West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands
West Island, part of the South Keeling Islands, is the capital of the Cocos Islands. The population is roughly 120 making it the third smallest capital in the world, and consists mainly of Europeans. It is less populous than Home Island, the only other inhabited island.
West Island was part of the Clunies-Ross plantation and an airstrip was built here during World War II. As well as all the government buildings, it contains the airport, a general store and tourist accommodation. In November 2013 it was revealed that the Australian Signals Directorate operates a listening station on West Island. Wullenweber and Adcock antenna systems as well as two satellite dish antennae are clearly visible via Google satellite view.Education
operates a primary and secondary campus on West Island. Most of the students of that campus originate from the Australian continent.Heritage listings
West Island contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
