Home Island

Home Island is the village of the Cocos Malay people, descendants of workers brought to the atoll in the nineteenth century by the Clunies-Ross family, who ruled the islands as a private kingdom until 1978. Around four hundred people live here in neat lanes of houses around a mosque, and Malay is the everyday language. Oceania House, the white mansion of the former rulers, stands at the edge of the village. A small museum covers the copra trade and the island's unusual history. The ferry from West Island takes about twenty minutes, and modest dress is expected.