Hammond Island (Indigenous name: Keriri or Kiriri) is an island with a town of the same name, 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 ...

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_ ...

, Australia. It is the only island within the locality of

Keriri Island Keriri Island is a rural locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. It consists only of the island Hammond Island whose only town is also called Hammond Island .In the , Keriri Island had a population of 268 people. Ge ...

within the local government area of

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 ...

History of Hammond Island

The

Kaurareg Kaurareg (alt. Kauraraiga, plural Kauraraigalai, Kauraregale) is the name for one of the Indigenous Australian groups collectively known as Torres Strait Islander peoples, although many or most identify as Aboriginal Australians. They are the ...

people know Hammond Island as Keriri and are believed to have occupied this area prior to first contact with Europeans. Hammond Island is located in the Southern or Prince of Wales Island group of the Torres Strait. For thousands of years the Kaurareg followed traditional patterns of hunting, fishing and agriculture, and maintained close cultural and trading ties with the Aboriginal groups of the Northern Peninsula Area of Cape York. These close ties continue to exist today.

European contact

Captain Edwards of HMS ''Pandora'' named Hammond Island in August 1791, as he travelled through the Torres Strait with the captured ''Bounty'' mutineers. In 1802, the British navigator

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

, in charge of HMS ''Investigator'', sailed past Hammond Island. He noticed camp fires burning on the island but did not make contact with the Kaurareg people. In August 1864, a government settlement was established at Somerset at the tip of Cape York. The police magistrates of Somerset were hostile in their dealings with the Aboriginal people of the Northern Peninsula Area of Cape York and the Kaurareg.

1869 Massacre

In April 1869, the crew of the cutter ''Sperwer'' was killed after the ship anchored off Prince of Wales Island. Government authorities determined that "the Korrorega natives" (Kuarareg) were responsible for the killings. Three Kaurareg men were captured, found guilty of the ''Sperwer'' killings and executed by a party of

Australian native police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentie ...

led by Somerset police magistrate Henry Chester. Frank Jardine, Chester’s successor, led additional retaliatory attacks against the Kaurareg people on Prince of Wales Island during the 1870s.

1872 Queensland Government control

In 1872, the Queensland Government sought to extend its jurisdiction and requested the support of the British Government.

Letters Patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

were issued by the British Government in 1872 creating a new boundary for the colony which encompassed all islands within a 60-nautical-mile radius of the coast of Queensland. This boundary was further extended by the '' Queensland Coast Islands Act 1879'' (Qld) and included the islands of Boigu,

Erub 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 ...

, Mer and Saibai, which lay beyond the previous limit. The new legislation enabled 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 ...

to control and regulate bases for the

beche-de-mer Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They can be used as food, in fresh or dried form, in various cuisines. In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value. The creature and the food product ...

and pearling industries which previously had operated outside its jurisdiction. During the 1880s, a pearling station operated on Hammond Island and in 1889, gold was discovered on the island. A number of prospectors and miners began moving to the island in September 1889 and these deposits were quickly exhausted. An

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...

was gazetted on Hammond Island by the Queensland Government in 1881. J.F.G. Foxton, W.E. Parry-Okeden and Dr W. Roth were appointed trustees of the reserve in February 1900.

1900–1950

The majority of the Kaurareg people were moved to Hammond Island in the first decade of the 20th century. The ''Annual Report of the

Chief Protector of Aboriginals The role of Protector of Aborigines was first established in South Australia in 1836. The role became established in other parts of Australia pursuant to a recommendation contained in the ''Report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Abori ...

for 1913'' stated that around 80 Kaurareg people were living on Hammond Island, comprising "representatives from all Islands adjacent to

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the 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 north of Cape ...

". Strenuous efforts were made by the government in 1913 to encourage the Hammond Islanders to move to a new settlement on Moa Island, but without success. The Kaurareg people on Hammond Island were neglected by the government and received no school or medical facilities. Thirteen people died the following year, when an

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

epidemic swept through the island community. By the 1920s, the Queensland Government was determined to move the Kaurareg people from Hammond Island, publicly stating that their close proximity to Thursday Island encouraged drunkenness and immorality in the community. Preparations for the removal began in 1921, with the construction of new quarters at Adam village on Moa. In March 1922 the Kaurareg community was forcibly removed by the government authorities from Hammond Island and transported to Moa Island on a Papuan Industries vessel named the ''Goodwill''. Three members of the Hammond Island community, who protested against the removal, were arrested without charge by police armed with revolvers. From the 1880s onwards, many

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

immigrant workers living in the Torres Strait married local Aboriginal and

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 ...

women. These marriages were conducted by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. During the 1920s, the presence of mixed-race families on Thursday Island was an embarrassment to the government authorities, who were applying strict racial legislation to

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 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 ...

. In 1928, the Catholic Church on Thursday Island obtained permission to establish a mission settlement for families of Filipino ancestry at Hammond Island. St Joseph’s Catholic mission station was officially inaugurated at Hammond Island on Ascension Thursday in 1929. The mission was administered by Catholic priests and nuns of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

Order. The families of Nicholas Sabatino and Joseph Kanak were the first to settle at the mission. Catholic families from other Torres Strait Islands were encouraged to move to St Joseph’s mission, where St Joseph's School (Hammond Island) opened in 1935.A Shnukal, ‘Pre-War Filipino Communities in Torres Strait’ (2009) 23, 2, KASAMA. The school closed during World War II when the island was evacuated. Nuns returned in 1950 to reopen school, but it closed in 1963. In 1936, 70% of Torres Strait Islander workers went on strike, protesting against government control over their livelihoods. The strike produced significant reforms including the establishment of a system of government consultations with elected Islander council representatives. The new island councils were given a degree of autonomy including control over local Island police and courts. The first Inter-Islander Councillors Conference was convened at Yorke Island in August 1937. Representatives from 14 Torres Strait communities, including Hammond Island, attended. In 1939, the Queensland Government passed the ''

Torres Strait Islander Act 1939 Torres may refer to: People *Torres (surname), a Spanish and Portuguese surname *Torres (musician), singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott ** ''Torres'' (album), 2013 self-titled album by Torres Places Americas * Torres, Colorado, an unincorporated c ...

'', which incorporated many of the recommendations made at the conference. A key section of the new act officially recognised Torres Strait Islanders as a separate people 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 ...

. 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 ...

, the civilian population of Hammond Island was evacuated to the Sisters of Mercy Convent at Cooyar in southeast Queensland. The mission buildings on the island were taken over by the army, and an

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

radar station operated between 1942 and 1943.

1950–2000

After World War II, the pearling industry declined across Torres Strait and Islanders were permitted to work and settle on Thursday Island and the Australian mainland. However some mission residents returned to Hammond Island where they found that

white ant ''White Ant'' ( Chinese: 白蟻─慾望謎網) is a 2016 Taiwanese drama film and the narrative feature film debut of Chu Hsien-che, who worked as a documentarian for more than 20 years prior to ''White Ant''. The film stars Wu Kang-jen, Aviis Z ...

s had destroyed their church. Work began on the construction of a new Catholic church. In 1952, St Joseph’s Church was built on top of a hill overlooking the sea, using locally quarried stone and volunteer labour. In 1964, the priest and sisters of the mission were moved to Thursday Island. After gaining its independence from Australia in 1975,

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 ...

asserted its right to the islands and waters of the Torres Straits. A proposal was put forward to divide the Torres Straits between the two countries at a

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

of 10 degrees. The proposed division was completely rejected by the Queensland Government and the Torres Strait Islander community. In December 1978, a treaty was signed by the Australian and Papua New Guinea governments that described the boundaries between the two countries and the use of the sea area by both parties. The '' Torres Strait Treaty'', which has operated since February 1985, contains special provision for free movement (without passports or visas) between both countries. Free movement between communities applies to traditional activities such as fishing, trading and family gatherings which occur in a specifically created Protected Zone and nearby areas. The Protected Zone also assists in the preservation and protection of the land, sea, air and native plant and animal life of the Torres Strait.

2001-

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School opened on 2002.

Local government

On 30 March 1985, the Keriri community elected three councillors to constitute an autonomous council established under the ''

Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984 Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...

''. On 21 October 1985, the council area, previously an

, was transferred to the trusteeship of the council under a

Deed of Grant in Trust A Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) is the name for a system of community-level land trust established in Queensland to administer former Aboriginal reserves and missions. They came about through the enactment by the Queensland Government of the '' ...

by the Queensland Government. In 2007, the

Local Government Reform Commission Local government in the Australian state of Queensland describes the institutions and processes by which towns and districts can manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the ''Local Government Act 1993–2007''. Queensland is div ...

recommended that the 15 Torres Strait Island councils be abolished and the

Torres Strait Island Regional Council 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 go ...

be established in their place. In elections conducted under the '' Local Government Act 1993'' on 15 March 2008, members of the 15 communities comprising the Torres Strait Island Regional Council local government area each voted for a local councillor and a mayor to constitute a council consisting of 15 councillors plus a mayor.

Education

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School is a private primary (Prep-3) campus at Lot 11 Church Street () of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School headquartered at

. Older children take the daily ferry to Thursday Island to attend the main school there.

Facilities

The

operates the Hammond Island Indigenous Knowledge Centre at Wonie Road. St Joseph the Worker's Catholic Church is within the Thursday Island Parish of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns is a diocese of the Catholic Church located in the state of Queensland, Australia. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. The diocese was erected as a vicariate apostolic in 1877 and was ...

References

Attribution

This Wikipedia article contains material fro
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community histories: Hammond
Published by

The State 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 ...

under CC-BY-4.0, accessed on 30 June 2017.

External links

{{authority control Torres Strait Island Region Towns in Queensland Torres Strait Islands Aboriginal communities in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Government