Merry Christmas, but watch out for the crabs
WHY wasn’t my favourite country, Christmas Island, in the 2014 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony?
I remember being taught that Captain Cook discovered the island on December 25th, hence its name, and I’ve dreamt of visiting it ever since. – P.
Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean, with about 2,000 residents, but has never entered the Games.
The Island is a dot in the Indian Ocean, 2,600 km north west of Perth, Australia.
Even though it is Australian, its closest neighbour is the Indonesian island of Java.
Other states, territories and territorial autonomies with populations within the Commonwealth that may be eligible include the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory , Rodrigues (outer islands of Mauritius), and Zanzibar (a semi-autonomous part ofTanzania).
Christmas Island wasn’t actually discovered by Captain Cook, but by CaptainWilliam Mynors of the East India Ship Company vessel, the Royal Mary, when he arrived at the island on Christmas Day, 1643.
He was unable to land and it wasn’t until 1688 that CaptainWilliam Dampier set foot on the island.
Christmas Island red crabs are well known for their annual mass migration to lay their eggs in the ocean.
An estimated 40,000,000 crabs will walk over almost everything in their paths, including roads, through houses, gardens and fields in their quest to reach the water.
Pumeza Matshikiza is a South African soprano.
She studied at the University of Cape Town, the Royal College of Music, London, and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, before joining Stuttgart Opera.
She has just released her debut album, Pumeza – Voice of Hope.