Cato Island is the highest point in the Territory. == History and status == The Coral Sea Islands were first charted in 1803.
In the 1870s and 1880s the islands were mined for guano but the absence of a reliable supply of fresh water prevented long-term habitation.
In the 1870s and 1880s the islands were mined for guano but the absence of a reliable supply of fresh water prevented long-term habitation.
Already on 23 December 1987, they were protected as the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, which has an area of 1880 km2. Middleton Reef, atoll about 8.9 by 6.3 km, area 37 km2 including lagoon, one islet: The Sound, 100 by 70 m (area 5,000 m2), highest point close to the Northern end 1.5 m.
There is no economic activity (except for a significant but as yet unquantified charter fishing and diving industry), and only a staff of three or four people to run the meteorological station on Willis Island (South Islet), established in 1921.
The Coral Sea Islands became an Australian external territory in 1969 by the Coral Sea Islands Act (prior to that, the area was considered a part of Queensland) and extended in 1997 to include Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef nearly 800 km further south. The two latter reefs are much closer to Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, (about ) than to the southernmost island of the rest of the territory, Cato Island.
Already on 23 December 1987, they were protected as the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, which has an area of 1880 km2. Middleton Reef, atoll about 8.9 by 6.3 km, area 37 km2 including lagoon, one islet: The Sound, 100 by 70 m (area 5,000 m2), highest point close to the Northern end 1.5 m.
These mostly submerged atolls which dry only during low tide were added to the territory only in 1989.
The Coral Sea Islands became an Australian external territory in 1969 by the Coral Sea Islands Act (prior to that, the area was considered a part of Queensland) and extended in 1997 to include Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef nearly 800 km further south. The two latter reefs are much closer to Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, (about ) than to the southernmost island of the rest of the territory, Cato Island.
The territory's FIPS 10-4 code is CR, whereas ISO 3166 includes it in Australia (AU). In June 2004, a symbolic political protest run by gay rights activists based in Australia, declared an the coral sea islands to be a sovereign micronation.
In November 2011, the Australian government announced that a protected area was planned in the Coral Sea. The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island has jurisdiction over the islands, however, the laws of the Australian Capital Territory apply.
On 17 November 2017 the same group declared the kingdom to be 'dissolved', following the results of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. == Geography == There are about 30 separate reefs and atolls, twelve being wholly submerged or drying only during low tide, and 18 others with a total of about 51 islets and cays (18 alone on the atoll Lihou Reef), some of which are vegetated.
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Page generated on 2021-08-05