Queensland (Far North Coast)
Torres Straight
Beyond Cape York, barely 200km of sea separates Australia from New Guinea: the Torres Strait is an obstacle-strewn stretch named after Luís Vaez de Torres, who navigated the waters in 1606. Prior to European contact, the Strait’s islands had developed trade links with Australia and highland New Guinea, which supplied outrigger canoes – no suitable trees grow in the Strait – in exchange for oyster and trochus shell, and heads. Warfare between islands pervaded all aspects of life, and the eastern cult of Malo required human jaws as tribute. 033032.jpg (74441 bytes)
The early nineteenth century saw the first trade with Europeans, who soon discovered the Strait’s rich bęche de mer (sea cucumber) and pearl beds and occupied the islands as bases for the industry, decimating the Islanders through violence and disease. Then on July 1, 1871, the London Missionary Society landed on Darnley Island. Once Islanders realized that the mission protected them from the more piratical whites, they converted to Christianity at a speed that amazed even the missionaries. The advent of Christianity (known here as the Coming of the Light) stabilized communities but also heralded the end of traditional life, as cults were undermined and wages and stores replaced the barter network. Another influential group were South Sea Island teachers, who brought their own dance styles and crops, and gradually intermarried with the locals.

The church created island councils, but Queensland held the real power with its segregation laws, which prevented emigration to the mainland. The only job in the Strait was pearling (for mother-of-pearl), and white boat-owners would have lost their labour pool if Islanders went south. Until World War II the islands made the best of it, but army service overseas gave returning recruits a better understanding of what they deserved from the government, and pressure removed some barriers to migration. The advent of plastics led to the collapse of the mother-of-pearl industry, and the unemployment that followed forced the government to drop all protectionist policies, with the result that by the mid-1970s half the Strait’s former population was living on the mainland. The remainder formed a movement to establish an Islander Nation, which bore its first fruit on June 3, 1992, when the Mabo Decision acknowledged the Merriam as traditional owners of Murray Island, thereby setting a precedent for mainland Aboriginal claims and sending shock waves through the establishment.

Ferries cross regularly between Cape York and Thursday Island, the Strait’s administrative centre – which, even on a brief visit, offers a fascinating glimpse into an all-but-forgotten corner of Australia. In theory, travel beyond Thursday (except to neighbouring islands) is forbidden to casual travellers, but the rules are occasionally relaxed.

Maps
CAPEYRK.jpg (987437 bytes) Cape York Peninsula