Christmas Island has the highest percentage of Buddhists in Australia, which reflects the island’s migration history and geographical proximity to Asia. The 2021 Census data records 22.2 percent of the island’s population is of Chinese ancestry and 15.2 percent as Buddhist, much higher than the national 2.4 percent.¹  While not evident in the census data alone, Daoism also has a strong presence on the Island, particularly in its many temples cared for with much devotion by the Chinese community.² 

Christmas Island was uninhabited until the late nineteenth century, when phosphate was discovered and mining operations began in 1899, largely undertaken by indentured labourers from Guangdong, China. The Chinese community established many temples and shrines across the Island, with around fifteen active temples remaining, dedicated to Daoist and/or Buddhist gods of protection and prosperity. These include the earliest and largest, now heritage-listed temples Tai Pak Kong and Soon Tian Koong Daoist temples, similar in design and size to some of the temples that were constructed across mainland Australia, such as the restored Hou Wang Chinese Temple in Atherton, Queensland.  They also include newer Buddhist temples, within the Christmas Island Mahayana Buddhist Society complex, dedicated to the bodhisattva Guan Yin (Avalokiteśvara) and one to the bodhisattva Di Zang (Kṣitigarbha).³  

The community has celebrated a number of festivals, including Chinese New Year, Qing Ming, Hungry Ghost, and Vesak, on the Island and in these temples for over 130 years. Christmas Island also has two of the oldest Chinese cemeteries in Australia, and many sacred Bodhi trees.⁴  

By Anna Halafoff and Sue Smith 

References 

1.  “Christmas Island, 2021 Census All persons QuickStats,” Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed May 19, 2026, https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/LGA51710; National Trust of Western Australia, Temples and Shrines of Christmas Island (National Trust of Western Australia, 2016), https://christmasislandheritageblog.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/temples-shrines-final-reduced.pdf 

2.  National Trust of Western Australia, Temples and Shrines of Christmas Island; Anna Halafoff, Juewei Shi, and Sue Smith, “Red Crabs and Rediscovering the Chinese Religions of Christmas Island,” ABC Religion and Ethics, accessed November 12, 2023, https://www.abc.net.au/religion/red-crabs-and-rediscovering-chinese-religions-christmas-island/106001656 

3.  National Trust of Western Australia, Temples and Shrines of Christmas Island; Halafoff et al., “Red Crabs”; “Christmas Island Mahayana Buddhist Society Inc.,” Relax and Grow Retreats, accessed May 19, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5yIy2qKbxY 

 4. Helene Catherine Bartleson, Golden Leaves: An Introduction to the Chinese Cemeteries of Christmas Island (BooBook Editions, 2008).