Singapore Situation
p. 48 · Read in the full issue
And Christmas Islands
PHOSPHATIC rock, a fertilise! extreme importance to Austrl and New Zealand, comes fr four tropical islands—Ocean 1 Nauru, in the Central Paci Makatea, in French Oceania; I Christmas Island, over in the Ind Ocean, south of Java.
Except Makatea, the deposits] worked by the British Phospli Commission. Under arrangem with the British Government, ] Christmas phosphates were traJ ferred to the BPC in 1948, and 1 atoll has been occupied by the B staff ever since.
But, normally, Christmas Isis still is a dependency of the Brit Colony of Singapore. Mr. W. ' Webster, former Australian Cc missioner on the BPC, very has pointed out that, as the Chin seem likely to take Singapore of the pusillanimous British hai it would be very wise if Austrs secured suzerainty over Christn just as she did over the nea Cocos atoll a couple of years i There is no indigenous popi tion on Christmas —only the pr< ous phosphate.