The island of Cocos Keeling

L'île de Cocos Keeling est l'endroit magnifique.

The Territory of Cocas (Keeling) Islands is an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and closer to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is part of Southeast Asia and is in the Southern Hemisphere. The territory's dual name reflects that the islands have historically been known as either the Cocas Islands or the Keeling Islands. The territory consists of two atolls made up of 27 coral islands, of which only two – West Island and Home Island are inhabited. The population of around 600 people consists mainly of Cocas Malays, who practice Sunni Islam and speak a dialect of Malay as their first language. The territory is administered by the Australian federal government's Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, and together with Christmas Island (which is about 960 kilometers (600 mi) to the east) forms the Australian Indian Ocean Territories administrative unit. However, the islanders do have a degree of self-government through the local shire council. Many public services including health, education, and policing are provided by the state of Western Australia, and Western Australian law applies except where the federal government has determined otherwise. The islands were first discovered in 1609 by William Keeling, but no settlement occurred until the early 19th century. One of the first settlers was John Colonies-Ross, a Scottish merchant; much of the island's current population is descended from the Malay workers he brought in to work his copra plantation. The Colonies-Ross family ruled the islands as a private fiefdom for almost 150 years, with the head of the family usually recognized as resident magistrate. The British formally annexed the islands in 1857, and for the next century they were officially administered from either Ceylon or Singapore. The territory was transferred to Australia in 1955, although until 1979 virtually all of the island's real estate still belonged to the Colonies-Ross family.