Home Island, also known locally as Pulu Selma, is one of only two permanently-inhabited islands of the 26 islands of the South Keeling Islands of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian external territory in the central-eastern Indian Ocean.

Description

It is 95 ha in area and contains the largest settlement of the territory, Bantam, with a population of about 500 Cocos Malay people. Local attractions include a museum covering local culture and traditions, flora and fauna, Australian naval history, and the early owners of the Cocos-Keeling Islands. The Home Island Mosque is one of the busiest places on the island, and the minaret is painted in territorial flag colours of green and gold. There is also a trail leading to Oceania House, which was the ancestral home of the Clunies-Ross family, the former rulers of the Cocos-Keeling Islands and is over a century old.

Education

Cocos Islands District High School operates a primary education centre on Home Island; most of the staff live on West Island and travel to their jobs on a daily basis. Secondary level students go to the West Island campus.

Heritage listings

Home Island contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including: