The Pulu Kokos (Cocos Keeling Islands) are an offshore Australian Territory in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia. The earliest record of the atoll was by British sailor of the East India Company William Keeling in 1609. In 1825, the Islands were surveyed by John Clunies-Ross, an East India Company trader. A year later, the islands were colonised by his brother Robert with his Malay slaves. They established a coconut plantation for the export of copra and coconut oil. They also colonised Christmas Island as a supply base.
The Melayu Kokos (Cocos Malay) people were subjected to 150 years of slavery under the Clunies-Ross family as plantation labourers. They were originally transported from places in present day Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor, China, Papua and India. Melayu Kokos are Muslim and have a unique language and culture. Since 2019, the community has requested to be formally acknowledged as Indigenous Australians by the Australian Government.
The Pulu Kokos were occupied by the Clunies-Ross Family until 1857, when they were annexed by the British Government. They became Australian territory in 1955. They were governed for five generations by the Clunies-Ross family from 1826-1978, even while under British and Australian control.
In 1973, the Australian Government invited a United Nations committee to report on the conditions of the Melayu Kokos people and imposed trade embargoes on the Islands, forcing the Clunies-Ross family into bankruptcy. The Clunies-Ross family sold their land to the Australian Government for $6.25m in 1978. In 1984, the United Nations conducted a vote that saw Melayu Kokos people integrated as Australians, with the intention of self-determination in running their Territory.
Today, Australian governance has led to new problems for the Melayu Kokos people. The Pulu Kokos are administered by mainland Australians who take the majority of available employment. The majority of 500 Melayu Kokos people live on the small Pulu Selma (Home Island) and the 120 mainland Australians reside on Pulau Panjang (West Island, the largest island on the atoll). Mainland Australians can own land on the Pulau Panjang, while the Melayu Kokos people cannot buy the houses or land leased to them by the Australian Government.
REFERENCES
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Clunies-Ross-family
https://shire.cc/en/history.html
https://www.australia.com/en/places/perth-and-surrounds/guide-to-cocos-islands.html
https://www.cocoskeelingislands.com.au/about
https://www.regional.gov.au/territories/Cocos_Keeling/enviro_herritage.aspx