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Lee Kuan Yew's greatest Failure - Did not undo the Land grab by Australia

Force 136

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
This bugger did nothing to take back Christmas Island, which was given to Australia by the British.

His relation with the UK precluded him from using force to make his point.

In fact, he did not even try.

Only Lim Chong Mong opposed the move in the Legislature. I think he is Sylvia Lim's father. Please correct me if I am wrong.



http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_930_2005-01-11.html:mad:

-----------------------------------------------Handover of Christmas Island to Australia----------------



Geography and annexation

Christmas Island is a 135sq km island located in the Indian Ocean, 1,330 km southwest of Singapore. The island was named by Captain William Mynors of the East India Company vessel Royal Mary after he sailed past it on Christmas Day on 25 December 1643.3

The island was initially uninhabited, but this changed following the discovery of phosphate on the island by naturalist Sir John Murray during one of his expeditions to Indonesia between 1872 and 1876. The discovery prompted calls for the British to establish a settlement on the island to extract phosphates and other minerals or resources.4

In June 1888, Captain W. H. May of the HMS Imperieuse landed at Flying Fish Cove in the island's north and declared it part of the United Kingdom's dominions.5 A letters patent (a legal instrument) issued by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom dated 8 January 1889 declared the island under the control of the governor of the Straits Settlements. A proclamation dated 23 May 1900 formalised the island's annexation and incorporation into the Straits Settlements.6

Christmas Island was subsequently administered from Singapore, with the laws of Singapore applying to the island.7 A district officer from Singapore was also appointed to maintain law and order on the island.8

Settlement and commercial interests
Soon after May's landing in 1888, George Clunies-Ross established a settlement at Flying Fish Cove. Clunies-Ross was of the family that settled and governed the Cocos (Keeling) Islands some 980 km southwest of Christmas Island.9

In February 1891, Clunies-Ross and Sir John Murray were granted a 99-year lease on Christmas Island by the British government, allowing them to exploit the island's mineral and timber resources. In 1897, the lease was transferred to the Christmas Island Phosphate Company (CIPCO), founded by the Clunies-Ross family and Murray.10

Indentured labourers were brought in from Singapore, China and Malaya to mine the phosphate, and by 1905, Christmas Island exports of phosphate had reached 97,942 tons.11 The island's annual report that year showed that there were 1,061 inhabitants comprising 10 Europeans, six Eurasians, 952 Chinese, 42 Malays, 38 Sikhs, eight Japanese and five others.12 Tramlines were laid to transport phosphate from the quarry to the docks and a hospital was built to provide healthcare services for the inhabitants.13

During the 1920s, the British Phosphate Commission (BPC), bringing together British, Australian and New Zealand interests seeking to secure the supply of phosphate to those countries, submitted a bid to purchase Christmas Island's phosphate rights for £1.6 million. However, the deal fell through as CIPCO had demanded a price of £4 million.14 In 1942, the Japanese occupied Christmas Island but were unable exploit the phosphate supply due to interference from the submarines of Allied forces in nearby waters.15

Post-war developments
Following the end of World War II, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore made a separate Crown colony.16 Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands were then administered and governed as a part of the colony of Singapore.17

In 1948, the governments of Australia and New Zealand acquired the mining rights to Christmas Island by buying CIPCO's assets and rights for £2.75 million.18 The two governments shared the costs equally. Rent and phosphate royalties continued to be payable to the colonial government of Singapore, while the two purchasing governments set up the Christmas Island Phosphate Commission to manage and control the undertaking. The BPC became the managing agent of the island.19 The collaboration between the New Zealand and Australia governments was affirmed with the Christmas Island Agreement Act 1949.20

The initial share capital of CIPCO had consisted of 36,000 shares costing £10 each.21Based on the £2.75 million purchase of the company, a share became worth £77 each. CIPCO shareholders that benefited included descendants of Sir John Murray and the Ross-Clunies family such as K. A. J. Murray, the grandson of Sir John and the director of the company at the time.22 The purchase amount was shared by the Clunies-Ross and Murray families.23

Around the time of the purchase of CIPCO, government records show that the Australian government was also considering acquiring the sovereignty of Christmas Island due to the importance of its phosphate supplies to Australia.24

In 1950, the British Commissioner General for Southeast Asia sought Australia's help to use Christmas Island to confine political detainees from Malaya. After consultations with the New Zealand government and the BPC that managed the island, the proposal was rejected for fear of causing the island's workforce of 1,700 to move away.25

Further Australian moves towards acquiring Christmas Island
Production of phosphates on Christmas Island had reached 251,000 tons by 1949, and the island's production together with those of the Ocean and Nauru islands constituted nearly 10 percent of the phosphates exported globally.26 With Australia relying on the Christmas Island supply while New Zealand tapped the Ocean and Nauru sources, an inter-departmental Australian government committee met in September 1954 to discuss the phosphate supply. This committee comprised representatives from the departments of the Attorney-General, the Prime Minister, Commerce and Agriculture, Territories, External Affairs and Treasury.27

The committee framed Australia's interests in Christmas Island as a critical source of phosphates and a strategic defence location, while the potential for the Singapore government to raise the price of phosphates with the imposition of export taxes or derive more revenue from the island in other ways was said to be a concern. The political situation in Singapore in the 1950s was also fast changing, and the Australians anticipated that the then upcoming Rendel Constitution would affect the government of Singapore and its position towards Christmas Island.28

The Australian government reasoned that since Christmas Island's population did not contain indigenous inhabitants,29 any revenue from the island derived by the government in Singapore was an "accidental" effect of its administration from Singapore. The committee also expressed its view that the transfer of Christmas Island's sovereignty to Australia before constitutional changes in Singapore would be in the interests of both the Australian and New Zealand governments.30

Governmental negotiations
On 24 November 1954, the Australian Cabinet took the same view on Christmas Island. Then Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies first raised the question of the island's sovereignty through informal discussions with the British government in London in February 1955.31 Then Australian Minister for External Affairs Richard Casey also broached the subject with Sir Robert Black, then Governor of Singapore, in October 1955. The governor expressed his view that such a move would be seen as empire building on the part of the Australians, and that its unpopularity with the public would be exploited by the Malayan Communist Party.32

Casey then mooted an alternative method of detaching Christmas Island from Singapore by establishing the island as a separate dependency of the United Kingdom. An Australian newspaper reported in May 1956 that the country was seeking the sovereignty of Christmas Island, while Menzies approached the British government with the new plan. On 22 October 1956, the British Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations replied that the United Kingdom would assent to the plan on condition that Singapore should not be entirely deprived of the phosphate revenue and that the British should incur no expenses in the transfer.33

Negotiations proceeded over the next few months during which it was agreed that the United Kingdom would transfer the sovereignty of Christmas Island directly to Australia, with the Australians compensating Singapore with a lump sum payment. In March 1957, the amount to be paid to Singapore was agreed at £2.33 million (M$20 million). Then Colonial Secretary Alan Lennox-Boyd discussed the subject of the transfer and financial payment with then Chief Minister of Singapore Lim Yew Hock on 12 March 1957, who asked for time to consult his colleagues.34

A report from the Australian High Commission in Singapore to the Department of External Affairs in Australia on 16 May 1957 noted that Lim was concerned about the status of residents of Christmas Island if they lost their jobs. He was unsure whether they would have to return toSingapore or would be able to enter Australia.35

Apart from concerns over citizenship and employment, Lim outlined issues pertaining to the loss of revenue incurred by the Singapore government resulting from the transfer. Lim noted that Singapore was receiving M$1.5 million annually in terms of royalty and income tax from Christmas Island. With another 32 years remaining on the lease, the potential earnings would amount to at least M$48 million, a figure much higher than the M$20 million offered by the Australians.36

Transfer of Christmas Island and legislation
Despite these concerns, the announcement of the transfer of Christmas Island to Australia was announced by Boyd in the British Parliament on 6 June 1957 (7 June Singapore time), with a simultaneous press release in Australia and Singapore.37

To prepare for the impending transfer, then Secretary of the Australian Department of Territories C. R. Lambert visited Singapore on 4 July 1957 to study the administrative problems on Christmas Island.38 The Singapore authorities made arrangements to receive the M$20 million payment from the Australian and New Zealand governments for Christmas Island, with then Financial Secretary of Singapore T. M. Hart announcing that the revenue would be added to Singapore’s liquid reserves.39

Legislation to pave the way for the transfer was passed in Australia in December 1957, while an order-in-council was made by Queen Elizabeth II to detach Christmas Island from Singapore on 13 December 1957. The order came into effect on 1 January 1958 with the payment of M$20 million to Singapore, but the island would remain under the jurisdiction of the colony of Singapore for a number of months as the governments involved prepared for the transfer. The United Kingdom’s Christmas Island Bill was introduced in the House of Lords in April 1958 and the House of Commons in May 1958, and passed on 13 May 1958.40

On 14 May 1958, royal assent was given to the United Kingdom’s Christmas Island Bill to enable Britain to transfer authority over Christmas Island from Singapore to Australia by an order-in-council.41 The Christmas Island Act 1958 was passed in Australia in September 1958 and the island was officially placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 October 1958.42

Reactions in Singapore and citizenship issues

In the Legislative Assembly of Singapore, Lim Choon Mong, then Member of Parliament for Serangoon commented that the island was under the jurisdiction of Singapore and giving it away to another country was “ceding away part of territory”. In response, Acting Chief Minister Abdul Hamid bin Haji Jumat (Lim Yew Hock was away at that time) stated that the island belonged not to Singapore but to the British government.43

The issue of citizenship for the 2,000 residents of Christmas Island (as of 1957) was resolved when it was agreed that people born on the island after the transfer to Australia would automatically become Australian citizens. They would also be citizens either of the United Kingdom and Colonies or citizens of Singapore by descent. This meant that the islanders had dual nationalities.44 Permanent residents of the island who were citizens of the United Kingdom were given the option of becoming Australian citizens.45

Before the transfer, the island was still under Singapore's jurisdiction and a Singapore registration team was sent to Christmas Island aboard the Royal Malayan Navy ship H.M.M.S Penyu on 1 December 1957 to register those eligible for Singapore citizenship.46

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_930_2005-01-11.html
 

Force 136

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Lim Choon Mong, then Member of Parliament for Serangoon commented that the island was under the jurisdiction of Singapore and giving it away to another country was “ceding away part of territory”. In response, Acting Chief Minister Abdul Hamid bin Haji Jumat (Lim Yew Hock was away at that time) stated that the island belonged not to Singapore but to the British government

Fark lah - how can British give away land occupied by their occupation forces? When they withdrew, they must hand over everything back to its rightful owners = the people of Singapore.!!
 

laksaboy

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Good. Fuck Singapore's sovereignty and territorial claims.

If Christmas Island belonged to Singapore, rest assured it would become another overpriced artificial theme park just like Sentosa.
 

GOD IS MY DOG

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
what about that piece of land they bought in Australia..............10x the size of S'pore ?

become family playground also liao ah ?
 

neddy

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Why do you want Christmas Is.?
You cannot grow vegetables there because of a parasite worm, and the phosphates it is running out. Even the casino closed down. And beware of cyclones,
 

Jah_rastafar_I

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
In terms of logistics and navy, air force of today to patrol that area would it be too taxing on the SAF? How far would it take to travel from mainland sinkland to xmas island? Imagine working on xmas island for example.
 

Jah_rastafar_I

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
x'mas island is south of java it's closer to indonesia compared to oz. If xmas island were to be a part of singapore then it would be quite difficult to patrol the waters around that area. Probably deploy of indonesia or have the indons patrol for sinkland. It makes more sense for oz to have it since it's not blocked off by another country and it just has a greater body of water for the oz navy to patrol.
 

ginfreely

Alfrescian
Loyal
Why do you want Christmas Is.?
You cannot grow vegetables there because of a parasite worm, and the phosphates it is running out. Even the casino closed down. And beware of cyclones,

Can build a retirement village there for Singaporeans.
 

The_Hypocrite

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Xmas Island is nothing but a Poisoned Chalice to the aussies,,,look at all the asylum seekers,,,just have to reach Xmas Island and the journey is over,,,can claim asylum and stay in oz with much better benefits than working people in oz,,soon the boats will continue coming and land in Xmas island can oreadi,,no need to try and reach oz mainland,,,on top of that,,,got those stupid red crabs,,cannot makan and are just a pest..

and not to mention how expensive food is over there,,,

[h=1]Christmas Island farm development could feed locals, cut grocery bills in half and inspire remote farmers on the Australian mainland[/h] ABC Rural
By Jon Coghill and Marty McCarthy
61
Updated 16 Mar 2015, 12:11pm
Photo: Christmas Island food venture gets the go-ahead (Supplied: Hidden Garden Sustainable Farms)
Map: Maroochydore 4558

Christmas Island is commonly known for its immigration detention centre and highly profitable phosphate mining, and not so much for innovative farming.




It sits in the Indian Ocean, 400 kilometres from Indonesia, and 2,600 kilometres from Perth. That isolation means that if you are buying your weekly groceries there, be prepared to empty your wallet.
An iceberg lettuce can cost up to $19 and a cauliflower $15, because fruit and vegetables travel thousands of kilometres by plane or ship to get there.
But that is all set to change if a sustainable farming company has its way.
Mark Bennett is the director of Christmas Island Hidden Garden Farms, based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, which has just started a 21-year lease of 54 acres of crown land from the Australian Government with the aim of supplying the local community with fresh fruit and vegetables at an affordable price.
"What we intend to do is set up a diversified sustainable farming model, which would include a number of different growing strategies, from traditional open-row cropping to greenhouse strategies, aquaponics, chickens. We want to harvest eggs, honey," he said.
"Basically, we want to get as much as we would find in a normal supermarket growing in a field on Christmas Island, so that the local community can experience what we have here."
The company will limit its use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides and will nourish its crops using compost developed from the local community's organic waste.
Fresh food prices could be halved

Mr Bennett grew up on the island and said his company hoped to help change the prices people pay for fresh food.
"If you go to a restaurant on Christmas Island and you get a steak and chips and salad, it's often joked that the most expensive part of the meal was the salad," he said.
"It's not uncommon for a family to spend $500 on a weekly fresh fruit and veg bill and we hope to reduce that family food bill by half."
On Christmas Island, a single iceberg lettuce can cost up to $19 and a cauliflower, $15

Mark Bennett, director of Christmas Island Hidden Garden Farms

Gordon Thomson, shire president of Christmas Island, believed the new farm had every chance of succeeding.
"The people who are proposing to grow the vegies are people who know what they're doing," he said.
"They are well supported morally and perhaps materially by the mine and the community generally."
Mr Thomson said it would also provide a sense of sustainability to the 1,500 people living on the island.
"If we can feed ourselves, this will be a great boost to our confidence as a community," he said.
"A community that can stand on its own two feet in every way is going to be a much more confident community and grow and perhaps retain more of the local population than we do at the moment."
But if you look at the history of Christmas Island, it is rare to find a successful large-scale business.
A litany of failed ventures

The Christmas Island Casino survived for five years but went bust in 1998, and an ambitious satellite launch facility built in 2001 was a failure.
Photo: Hidden Garden farm design for Christmas Island (Supplied: Hidden Garden Sustainable Farms)

This is the first farming venture of this size attempted on Christmas Island.
There has recently been a smaller banana and avocado farm, and an aquaculture farm was damaged during a cyclone in March 2014.
Other older farming ventures were halted by colonial attitudes and stupidity.
In the early 1900s, the British Phosphate Mining Company was like a big brother to its Chinese workforce, the so-called "Coolies", stopping them from any form of farming on a large scale.
The rare few had very small hidden garden farms, a practice that inspired Hidden Garden Farms' name.
Historian John Hunt said most of the Coolies survived on a diet of white rice and dried fish given to them by the mining company.
"The Coolies were in a vitamin deficiency diet and hundreds of them died from beri-beri, a vitamin B1 deficiency disease. The worst of it was over in 1904 and 1905," he said.
Despite this tragedy, the population continued to rely on imported food.
"Basically we want to get as much as we would find in a normal supermarket growing in a field on Christmas Island so that the local community can experience what we have here"

Mark Bennett, Christmas Island Hidden Garden Farms

In the 1980s, two businessmen came close to establishing a large pig farm. Unfortunately, there was a cultural hurdle - they built it right next to the Muslim cemetery.
"They put in thousands of dollars, they put in concrete pigsties, they had water trough, and then the Malays woke up to what was going on and the whole thing ground to a halt," Mr Hunt said.
Photo: Supplied: Hidden Garden Sustainable Farms (Marty McCarthy)

Mr Hunt believed Christmas Islanders had avoided setting up commercial farms because importing fresh food had proven to be too easy, and this might be the biggest hurdle for the new venture.
Hidden Garden Farms' Mark Bennett said if his venture did succeed, it would go some way to securing the island's food supply.
"If we look at the community of Christmas Island, they're exposed to the distribution system. So if the flights don't come in, if the ships don't come in, which it often doesn't during the wet season, they have to rely on reserves," he said.
"Ninety-five per cent of their nutritional input comes from those freight lines. That is a terrible exposure to have on a community.
"So in the best way you can secure your nutritional requirements is by growing your own food very close to home."
Mr Bennett said developing the farm was his way of giving back to the island on which he grew up.
He said it could be a blueprint for remote towns on the mainland as well.
Construction at the site started this month.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-...ld-feed-locals-for-half-price-inspire/6321968





Why do you want Christmas Is.?
You cannot grow vegetables there because of a parasite worm, and thephosphates it is running out. Even the casino closed down. And beware of cyclones,
 
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