Flag of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

The official name of the islands is the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Territory. It is an external territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, northwest of the coast of Western Australia.

The flag consists of a green background with a palm tree on a yellow disk in the canton (the name of the upper left part of the flag), a yellow crescent in the center of the flag, and a southern cross to the right of it.

What does the flag of the Cocos Islands mean?

• The palm tree symbolizes the tropical flora of the islands; 
• green and yellow are the national colors of Australia; 
• the crescent symbolizes the main religion on the island. Since the majority of the population is Malay, it is Islam;
• Crux is a constellation of the southern sky, in the center of which are four bright stars in the shape of a cross, known as the Southern Cross. It lies at the southern end of the visible range of the Milky Way. The name Crux means cross in Latin. The constellation has reached a high level of cultural significance in many countries and peoples of the Southern Hemisphere, including the flag of Australia and the flag of Christmas Island, which also use the Southern Cross.

History of the Cocos Islands flag

Throughout the history of the islands' flag, in all its variations except the current one, the Union Jack, the flag of Great Britain, was present on the flag. It was depicted in the canton, i.e. in the left corner of the flag, and only in the period from 1886 to 1900 did it occupy the entire flag.

From 1878 to 1886 and from 1942 to 1946, a flag with a blue background, the Union Jack and the coat of arms of the Ceylon government was used. Then, from 1900 to 1942, the coat of arms of the Straits Settlements was used, and from 1946 to 1955, the coat of arms of Singapore was used.

From 1955 to 2004, the flag of the islands was the current flag of Australia. While the Cocos Islands' own flag was created in 2003 and officially approved on April 6, 2004.