Christmas Island is most often thought of in connection to its immigration detention centre, but there's a lot more to Australia's most far-flung community.
Farzian Zainal's family has lived on Christmas Island for three generations, but she still speaks fluent Malay.Some locals say while Australia has "pockets of culture", their diversity is everywhereHer grandfather moved to the Australian island territory from Malaysia in the 1950s, working in the phosphate mining industry alongside Chinese and Sikh migrant labourers.
Ms Zainal, who is also a Christmas Island Shire councillor, has continued to live on the unique island with her husband and three children.But there's a lot more to the island."I would say it is one of the most [multicultural places in Australia]," Ms Zainal said. "The thing is Christmas Island is always known for the detention centre and what the detention centre does, but we're quite separate from that."the most common ancestries reported on Christmas Island were Chinese , Australian , Malay , English and Irish .
Most people living on the island only speak English at home, however some also speak Mandarin, Malay, Cantonese, Indonesian, Min Nan, and Tagalog.While there are no statistics available to support the claim that the island is Australia's most multicultural spot, its diversity is expressed in other ways.for Chinese New Year, and two more for Hari Raya.
Hari Raya, or Eid, is the main celebration for the Muslim community marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
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