In 1609, Captain William Keeling has discovered the Cocos Atoll during one of his voyages from Java to England. But it was not until 1826 that Alexander Hare with a group of his slaves set up the first settlement in Cocos Island. A year later, John Clunies Ross (a Scottish trader) arrived with other settlers to make Cocos Island their home.
They were mostly Malays with a few Chinese, Papuans, Indians and possibly some of African heritage. Malays originated from various ethnicities, mostly of Malay origin with Islamic practices.
From first settlement, Malay was adopted as the main language of communication in the Cocos Islands’ community. In 1979, The Cocos Islands Workers Co-Operative was established – to look after the Malay community’s business interests.
Since full integration with Australia in 1984, the Malay community on the Cocos Islands has had to respond to rapidly changing social, political and economic environments.
Malays in Cocos Island
