Poon Saan

Poon Saan is the second largest village on Christmas Island, an external territory of Australia. It is administrated as part of the island capital - Flying Fish Cove. Ethnic Chinese make up the majority of inhabitants.^[1] In Cantonese, Poon Saan (半山, Jyutping: bun3 saan1) means "halfway up the hill".^[2] The architecture of Poon Saan reflects the Chinese heritage of the majority of residents in being Singapore style units, rather than the Western style common in Flying Fish Cove.^[1]

Poon Saan 半山 (Chinese) Australia
Shops in Poon Saan
Poon Saan in the evening
Poon Saan
Coordinates	10°25′21″S 105°40′56″E
Postcode(s)	6798
Time zone	ICT (UTC+07:00)
Location	1.4 km (1 mi) northeast of Drumsite 3.1 km (2 mi) east of Flying Fish Cove
LGA(s)	Shire of Christmas Island
Federal division(s)	Lingiari
Localities around Poon Saan: Flying Fish Cove Pacific Ocean Pacific Ocean Flying Fish Cove Poon Saan Pacific Ocean Drumsite Drumsite Pacific Ocean

Poon Saan
Simplified Chinese	半山
Traditional Chinese	半山
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bànshān Yue: Cantonese Jyutping bun3 saan1

The Java sparrow has become established on the island with populations near Poon Saan.^[3]

Heritage

An area of the settlement, including the Poon Saan Club, Union of Christmas Island Workers office, cinema and several residential blocks, is listed on the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List as the "Poon Saan Group" for its "significance to the Chinese population", "architectural styles imported from Singapore and rarely found in other parts of Australia", and for the "number of structures associated with the inception and development of the union movement on Christmas Island", while the cinema was considered significant for its role as a venue for mass meetings and as "an uncommon example of a relatively intact outdoor cinema".^[4] The Phosphate Hill Historic Area, 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of the settlement is also listed on the Commonwealth Heritage List.^[5]

References

1. Simone Dennis (2008). Christmas Island: An Anthropological Study. Cambria Press. pp. 91–. ISBN 9781604975109.
2. "Christmas Island". Island Life. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 November 2007.
3. Thomas, Richard; Thomas, Sarah; Andrew, David; Alan McBride (23 February 2011). The Complete Guide to Finding the Birds of Australia. Csiro Publishing. pp. 187–. ISBN 9780643102262. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
4. "Poon Saan Group (Place ID 105185)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
5. "Phosphate Hill Historic Area (Place ID 105297)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 15 May 2019.