There have been all sorts of newspaper articles about Christmas Island over the years. Here is a collection of some of the more interesting historic ones that I have found. This is an ongoing project.
1852 – Shipwreck horror – an amazing tale of survival in 1852 – The shipwreck off Egeria Point and the rescue of three survivors. They were marooned on the Island for nearly 2 months.
1852 – Shipwrecked on Christmas Island – amazing first hand account from 1852 – A nearly two month struggle for survival on Christmas Island as told by one of the three survivors.
1888 – The annexation of Christmas Island – Two accounts, each from 1888 and 1927, of the annexation of the island.
1902 – Mandors and murder – the early years – Read about the early mandors and the murders of two of them.
1906 – Christmas Island U.S.A. – A curious story – The claimed naming of Christmas Island by Americans in 1861.
1908 – Poaching, bribery and death – the unsatisfactory case of PC Sochot Singh – The event and death of a Sikh policeman.
1916 – Death at the White House – A report of a homicide at the Island brothel and the subsequent trial in Singapore.
1922 – British eclipse expedition – to test part of Einstein’s theory of relativity.
1922 – Off to Christmas Island – what does a lady pack and expect when visiting the Island?
1927 – Christmas Island – lost treasure and pirate ghosts – A memory of Christmas Island as told by Robert M. MacDonald.
1935 – “Lonely Spot” – Stinky crabs, stinging bushes and a treasure map.
1940 – “Malaysian Island as Gulliver’s Lilliput” – Was Lilliput’s location, in Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathon Swift, based on Christmas Island?
1942 – The invasion of Christmas Island as told by the Japanese.
1942 – The Japanese invasion force arrives – Rare images from a war time magazine of the Japanese shortly after they arrived on Christmas Island. Also, with an English translation of the Japanese commentary.
1947 – A friend in need – Young nurse sails to Christmas Island.
1958 – “Thugs flee to Christmas Isle“- (November) 300 secret society gangsters escaping the police dragnet in Singapore lying low on the Island.
1958 – “Gangbuster ‘King’ of Christmas Island“- (October) The appointment of Donald Evan Nickels, Australia’s first representative to the Island.
More to come.