Shire of Cocos

Infobox Australian Place | type = lga
name =Shire of Cocos


state =
region =External territory of Australia
area =14.1
seat =Home Island
pop =621 (2001 census)
density =44
logo =Cocos shire logo.jpg
logosize =139
url =http://www.shire.cc
mayor = Mohammad Said Chongkin
fedgov =Lingiari
stategov =

The Shire of Cocos is a Local Government Area which manages local affairs on the Australian external territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (coord|12|07|S|96|54|E|region:AU; post code: 6799). The island is grouped with Western Australia but is administered by Attorney-General's Departmentcite web | author = First Assistant Secretary, Territories Division | title = Territories of Australia | url = http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories/index.aspx | publisher= Attorney-General's Department | date= 2008-01-30 | accessdate = 2008-02-07 | quote = The Federal Government, through the Attorney-General's Department administers Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Jervis Bay, and Norfolk Island as Territories. ] and an Administrator.

It covers an area of 14.1 km² in the Indian Ocean about 2,770 km north-west of Perth and 1,000 km south-west of Java in Indonesia. It has a population of 621 (ABS 2001).

History

From the 19th century onwards, the islands were owned by the Clunies-Ross family, and in 1886 were granted to them in perpetuity by Queen Victoria. On 23 November 1955 the islands were transferred to Australian control under the "Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955". In 1978, Australia entered a form of purchase of the islands with the Clunies-Ross family, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Council came into existence in July 1979 as a representative of the Cocos Malay community.

On 1 July 1992, the Federal Government's "Territories Law Reform Act" came into place, applying Western Australian law to the islands. An ordinance subsequently created the Shire of Cocos, replacing the earlier Council and transferring all the Council's assets to the new body. The first elections were held in May 1993.

The shire's offices are located at Jalan Bunga Kangkong, Home Island.

Wards

The shire has 7 councillors and no wards.

References

External links

* [http://www.shire.cc/ Shire of Cocos]