Badu or Badu Island (; , ; also Mulgrave Island), is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ 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, ...

north of

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. Badu Island is also a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

Torres Strait Island Region The Torres Strait Island Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering part of the Torres Strait Islands. It was created in March 2008 out of 15 autonomous Island Councils during a period of statewide local gove ...

, and Wakaid is the only town, located on the south-east coast. This island is one of the

Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their tot ...

. The language of Badu is Kala Lagaw Ya. The Mura Badulgal (Torres Strait Islanders) Corporation administers land on behalf of the Badulgal people. The Badulgal people's ownership of Badu and surrounding islands in the Torres Strait was recognised in a native title determination on 1 February 2014, when the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

handed over to the Badhulgal

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

freehold title to of land. The Mura Badulgal (Torres Strait Islanders) Corporation (an RNTBC) administers land on behalf of the Badulgal people. In the , Badu Island had a population of 704 people.

History

Kala Lagaw Ya is one of the languages of the

. Kalaw Lagaw Ya is the traditional language used on the Western and Central islands of the Torres Strait. The Kalaw Lagaw Ya language region includes the territory within the local government boundaries of the Torres Shire Council. In 1606,

Luís Vaz de Torres Luís Vaz de Torres ( Galician and Portuguese), or Luis Váez de Torres in the Spanish spelling (born 1565; 1607), was a 16th- and 17th-century maritime explorer and captain of a Spanish expedition noted for the first recorded European navi ...

sailed to the north of Australia through

, navigating it, along New Guinea's southern coast. Warfare (feuding, headhunting), farming, fishing, canoe building, house building, turtle and

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...

hunting and a host of other activities were the main occupations of Badu men until the 1870s. However, headhunting and warfare along some pagan customs ceased with the adoption of Christianity. Pearlers established bases on the island during the 1870s and by the early 1880s the islanders were becoming dependent on wages earned as

lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or more masts. Luggers were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively ...

crews. At the same time, the first missionaries arrived. At the peak of the shell industry in the late 1950s, the Badu fleet of 13 boats employed a workforce of 200 providing work for many men, even from other islands as well. Once the shell trade declined, many people moved to the mainland for work. Badu Island State School opened on 29 January 1905. On 1 January 2007, it became the Badu Island campus of Tagai State College. On 1 February 2014, the Queensland Government handed over to the Badhulgal traditional owners freehold title to of land on Badu Island, ending a struggle for recognition dating back to 1939. The title deed was handed over by David Kempton, Assistant Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, to Badu Elder Lily Ahmat at a ceremony on the island. An

Indigenous land use agreement Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title right ...

was signed on 7 July 2014.

Demographics

In the , Badu Island had a population of 813 people. In the , Badu Island had a population of 704 people.

Education

Badu Island Campus (Badhulgaw Ngurpay Lag) is a primary (Early Childhood to Year 6) campus of Tagai State College at 11 Ngurpai Yabu (also known as School Street, ). The college has its main campus on

. There are no secondary schools near Badu. The Tagai State College has only one secondary school campus, which is on Thursday Island and has boarding facilities for students from other islands. The other options are

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

or other boarding schools.

Facilities

St Mark's Church was constructed in 1933 and construction was completed in 1935. On 12 January 1936 the church was dedicated to Reverend Stephen Davies, Bishop of Carpentaria. The church was built to accommodate approximately 700 people. The church is still used today. The Badu Island Indigenous Knowledge Centre (IKC) is located in the Rural Transaction Centre on Nona Street, and is operated by the Torres Strait Island Regional Council. IKCs operate as libraries, meeting places, hubs, and keeping places. The Badhulgaw Kuthinaw Mudh Art Centre sees local arts display and cell their works, and internationally recognised with the works of artists such as Alick Tipoti and Laurie Nona. Storing significant cultural artefacts, the centre also provides skills development and training. Other facilities on Badu Island include: * airport * regional council office * health centre with permanent doctor * two grocery stores, with locally-owned J&J Supermarket * post office * Centrelink agency * football field * motel A number of other locally-owned run businesses are in operation at Badu including live seafood exports.

Notable residents

Notable people of Badu Island include: * Tanu Nona (1902–1980), pearler and politician * Ethel May Eliza Zahel (1877–1951), teacher and public servant.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* *
Torrens family photographs, photographic slides and film footage of Badu Island and Wujal Wujal

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

. Includes photos and video footage of Badu Island in the 1970s
Far North and North Queensland photographs and slides, 1970-2018
State Library of Queensland. Collection includes photos of life and culture on Badu Island, such as sports games.
Badu IKC
State Library of Queensland blog {{authority control Torres Strait Islands Headhunting Torres Strait Island Region Towns in Queensland Localities in Queensland