Torres Strait Islanders

Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous Melanesian peoples of the Torres Strait Islands, which belong to the state of Queensland, Australia. They are ethnically different from the Aboriginal peoples of mainland Australia, though the two groups are often classified together as Indigenous Australians. Today, a larger number of Torres Strait Islander people reside on the Australian mainland than on the islands themselves.

Languages

Within the broader category of Torres Strait Islander people, there are five distinct groups, defined partly by geography and culture. The two main Indigenous languages are Kalaw Lagaw Ya and Meriam Mir, while Yumplatok serves as a common language for trade and commerce. The culture has Papuan roots, and the people have traditionally been a seafaring nation. Their artistic traditions are strong, especially in sculpture, printmaking, and mask-making.

Demographics

Of the 133 islands, only 38 are inhabited. The islands are culturally distinct from nearby Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands. Over time, they have become multicultural, attracting Asian and Pacific Islander traders involved in the beche-de-mer, mother-of-pearl, and trochus-shell industries.

According to the 2021 Australian census, 4,124 people lived on the islands, with 86.7% identifying as Torres Strait Islander or Aboriginal Australian. Of that percentage, 86.7% identified as Torres Strait Islander, 16.9% as Aboriginal Australian, 2.3% as Australian, and 1.8% as English. In 2006, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reported 6,800 Torres Strait Islanders living in the Torres Strait area.

Nationwide, 4.2% (39,538) of those identifying as Indigenous in the 2021 census were of Torres Strait Islander descent, while another 4.4% (42,516) had both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal ancestry. Five communities of Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal Australians are located on the mainland Queensland coast, mainly at Bamaga, Seisia, Injinoo, Umagico, and New Mapoon in the Northern Peninsula area of Cape York. In June 1875, a measles epidemic killed about 25% of the population, with some islands losing up to 80% of their people due to a lack of natural immunity to European diseases.

Administration

Until the late 20th century, Torres Strait Islanders were governed by a system of elected councils, which combined elements of traditional pre-Christian local government with the mission management system introduced by outsiders. Today, the Torres Strait Regional Authority, established in 1994 and made up of 20 elected representatives, oversees the islands.

Its main role is to strengthen economic, social, and cultural development in the Torres Strait area. In addition, several Queensland local government areas administer Torres Strait Islander communities: the Torres Strait Island Region covers many of the islands; the Northern Peninsula Area Region is administered from Bamaga on the northern tip of Cape York; and the Shire of Torres governs several islands and parts of Cape York Peninsula. The Shire of Torres overlaps with the Northern Peninsula Area Region, which includes several Deed of Grant in Trust areas on the peninsula, and with the Torres Strait Island Region, managing sections of its area that are not autonomous.

Ethnicity

Torres Strait Islander people are predominantly of Melanesian descent, distinct from Aboriginal Australians on the mainland and some other Australian islands, and share genetic and cultural traits with the people of New Guinea. The five-pointed star on their national flag represents the five cultural groups, though one source notes it originally stood for the five island groups and now represents the five major political divisions. Before colonization, the island people were not a single group and did not see themselves as one people.

They have ties to Papua New Guinea, with several islands much closer to PNG than to Australia, as well as to the northern tip of Cape York. Sources generally agree on five distinct geographical or cultural divisions, but descriptions and names vary. Encyclopaedia Britannica lists the Eastern (Meriam, or Murray Island), Top Western (Guda Maluilgal), Near Western (Maluilgal), Central (Kulkalgal), and Inner Islands (Kaiwalagal).

A Queensland Government publication from 2001 names Saibailgal (Top Western Islanders), Maluilgal (Mid-Western Islanders), Kaurareg (Lower Western Islanders), Kulkalgal (Central Islanders), and Meriam Le (Eastern Islanders). The Torres Shire Council website identifies five major island clusters: the Top Western Group (Boigu, Dauan, Saibai), the Near Western Group (Badu, Mabuiag, Moa), the Central Group (Yam, Warraber, Coconut, Masig), the Eastern Group (Murray, Darnley, Stephen), and the TI Group (Thursday Island, Tabar Island, Horn, Hammond, Prince of Wales, Friday). Ethno-linguistic groups include the Badu people on Badu island, the Kaurareg on the Muralag group, the Mabuiag (or Mabuygiwgal) people across several islands, and the Meriam people on inner eastern islands such as Murray Island (Mer Island) and Tabar Island.

Two distinct Indigenous languages are spoken on the islands.