Slide+2-+History

Slide 2 planning page

The history of the Torres Strait Islander people has followed one similar to that of Aboriginal Australian people. In that they have been treated as ‘non citizens’ and one that had no right in the newly colonised Australia. Before the 1960’s Torres Strait Islander peoples were controlled by the Government of Queensland and were governed by their law and were assigned an Aboriginal protector to oversee the people of the Torres Straight. As a result the citizens of Torres Straight were controlled in every aspect from: (Mabo Video)
 * Keeping each gender separated before marriage.
 * Removal of children
 * Having a basic education as Torres Straight Islanders were believed to not have the ability to progress beyond primary school.
 * Paid lower wages that the white workers.
 * The only type of work they were allowed to do was ‘labour work’ such as laying down railroads.

In 1982 Koiki Mabo a Torres Strait Islander initiated a case in the high court of Australia to claim recognition Australia wide that the people of Murray Island are the traditional owners of the lands and have rights to them (Mabo video & Lui, 1996). After 10 years fighting the court system the High Court of Australia finally ruled in June 1992 “the Meriam people of Torres Straight Island are entitled as against the whole world to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of the lands of the Murray Islands". (Eddie Mabo and Others //vs// State of Queensland, High Court of Australia, Order as cited in Lui, 1996). This judgment allowed not only the reorganisation of original land ownership of land to the Torres Strait people but also allowed the reorganisation of original land ownership for Aboriginal Australians.

Torres straigt Islanders lived in small communities on the islands of the Torres Strait. There are more than 100 islands with Thursday island being the main island. The inhabitants spoke Mabuiag, Meriam, English, Torres Kreole languages and their daily life involved fishing and growing crops for food as well as trading artifacts made of pearl shell, turtle shell, feathers, canoes and tools (http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacific/places/country/torres_strait_islands.htm#facts)

References Mabo video week 10/11

Lui, L., (1996) //Cultural Identity and Development in the Torres Strait Islands // in Sarawasti, B. (Ed) (1996) Interface of Cultural Development []  03009 html (retrieved 05/1203)