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55-626: The Mills Sisters , formerly known as the Singing Grandmas , were a group of three sisters from Torres Strait Islands , Rita Mills and twins Cessa and Ina. Ina and Cessa, who were twins, were born in 1927, and Rita in 1934, on Naghir Island in the Torres Strait . They have Torres Strait Islander heritage, including a great-grandmother of the Kaurareg people (the traditional owners of Possession Island , aka Bedanug ), and

110-581: A land bridge known as the Arafura Plain which connected the present-day Australian continent with New Guinea (in a single landmass called Sahul , Meganesia , Australia-New Guinea ). This land bridge was most recently submerged by rising sea levels at the end of the last ice-age glaciation approximately 12,000 years ago, forming the Strait which now connects the Arafura and Coral seas. Many of

165-492: A grandfather from Samoa . Ina married an Indonesian man from Timor . Their married names were Cessa Nakata, Ina Titasey, and Rita Fell-Tyrell. All three sang and Rita played guitar , Cessa the ukulele and Ina the tambourine . Formerly known as the Singing Grandmas, the group started singing in the 1950s, with their first public appearances in pubs on Thursday Island , and in the 1980s started to tour outside

220-492: A habitat for numerous birds , including the Torresian imperial-pigeon , 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 , which in turn is part of the larger East Australian Cordillera physiographic division . The islands in this cluster lie very close to the southwestern coastline of New Guinea (the closest

275-589: 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- nomadic , the council system continued to thrive. During World War II , many Torres Strait Islanders served in the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion of

330-590: A single body to form a Torres Strait Island Regional Council, or Torres Strait Island Region , created by the Queensland Government 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 council. In

385-413: A solo career, until retiring in 2001, and she died in 2004. The Mills Sisters had a repertoire of over 200 songs, which ranged from Torres Strait Island love songs to contemporary music, and included country , blues , reggae . They sang in many languages besides English: a variety of Samoan , Hawaiian , Papua New Guinean , Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island languages . The Australia Council for

440-419: A width of approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) at its narrowest point; the islands lie scattered in between, extending some 200 to 300 kilometres (120 to 190 mi) from furthest east to furthest west. The total land area of the islands comprises 566 km (219 sq mi). 21,784 hectares (53,830 acres) of land are used for agricultural purposes. The Torres Strait itself was previously part of

495-628: Is 67 kilometres (42 mi) west of Boigu, the nearest of the Top Western islands. The islands in this cluster lie south of the Strait's midway point, and are also largely high granite hills with mounds of basaltic 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 , Pulu and further to

550-470: Is a smaller island with steep hills, composed largely of granite . This island actually represents the northernmost extent of the Great Dividing Range , the extensive series of mountain ranges 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

605-470: Is currently operated by Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML). There are three districts in the province. Each district has one or more Local Level Government (LLG) areas. For census purposes, the LLG areas are subdivided into wards and those into census units. The province was governed by a decentralised provincial administration, headed by a Premier, from 1977 to 1995. Following reforms taking effect that year,

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660-607: Is less than 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) offshore). Saibai (one of the largest of the Torres Strait Islands) and Boigu (one of the Talbot Islands ) are low-lying islands which were formed by deposition of sediments 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),

715-653: Is spoken by most Torres Strait Islanders and is a mixture of Standard Australian English 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 , Townsville , Mackay , Rockhampton and Brisbane . Western Province (Papua New Guinea) The provincial government has, as with

770-604: The 2016 census , 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. The islands span an area of some 48,000 km (19,000 sq mi). The strait from Cape York to New Guinea has

825-700: The Australian Army . It is the only Australian Army unit to have been formed out of indigenous Australians. 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 , has recently been recognised and registered with the Australian UNESCO Memory of

880-623: The Australian Government 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

935-892: The Government of Queensland 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: This shows the localities of the Torres Strait Islands in alphabetical order. (2016 Census) km Politicians who have declared support for independence, include Bob Katter and former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh , who in August 2011 wrote to Prime Minister Julia Gillard in support of Torres Strait Islands independence from Australia ; Prime Minister Gillard said in October 2011 "her government will respectfully consider

990-669: The Queensland Supreme Court and the High Court of Australia , 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

1045-616: The Torres Strait in 1606. Torres had joined the expedition of Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , which sailed west from Peru across the Pacific Ocean, in search of Terra Australis . Lieutenant James Cook first claimed British sovereignty in 1770 over the eastern part of Australia at Possession Island , calling it New South Wales in the Name of His Majesty King George the Third. British administrative control did not begin until 1862 in

1100-508: 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 48,000 km (19,000 sq mi), but their total land area is 566 km (219 sq mi). The Islands are inhabited by the indigenous Torres Strait Islanders . Lieutenant James Cook first claimed British sovereignty over the eastern part of Australia at Possession Island in 1770, but British administrative control only began in

1155-727: The Torres Strait . They performed at the Brisbane Expo in 1988, the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland , around Australia, and in the early 1990s toured England, France and New Zealand. They also performed all over the Pacific Their version of "TI Blues" (a song written by Seaman Dan ) has been called "a signature tune for the Torres Strait". In 1995 they released an album, Frangipani Land . Cessa and Ina retired in 1995 or 1996 and Rita continued on

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1210-478: The mother of pearl as decoration, started in earnest in the 1860s. By the 1890s, the islands were supplying more than 50 per cent of the world's pearl shells. 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

1265-762: The 2011 census, residing in 31,322 households. Of these, 79,349 people were recorded in Middle Fly District , 62,850 in North Fly District and 59,152 in South Fly District . The average household size across the province was 6.4. The major economic activity in the province is constituted by the Ok Tedi Mine , initially established by BHP and the subject of considerable litigation by traditional landowners both in respect of environmental degradation and disputes over royalties. It

1320-753: The Arts has since 1993 awarded a Red Ochre Award to an outstanding Indigenous Australian ( Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander ) artist for lifetime achievement. It was awarded to the Mills Sisters in 1995. The half-hour documentary film Frangipani Land Forever was made by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation 's Indigenous department in 2008 in their "Message Stick" series, directed by Douglas Watkin. Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in

1375-560: The Eastern Torres Language Meriam Mir . Yumplatok (also known as Torres Strait Creole and Broken) is a contemporary Torres Strait Island language spoken in the Torres Strait . The contact with missionaries, traders and other English speakers since the 19th century led to the development of a pidgin language . It developed more fully as a creole language , with its own distinctive sound system, grammar, vocabulary, usage and meaning. Torres Strait Creole

1430-633: 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 Queensland Government in the interest of financial viability, and accountability and transparency of local Governments throughout

1485-653: 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 . These islands, also known as the Thursday Island group, lie closest to Cape York Peninsula, and their topography and geological history is very similar. Muralag (Prince of Wales Island) is the largest of

1540-547: The Light ", 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 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

1595-612: The New Guinea coast. In 1898–1899, the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition led by Alfred Cort Haddon visited the Torres Strait Islands. Among its members was W. H. R. Rivers , 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

1650-612: 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 council. At the local level, there are two authorities. One is the Shire of Torres , which governs several islands and portions of Cape York Peninsula and operates as a Queensland local government area . 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

1705-532: 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 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 industries. Nurupai Horn Island holds

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1760-633: The Torres Strait Islands in 1862. The islands are now mostly part of Queensland , a constituent State of the Commonwealth of Australia , but are administered by the Torres Strait Regional Authority , a statutory authority 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 , most importantly Daru Island with

1815-560: The Torres Strait Islands, marked by the appointment of John Jardine, police magistrate at Rockhampton , as Government Resident in the Torres Straits. He originally established a small settlement on Albany Island , but on 1 August 1864 he settled at Somerset Island. Although the Torres Strait Islanders had long dived for pearl shells themselves, the international industry of pearl and trochus shells, for using

1870-594: The Torres Strait's request for self-government". Other figures who have supported independence include Australian Indigenous rights campaigner Eddie Mabo . Torres Strait Islander peoples, the indigenous peoples of the islands, are predominantly Melanesians, culturally most akin to the coastal peoples of Papua New Guinea . 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

1925-608: The World Programme . The proximity of the islands to Papua New Guinea became an issue when the territory started moving to gain independence 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

1980-585: The artefacts collected by Samuel Macfarlane were sold in London, mostly to European museums. 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

2035-405: 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 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

2090-467: 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

2145-583: 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 [Kauraraig/Kaurareg] tribal areas, with two groups,

2200-538: 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): 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. The Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA), an Australian Commonwealth statutory authority created in 1994, exercises governance over

2255-558: The governments of North Solomons , Chimbu and Northern provinces, sought to change the name of the province. The government uses the name Fly River Provincial Government ; however, this remains unofficial as it has not been changed in the Constitution of Papua New Guinea . Western Province covers 99,300 km² and is the largest province in Papua New Guinea by area. There are several large rivers that run through

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2310-498: The islands include dugongs (an endangered species of sea mammal widely found throughout the Indian Ocean and tropical Western Pacific, including Papua-New Guinean and Australian waters), as well as green , ridley , hawksbill and flatback sea turtles. The Torres Strait Islands may be grouped into five distinct clusters, which exhibit differences of geology and formation as well as location. The Torres Strait provides

2365-635: The islands. The TSRA has an elected board comprising 20 representatives from the Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal 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

2420-465: 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 the 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

2475-838: The middle of Torres Strait, consisting of many small sandy cays surrounded by coral reefs , similar to those found in the nearby Great Barrier Reef . 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 and Masig (Yorke Island) are mostly less than 2 to 3 kilometres (1.2–1.9 miles) long, and no wider than 800 metres (2,600 feet). Several have had problems with saltwater intrusion . The islands of this group (principally Mer (Murray Island) , Dauar and Waier, with Erub Island and Stephen Island (Ugar) further north) are formed differently from

2530-605: 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 (called by various names, including Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kalaw Kawaw Ya, Kulkalgau Ya and Kaiwaligau Ya), and

2585-457: 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

2640-581: The province have eucalyptus and melaleuca savannas (the Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands ) that support large populations of birds, wallabies, and introduced deer, with dense rainforests being located to the north. The dry season is from July–November, while the wet season is from December–June. Sago cultivation dominates the wetter north, while yam cultivation dominates the drier south. There were 201,351 inhabitants in Western Province in

2695-551: The province, including the Fly River and its tributaries the Strickland and Ok Tedi rivers. The largest lake in Papua New Guinea, Lake Murray , is also in Western Province. This province is the only part of Papua New Guinea to hold land west of the 141°E line, which divides it from Indonesian Western New Guinea . This is a small section of territory bordered by the Fly River . The Tonda Wildlife Management Area in

2750-480: The provincial capital, Daru . Only 17 of the islands are inhabited. The Torres Strait Islands' population was recorded at 4,514 in the 2016 Australian census , with 91.8% of these identifying as Indigenous Torres Strait Island peoples . Although counted as Indigenous Australians , Torres Strait Islander peoples, being predominantly Melanesian , are ethnically and culturally different from Aboriginal Australians . The Spanish Explorer Luís Vaez de Torres sailed

2805-480: 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. This cluster is more widely distributed in

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2860-572: The rest. They are volcanic in origin, the peaks of volcanoes which were active in Pleistocene times. Consequently, their hillsides have rich and fertile red volcanic soils, and are thickly vegetated. The easternmost of these are less than 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the northern extension of the Great Barrier Reef. The national flag features a white Dhari (headdress) and, underneath, a white five-pointed star, symbolising "peace,

2915-434: The south-western corner of the province is a wetland of international importance. It is the largest protected area in Papua New Guinea. The flora and fauna of much of Western Province resemble those of northern Australia . Flora includes eucalyptus , melaleuca , acacia , and banksias . Fauna includes wallabies , bandicoots , goannas , coastal taipans , and mound-building termites . The drier, southern parts of

2970-551: 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

3025-432: 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 ecosystems , with niches for many rare or unique species. Saltwater crocodiles inhabit the islands along with neighbouring areas of Queensland and Papua New Guinea . Marine animals of

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