The Torres Strait Islands are 274 small islands above Tropical North Queensland's Cape York Peninsula and below Papua New Guinea. 17 are inhabited, with over 6800 Torres Strait Islanders live on the Islands and 42000 on the mainland.
Comprised of coral cay, granite and volcanic origins, the Torres Strait Islands were originally peaks of the northernmost extension of the Great Dividing Range, created when sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age.
Inhabited for at least 2,500 years, the indigenous Torres Strait Islanders are Melanesian peoples related to the Papuans of Papua New Guinea. 2 languages are spoken - Kala Lagaw and Meriam Mir. The main economic source is fishing.
Thursday Island, now identified as one of the last great frontiers in Australia, holds some great Australian history. In 1880 Thursday Island acted as the defence centre for Australia and evidence of this still exists in that the cannons still remain in place. In 1893, the Green Hill Fort was built in 1893 on fears of a Russian invasion.
The Japanese Pearl Memorial is dedicated to the hundreds of pearl divers who died from decompression sickness. Thursday Island was also important during World War II as a base for Australian and American troops.
To travel to the remote islands (other than Thursday and Horn Islands, you must get permission from the Torres Strait Regional Authority.
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