on my return, I started researching for more information about this tiny dot in the ocean and sharing my findings with an online group of over 600, mostly former and some current, Christmas Islanders.

After some time I realised that it was a shame that my findings were restricted just to the online group. I decided I had accumulated enough material to populate a website so the information could be more widely available. This is how the ever growing and unique “Christmas Island Archives” website, has come about.

Fran Yeoh
Perth, Western Australia
Author of “Christmas Island Archives” and
“The Roebourne Bank Murders” websites.

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Christmas Island Archives was selected for preservation by the State Library of Western Australia. It is now listed in perpetuity on PANDORA, Australia’s website archive established by the National Library of Australia.

Grant acknowledgement

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An ammunition cave used by the Japanese during the An ammunition cave used by the Japanese during their occupation of Christmas Island in WW2. The circular opening in the wall is where I believe a ventilation pipe was inserted. Its purpose was to keep a stable temperature and extract noxious fumes. Its use as an ammunition cave may have predated WW2. To find out more about this cave read Helena van der Riet's excellent thesis "The Archaeology of the Japanese World War II Occupation of Christmas Island". It can be found on my website (see link in my bio) under the "Documents" section. 
#christmasisland #cave #ammunition #ww2 #ww2history #worldwar2 #worldwar2history #japaneseoccupation #ww2japanese #christmasislandarchives
I love Victor Purcell's observations of human beha I love Victor Purcell's observations of human behaviour on Christmas Island in 1926. The European community caused him the most angst.
#christmasisland #christmasislandhistory #history #islandlife #colonial #straitssettlements #christmasislandarchives
An old water tank near South Point located along t An old water tank near South Point located along the old railway track. I understand that a couple of years ago it was totally overgrown by the jungle and was invisible until it was cleared.
#christmasisland #ruin #relic #industrialrelic #watertank #colonial #christmasislandarchives
Back in 2020 as we were leaving the Old European C Back in 2020 as we were leaving the Old European Cemetery my sis-in-law @mily_barrett spotted this now 72 year old engraving in the concrete path. A nice little reminder from a long gone workman that he was once doing a job there.
"1.7.1951
Pipe Repar" ... 
The last seen letter is partially obscured. The word repair has likely been misspelt?
#christmasisland #history #christmasislandhistory #relic #cemetery #path #oldpath #christmasislandarchives
A sad end for Norman Howard. His gravesite lies in A sad end for Norman Howard. His gravesite lies in the Old European Cemetery on Christmas Island. His story and the mystery loss of his headstone lead to a surprising misidentification of his gravesite. Read about it now on my website. See bio for link. Look under “latest updates” for “Norman Howard - turning in his grave”.
"In memory of Norman Howard
European Overseer
Aged 32
Died 6.3.24"
#christmasisland #straitssettlements #christmasislandhistory #cemetery #headstone #gravesite #grave #colonialhistory #christmasislandarchives
Straits settlement 1 cent coins that I found parti Straits settlement 1 cent coins that I found partially buried. The verdigris colour of one of them caught my eye. How I came to be in that specific spot to find them is another whole story LOL. I donated them to the Island's Tai Jin House museum.
Left top to bottom:
Tails side “Straits Settlements 1936”.
Head side “George V King and Emperor of India” 
Right top to bottom:
Tails side “Commissioners of Currency Malaya 1939”
Head side “George VI King Emperor”
There was another 1 cent coin found along with these as well and was dated 1943. 
I am not sure if such a small denomination would have been used for gambling? However, it has been told that on the Island when Straits Settlement coins were no longer a viable currency they would be saved and then scattered/given as offerings to the good brothers during the Hungry Ghost month. I found these coins during that very month in an area that metal detectorists had been over previously. Perhaps the coins were revealed to me 🙂
#christmasisland #christmasislandhistory #christmasislandrelic #relic #relichunting #indianoceanislands #ghostmonth #straitssettlementscoins #straitssettlements #oldcoins #christmasislandarchives
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Authentic stories reflecting the experiences of past and present Christmas Islanders.

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