Torres Strait Islands are a group of islands in the Torres Strait, governed as part of the Australian state of Queensland. The islands are of four main types. The western islands, which include Hammond, Horn, Prince of Wales, and Thursday islands, are comprised of granite. Thursday Island is the administrative center of the Torres Strait Islands. The central islands are made up of coral and sand fragments and include Coconut, Yam, and York islands. The eastern island group consists of volcanic islands and includes Darnley Island and the Murray group. A fourth group lies to the north, off the coast of New Guinea. These islands are made up of alluvium (deposits of silt, mud, and sand) and include Boigu, Dauan, and Saibai islands. About 4,100 people live on the islands.
Torres Strait Islander peoples are among the original groups, or peoples, to inhabit Australia. The other first inhabitants of the continent are the Aboriginal peoples of mainland Australia, Tasmania, and some other islands.
The Torres Strait Islander peoples are descended from Melanesians who migrated southwest to Australia thousands of years ago. Melanesians include various groups from New Guinea and some other islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Torres Strait Islander peoples used large canoes to carry trade goods and to catch fish and sea animals such as turtles and dugongs. They also farmed, particularly on the fertile eastern islands. The arrival of Europeans in the mid-1800’s led to the development of commercial fishing industries that produced trepang (dried sea cucumbers) and pearl shell. Up to 70 percent of the islands’ workers were employed in these marine industries at their peak.
The colony of Queensland annexed (claimed) some of the Torres Strait Islands in the 1870’s. The island councils gained a degree of self-government in 1939. In the second half of the 1900’s, the demand for pearl shell fell dramatically. This led the majority of Torres Strait Islander people to move to mainland Queensland to find work. In the late 1900’s, some Torres Strait Islander people began calling for independence from Australia.
