The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

and the island of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. They span an area of , but their total land area is . The Islands have been inhabited by the indigenous Torres Strait Islanders. Lieutenant

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

first claimed British sovereignty over the eastern part of Australia at Possession Island in 1770, but British administrative control only began in the Torres Strait Islands in 1862. The islands are now mostly part of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, a constituent State of the Commonwealth of Australia, but are administered by the Torres Strait Regional Authority, a

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...

of the Australian federal government. A few islands very close to the coast of mainland New Guinea belong to the Western Province of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, most importantly Daru Island with the provincial capital, Daru. Only 16 of the islands are inhabited. The Torres Strait Islands' population was recorded at 4,514 in the

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as – an incre ...

, with 91.8% of these identifying as Indigenous Torres Strait Island peoples. Although counted as

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

, Torres Strait Islander peoples, being predominantly

Melanesian Melanesian is the adjectival form of Melanesia. It may refer to: * Melanesians * Melanesian mythology * Melanesian languages In linguistics, Melanesian is an obsolete term referring to the Austronesian languages of Melanesia: that is, the Oceani ...

, are ethnically and culturally different from

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

History

There was continuous inter-island warfare. In particular, the Murray (Mer) islanders were known as the fiercest raiders and head-hunters. They waged constant warfare against the Darnley islanders, their nearest neighbours. The Spanish navigator

Luís Vaez de Torres Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

explored the

in 1606. Torres had joined the expedition of Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, which sailed west from

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

across the Pacific Ocean in search of Terra Australis. Canoe of Darnley Island

Captain

first claimed British sovereignty in 1770 over the eastern part of Australia at Possession Island. British administrative control did not begin until 1862 in the Torres Strait Islands, marked by the appointment of John Jardine, police magistrate at

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

, as Government Resident in the Torres Straits. He originally established a small settlement on

Albany Island Albany Island or Pabaju is an island off the north-eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula in the Adolphus Channel and part of the Manar Group of islands of Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset in the Shire of Torres. G ...

, but on 1 August 1864 he settled at Somerset Island. Although the Torres Strait Islanders had long dived for

pearl shell Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner seashell, shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and Iridescence, ...

s themselves, the international industry of pearl and

trochus ''Trochus'' is a genus of medium-sized to large, top-shaped sea snails with an operculum and a pearly inside to their shells, marine gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Trochinae of the family Trochidae, the top snails.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2 ...

shells, for using the

mother of pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

as decoration, started in earnest in the 1860s. By the 1890s, the islands were supplying more than 50 percent of the world's pearl shell. The London Missionary Society (LMS) mission, led by Rev. Samuel Macfarlane, arrived on Erub (Darnley Island) on 1 July 1871. After the Anglican Church took over their mission in the 20th century, they referred to the events as "

The Coming of the Light Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often groupe ...

", and established an annual celebration on 1 July. In 1872, the boundary of Queensland was extended to include Thursday Island and other islands in Torres Strait within 60 miles of the Queensland coast. In June 1875, a

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

epidemic killed about 25% of the population, with some islands suffering losses of up to 80%, as the islanders had no natural immunity to European diseases. In 1879, Queensland

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

the other Torres Strait Islands. They were classified as part of the British colony of Queensland and, after 1901, of the Australian state of Queensland. But some of them lie just off the coast of New Guinea. In 1885, John Douglas was appointed as Government Resident Magistrate residing on Thursday Island. He made periodic tours of all the islands and was known to all the natives. He established the system under which the hereditary native chief of each island was installed as chief magistrate, supporting the local traditional system. He also established Native Police, but the only island on which the Native Police were armed was Saibai. There they were provided with Snider carbines to repel the attacks of the Marind-anim (formerly known as Tugeri), the headhunters who raided the islands from their territory on the New Guinea coast. In 1898–1899, the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition led by

Alfred Cort Haddon Alfred Cort Haddon, Sc.D., FRS, FRGS FRAI (24 May 1855 – 20 April 1940, Cambridge) was an influential British anthropologist and ethnologist. Initially a biologist, who achieved his most notable fieldwork, with W.H.R. Rivers, C.G. Seligma ...

visited the Torres Strait Islands. Among its members was

W. H. R. Rivers William Halse Rivers Rivers FRS FRAI ( – ) was an English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist and psychiatrist known for treatment of First World War officers suffering shell shock, so they could be returned to combat. Rivers' most f ...

, who later gained notability for his work in psychology and treating officers in the Great War. They collected and took about 2000 cultural artefacts, ostensibly to save them from destruction by missionaries. But all of the artefacts collected by Samuel Macfarlane were sold in London, mostly to European museums.

20th century to present

In 1904, the peoples of the Torres Strait Islands were made subject to the '' Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897'', which gave draconian powers to the Queensland government in placing legal restrictions on natives and on their land use. In 1899, John Douglas had initiated a process of electing island councils, intended to loosen the power of missionaries in the islands. They had become powerful by default because the government did not have resources to administer the territory. In the Western islands, where the traditional lifestyle was semi-

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic, the council system continued to thrive. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, many Torres Strait Islander people served in the

Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion The Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army during the Second World War. Initially raised as a company-sized unit in 1941, it was expanded to a full battalion in 1942 and was unique in that almost ...

of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

. From 1960 to 1973, Margaret Lawrie captured some of the Torres Strait Islander people's culture by recording their recounting of local myths and legends. Her anthropological work, stored at the

State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...

, has recently been recognised and registered with the Australian UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. The proximity of the islands to

became an issue when the territory started moving to gain

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

from Australia, which it gained in 1975. The Papua New Guinea government objected to the position of the border close to the New Guinean mainland, and the subsequent complete control that Australia exercised over the waters of the strait. The Torres Strait Islanders opposed being separated from Australia and insisted on no change to the border. The Australian Federal government wished to cede the northern islands to appease Papua New Guinea, but were opposed by the Queensland government and

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. An agreement was struck in 1978 whereby the islands and their inhabitants remained Australian, but the maritime boundary between Australia and Papua New Guinea was defined as running through the centre of the strait. In practice the two countries co-operate closely in the management of the strait's resources. In 1982, Eddie Mabo and four other Torres Strait Islander people from Mer (Murray Island) started legal proceedings to establish their traditional land ownership. Because Mabo was the first-named plaintiff, it became known as the Mabo Case. In 1992, after ten years of hearings before the

Queensland Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to he ...

and the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

, the latter court found that the Mer people had owned their land prior to annexation by Queensland. This ruling overturned the long-established legal doctrine of '' terra nullius'' ("no-one's land"), which held that native title over Crown land in Australia had been extinguished at the time of annexation. The ruling thus has had far-reaching significance for the land claims of both Torres Strait Islanders and Australian Aboriginal people. Its effects are still being felt in the 21st century, as indigenous communities establish claims to their traditional lands under th
Native Title Act of 1993
On 1 July 1994, the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) was created. In March 2008, fifteen Torres Strait Islander Councils were amalgamated into a single body to form a Torres Strait Island Regional Council, or Torres Strait Island Region, created by the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

in the interest of financial viability, and accountability and transparency of local governments throughout the State. It is administered from Thursday Island, but Thursday, Horn Island, Prince of Wales Island and many others are under the

Shire of Torres The Shire of Torres is a local government area located in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering large sections of the Torres Strait Islands and the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula north of 11°S latitude. It holds two distinctions—it ...

council. In the , the population of the Torres Strait Islands was 4,514, of whom 4,144 (91.8%) were Torres Strait Islanders. These inhabitants live on only 14 of the 274 islands. For comparison, people identifying themselves as of Torres Strait Islander descent living in the whole of Australia numbered 32,345, while those of both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal descent numbered a further 26,767.

Geography

The islands span an area of some . The strait from Cape York to New Guinea has a width of approximately at its narrowest point; the islands lie scattered in between, extending some from furthest east to furthest west. The total land area of the islands comprises . of land are used for agricultural purposes. The

itself was previously part of a land bridge known as the Arafura Plain which connected the present-day Australian continent with New Guinea (in a single landmass called

Sahul __NOTOC__ Sahul (), also called Sahul-land, Meganesia, Papualand and Greater Australia, was a paleocontinent that encompassed the modern-day landmasses of mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands. Sahul was in the south-we ...

Meganesia __NOTOC__ Sahul (), also called Sahul-land, Meganesia, Papualand and Greater Australia, was a paleocontinent that encompassed the modern-day landmasses of mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands Regency, Aru Islands. Sahu ...

Australia-New Guinea The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the country of Australia, is located within the Southern and East ...

). This land bridge was most recently submerged by

rising sea levels Rising may refer to: * Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique) *Elevation * Short for Uprising, a rebellion Film and TV * "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starga ...

at the end of the last ice-age glaciation approximately 12,000 years ago, forming the Strait which now connects the Arafura and

Coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

seas. Many of the western Torres Strait Islands are the remaining peaks of this land bridge which were not completely submerged when the ocean levels rose. The islands and their surrounding waters and reefs provide a highly diverse set of land and marine

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s, with niches for many rare or unique species.

Saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed ...

s inhabit the islands along with neighboring areas of

and

. Marine animals of the islands include dugongs (an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

of sea mammal widely found throughout the Indian Ocean and tropical Western Pacific, including Papua-New Guinean and Australian waters), as well as

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

, ridley, hawksbill and flatback sea turtles. The Torres Strait Islands may be grouped into five distinct clusters, which exhibit differences of

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

and formation as well as location. The Torres Strait provides a habitat for numerous birds, including the

Torresian imperial-pigeon The Torresian imperial pigeon (''Ducula spilorrhoa''), also known as the nutmeg pigeon, white nutmeg pigeon, Australian pied imperial pigeon or Torres Strait pigeon (Meriam Mir: deumer), is a relatively large, pied species of pigeon. It is foun ...

, which is seen as the iconic national emblem to the islanders. These islands are also a distinct physiographic section of the larger Cape York Platform

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

, which in turn is part of the larger East Australian Cordillera physiographic division.

Top Western islands (Gudaw Maluligal Nation)

The islands in this cluster lie very close to the southwestern coastline of New Guinea (the closest is less than offshore). Saibai (one of the largest of the Torres Strait Islands) and

Boigu Boigu Island (also known as Malu Kiyay or Malu Kiwai) is the most northerly inhabited island of Queensland and of Australia. It is part of the Top Western group of the Torres Strait Islands, which lie in the Torres Strait separating Cape York Pe ...

(one of the

Talbot Islands Talbot Islands are a group of Torres Strait Islands in Queensland, Australia. They lie between the Australian mainland and the island of New Guinea and a few kilometres west of Saibai Island, Torres Strait, only 4 km from the Papua New Gu ...

) are low-lying islands which were formed by deposition of

sediments Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand a ...

and mud from New Guinean rivers into the Strait accumulating on decayed coral platforms. Vegetation on these islands mainly consists of mangrove swamps, and they are prone to flooding. The other main island in this group, Dauan (Mt Cornwallis), is a smaller island with steep hills, composed largely of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. This island actually represents the northernmost extent of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

, the extensive series of

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

s which runs along almost the entire eastern coastline of Australia. This peak became an island as the ocean levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The isolated and uninhabited

Deliverance Island Warul Kawa Indigenous Protected Area (also known as Deliverance Island) is a small island that is part of Australia's Indigenous Protected Area, National Reserve System, located south of Papua New Guinea and about north of Thursday Island, Tor ...

is west of Boigu, the nearest of the Top Western islands.

Near Western islands (Maluligal Nation)

The islands in this cluster lie south of the Strait's midway point, and are also largely high granite hills with mounds of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic outcrops, formed from old peaks of the now submerged land bridge. Moa (Banks Island) is the second-largest in the Torres Strait, and Badu (Mulgrave Island) is slightly smaller and fringed with extensive mangrove swamps. Other smaller islands include

Mabuiag The Mabuyag, or Mabuygilgal, are an Indigenous Australian group of Torres Strait Islander people united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans living on a number o ...

, Pulu and further to the east Naghir (correct form Nagi, aka Mount Ernest Island). Culturally this was the most complex part of Torres Strait, containing three of the four groupings/dialects of the Western-central Islanders, Nagi being culturally/linguistically a Central Island (Kulkalaig territory, specifically part of Waraber tribal waters), Moa is part of the Muwalaig-Italaig-Kaiwalaig auraraig/Kauraregtribal areas, with two groups, the Italaig of the south, and the Muwalaig of the north. Many Kauraraig also live there, having been forcibly moved there in 1922–1923. Badu and Mabuiag are the Maluigal ''Deep Sea People''.

Inner islands (Kaiwalagal Kawrareg Aboriginal Nation)

These islands, also known as the Thursday Island group, lie closest to Cape York Peninsula, and their

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

and geological history is very similar. Muralag (Prince of Wales Island) is the largest of the Strait's islands, and forms the centre of this closely grouped cluster. The much smaller Waiben Thursday Island is the region's administrative centre and most heavily populated. Several of these islands have permanent freshwater springs, and some were also mined for

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Because of their proximity to the Australian mainland, they have also been centres of pearling and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

industries. Nurupai Horn Island holds the region's airport, and as a result is something of an entrepôt with inhabitants drawn from many other communities. Kiriri (Hammond Island) is the other permanently settled island of this group; Tuined (Possession Island) is noted for Lt. James Cook's landing there in 1770. Moa in the Near Western group is culturally and linguistically speaking part of this group.

Central islands (Kulkalgal Nation)

This cluster is more widely distributed in the middle of Torres Strait, consisting of many small sandy

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

s surrounded by

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s, similar to those found in the nearby

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

. The more northerly islands in this group however, such as Gerbar (Two Brothers) and Iama (Yam Island), are high basaltic outcrops, not cays. Nagi is a culturo-linguistic part of this group, and also has high basaltic outcropping. The low-lying inhabited coral cays, such as Poruma (Coconut Island),

Warraber Island Sue Islet (or Sue Island), also known as Warraber, is the middle islet of The Three Sisters, Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. This island is one of the Torres Strait Islands and is within the locality of Warraber Islet in the Torres Str ...

and Masig (Yorke Island) are mostly less than long, and no wider than . Several have had problems with saltwater intrusion.

Eastern islands (Kemer Kemer Meriam Nation)

The islands of this group (principally Mer (Murray Island), Dauar and Waier, with

Erub Island Darnley Island or ''Erub'' in the native Papuan language, Meriam Mir, is an island formed by volcanic action and situated in the eastern section of the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the Torres Strait Islands and is locat ...

and Stephen Island (Ugar) further north) are formed differently from the rest. They are

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

in origin, the peaks of volcanoes which were active in

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

times. Consequently, their hillsides have rich and fertile red volcanic soils, and are thickly vegetated. The easternmost of these are less than from the northern extension of the Great Barrier Reef.

Symbolism of the flag design

The national flag features a white Dhari (headdress) and, underneath, a white five-pointed star, symbolising "peace, the five major island groups and the navigational importance of stars to the seafaring people of the Torres Strait". The five points of the star on the flag represent the following regions (which do not match administrative regions): *Northern Division (Boigu, Dauan, Saibai) *Eastern Islands (Erub, Mer, Ugar) *Western Division (St. Pauls, Kubin, Badu, Mabuiag) *Central Division (Masig, Poruma, Warraber, Iama) *Southern Division (Thursday, Horn, Prince of Wales and Hammond Islands, NPA and Mainland Australia) A celebration known as Flag Day takes place on 29 May each year, the anniversary of the day the flag was officially presented to the people of the Torres Strait.

Administration

Regional Authority

The Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA), an Australian Commonwealth statutory authority created in 1994, exercises governance over the islands. The TSRA has an elected board comprising 20 representatives from the

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...

and

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

communities resident in the Torres Strait region. One representative per established local community wins election to the board under the ''Queensland Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984'' and Division 5 of the ''ATSIC Act 1989''. The TSRA itself falls under the portfolio responsibilities of the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (previously under the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs). Thursday Island functions as the administrative centre of the islands. The TSRA now represents the local communities at both Commonwealth and State levels; previously, State representation operated via a Queensland statutory authority called the Island Coordinating Council (ICC). The Torres Strait Island Region local government area superseded the ICC in March 2008. In March 2008, fifteen Torres Strait Islander Councils were amalgamated into a single body to form a Torres Strait Island Regional Council, or Torres Strait Island Region, created by the

in the interest of financial viability, and accountability and transparency of local Governments throughout the State. It is administered from Thursday Island, but Thursday, Horn Island, Prince of Wales Island and many others are under the

council.

Local (shire) level government

At the local level, there are two authorities. One is the

, which governs several islands and portions of Cape York Peninsula and operates as a Queensland

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. The other is the Torres Strait Island Region, created in 2008, which embodies 15 former island councils. These former councils had been previously relinquished by the

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy was form ...

to specific Islander and Aboriginal Councils under the provisions of the ''Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984'' and the ''Community Services (Aboriginal) Act 1984''), consisting of: * Badu Island Council * Bamaga Island Council * Boigu Island Council * Dauan Island Council * Erub Island Council * Hammond Island Council * Iama Island Council * Kubin Island Council * Mabuiag Island Council * Mer Island Council * Poruma Island Council * Saibai Island Council * Seisia Island Council * St Pauls Island Council * St Patrick Island council * Ugar Island Council * Warraber Island Council * Yorke Island Council

Localities

This shows the localities of the Torres Strait Islands in alphabetical order.

Independence movement

Politicians who have declared support for independence, include Bob Katter and former Queensland Premier

Anna Bligh Anna Maria Bligh (born 14 July 1960) is a lobbyist and former Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland, in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Labor Party. She was the first woman to hold either position. In 2 ...

, who in August 2011 wrote to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

in support of Torres Strait Islands independence from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

; Prime Minister Gillard said in October 2011 "her government will respectfully consider the Torres Strait's request for self-government". Other figures who have supported independence include Australian Indigenous rights campaigner Eddie Mabo.

Languages

Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Indigenous peoples of the islands, are predominantly Melanesians, culturally most akin to the coastal peoples of

. Thus they are regarded as being distinct from Aboriginal peoples of Australia, and are generally referred to separately, despite ongoing historical trade and inter-marriage with mainland Aboriginal people. There are also two Torres Strait Islander communities on the nearby coast of the mainland, Bamaga and Seisia. According to the Torres Strait Treaty, residents of Papua New Guinea are permitted to visit the Torres Strait Islands for traditional purposes. There are three languages spoken on the islands. The two indigenous languages are the

Western-Central Torres Strait Language ''Kalau Lagau Ya'', ''Kalaw Lagaw Ya'', ''Kala Lagaw Ya'' (), or the ''Western Torres Strait language'' (also several other names, see below), is the language indigenous to the central and western Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia. O ...

(called by various names, including Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kalaw Kawaw Ya, Kulkalgau Ya and Kaiwaligau Ya), and the Eastern Torres Language Meriam Mir.

Yumplatok Torres Strait Creole ( tcs, Yumplatok), also known as Torres Strait Pidgin, Brokan/Broken, Cape York Creole, Lockhart Creole, Kriol, Papuan, Broken English, Blaikman, Big Thap, Pizin, and Ailan Tok, is an English-based creole language (a varie ...

(also known as Torres Strait Creole and Broken) is a contemporary Torres Strait Island language spoken in the

. The contact with missionaries, traders and other English speakers since the 1800s led to the development of a

pidgin language A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...

. It developed more fully as a

creole language A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable natural language that develops from the simplifying and mixing of different languages into a new one within a fairly brief period of time: often, a pidgin evolved into a full-fledged language. ...

, with its own distinctive sound system, grammar, vocabulary, usage and meaning. Torres Strait Creole is spoken by most Torres Strait Islanders and is a mixture of

Standard Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Englis ...

and traditional indigenous languages. It is an English-based creole; however, each island has its own version of creole. Torres Strait Creole is also spoken on the Australian mainland, including in the Northern Peninsula Area Region and coastal communities such as

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, Townsville, Mackay,

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Climate change

The Torres Strait Islands are threatened by rising sea levels, especially those islands which do not rise more than

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

Storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

s and high tides pose the greatest danger. Other developing problems include erosion, property damage, drinking water contamination and the unearthing of the dead. As of June 2010, there were no relocation strategies in place for Torres Strait Islanders. By 2021, at least one freshwater well had turned to salt water. In early 2020, it was reported that Warraber is particularly threatened by rising sea levels, and coastal defences have been built on many of the beaches on the island. The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...

(IPCC) has predicted that by 2100, tides will rise , depending on the timing and level of cuts to

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...

. Several of the smaller islands in the group are also under threat. Construction of

sea wall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

s has begun on

Boigu Island Boigu Island (also known as Malu Kiyay or Malu Kiwai) is the most northerly inhabited island of Queensland and of Australia. It is part of the Top Western group of the Torres Strait Islands, which lie in the Torres Strait separating Cape York Pe ...

, and

Masig Island Masig Island is an island (also known as Yorke Island) and locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Masig Island had a population of 270 people. The name Masig is from the Kalau Lagau Ya language for this co ...

is next in line.

Torres Strait 8

A group of eight people from the small, low-lying islands of Boigu, Poruma, Warraber and Masig, who became known as the Torres Strait 8, lodged a complaint against the

with the UN Human Rights Committee in May 2019, based on the claim that their

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

were being violated by the government's lack of efforts to protect the people of the Strait from the effects of climate change. Their complaint has been supported by the current and previous UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, David Boyd and

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...

respectively. The group is also seeking an opinion from the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

as to whether they would be eligible to seek compensation from countries or large companies for losses brought about by climate change. In 2020 the Torres Strait 8 were recognised as one of ten "Human Rights Heroes" in the Human Rights Awards, in a special category replacing the usual awards. In September 2022, the UN Human Rights Committee gave its response to the Torres Strait 8. It concluded that Australia had violated two of three human rights described in the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...

, a treaty signed in 1966 by 173 member states of the UN, including Australia. The violated rights are "the right to enjoy their culture" and " obe free from arbitrary interferences with their private life, family and home". The committee did not find that their right to life had been violated. There is no means by which to enforce the finding, but states generally comply. While the Morrison government had called for dismissal of the complaint, the Albanese government (since early 2022) was committed to working with Torres Strait Islanders on climate change. The committee called on the government to compensate the islanders for the harm already inflicted, "consult the community on their needs and take action to secure their safety".

Disease control

The

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

plant leaf disease black sigatoka, the major banana disease worldwide, is endemic to Papua New Guinea and the Torres Strait Islands. Occasional infections have been discovered on

but they have been successfully halted with eradication programs. The disease most likely appeared on the mainland via plant material from the Torres Strait Islands.

Music

The music of the Torres Strait is principally vocal accompanied by instruments. The introduction of Christianity through the London Missionary Society, beginning in 1871, had a profound influence, but before that time the musical culture reflected the cultural and geographic diversity of the Strait.

References

External links

Torres Strait Regional Authority
{{Authority control Islands of Far North Queensland Geography of Melanesia Aboriginal communities in Queensland Torres Strait Islands culture Physiographic sections Separatism in Australia Fishing communities in Australia