History of the Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia | Organisation

History of the Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia

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25.01.2022 The Margaret Lawrie Collection of Torres Strait Islands Materials is the life's work of Margaret Lawrie, a teacher with an interest in child health. She travelled to the Torres Strait Islands with Aboriginal poet, Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal) at the request of the Queensland Government. Margaret Lawrie was interested in the history, languages and cultures of the Torres Strait Islander peoples. She spent time in communities during the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. Genealog...ies Between 1964 and 1973, Margaret Lawrie recorded many Torres Strait Islander genealogies (family trees). The Margaret Lawrie Collection has the genealogies of seventeen Torres Strait Islander communities: Badu Mabuiag Thursday Island Bamaga (located on the mainland) Muraleg (Prince of Wales Island) Ugar Boigu Island Murray Island Warraber Dauan Island Naghir (Mount Ernest Island) Yam Island Erub (Darnley Island) Poruma (Coconut Island) Yorke Island Horn Island Saibai Kubin Village / St Pauls (Moa Island) Seisia (located on the mainland) https://www.slq.qld.gov.au//abo/margaret-lawrie-collection

23.01.2022 : Yesterday (23rd of August) marked the anniversary of the first conference of Torres Strait Islander Councillors, which took place on Masig (Yorke Is.), in 1937. Representatives from 14 Torres Strait Communities attended, and after lengthy discussions, unpopular bylaws, including the evening curfews, were canceled and a new code of local representation was agreed upon. Watch the video below to hear Mayor Mosby discuss the significance of this anniversary to the Communities of Zenadth Kes: https://vimeo.com/450727584 #community #localgovernment #tsirc #torresstraitislander

23.01.2022 Necessary but not Suffcient: Interweaving Oral and Written Sources in Compiling Torres Strait Islander Genealogies Anna Shnukal https://www.oralhistoryaustralia.org.au//2019_ohaj_87-97_s

21.01.2022 The Chinese Diaspora in Torres Strait Cross-cultural connections and contentions on Thursday Island Guy Ramsay... The Chinese have maintained a long historical presence in Australia. Their mainland experience, driven by opportunity and fortune yet encumbered by racial prejudice and exclusion, has received a great deal of scholarly attention in the past three decades. 1 This narration of the Chinese diaspora in Australia has until recently focused on a racial binary of White settler versus minority group. In colonial Australia and beyond, the Chinese were seen as intruders, the 'other'. A State-constructed discourse of 'threat' nourished and legitimated dominant society's fears of the Chinese presence. This resonated clearly in dominant perceptions of competition for economic resources, such as gold and retail commerce; drug trafficking in opium and alcohol; sexual competition and anti-miscegenetic sentiment in regard to Chinese 'bachelor societies'; post World War II fears of communist expansion; and, more recently, illegal immigrants and boat arrivals. http://chinesenorthaustralia.yolasite.com/the--chinese-dias

19.01.2022 Border Dispute SBSLivingBlack Published on May 28, 2013 Forty years ago the Torres Strait was at the centre of a bitter political dispute over whether it should stay Australian or become part of the soon-to-be independent Papua New Guinea. Stefan Armbruster looks at the events that established Australia's only international border.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwL8W6LcaTs

14.01.2022 Alexander Cunningham with Moa Island natives in the Torres Strait, Qld - 1910. Written on reverse: Mission Ship Francis Pritt Alexander Cunningham Master... Jan 1st 1910 To Sister Christian, Northcote Melbourne Interesting article about the ship 'Francis Pritt' : http://anglicanhistory.org/aus/white1918/14.html

13.01.2022 The State Library of Queensland [SLQ] has opened a Flickr Commons album ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ to celebrate NAIDOC, which contains 50 photographs taken in the late 19th Century. Thus, there is nudity due to the tradition Aboriginal lifestyle. Please like photographs to allow more images to go live and forward on this post to interested partiees. Cultural Care Statement (disclaimer). These photographs contain images of unidentified deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait I...slander people and may have sensitive imagery and descriptions which may not normally be used in certain public or community contexts, as annotation and terminology may reflects attitude of this era, which may be considered inappropriate today. If you have concerns, then please do not progress onward to the ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ Flickr commons site at: https://www.flickr.com//statelib/albums/72157716765881531

11.01.2022 This is the original Sing family in Far North Queensland. "George" Ho Yuan Sing came to Cooktown in 1869 and made his way to Palmerville to seek his fortune on ...the goldfields. After having no luck, he returned to Cooktown and became a merchant importing goods from China and selling to merchants on the Palmer River. After the decline of the goldfields, he moved to Thursday Island and became a merchant, supplying residents involved in the pearl trade. He made his fortunes here and funded and built the first hospital on T.I. While there, he met his wife "Mary Veronica" Ah Bow whose father was also a merchant. Together, they had sixteen children. Four of them died before reaching adulthood. After George died in 1922, my grandfather James became the patriarch of the family. He got a job as a pearl trader for a Japanese company and spent much of his time selling pearls in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. While he was gone, his family was converted to Catholicism and we very devout. His brother David became a Carthusian Monk, and his sister Elizabeth became a Carmelite Nun. His siblings Arthur and Emily also studied to serve the church but later pulled out. James did not want to convert so became on the outs with the family, despite supporting and paying for most of his siblings to go to school. In 1924 the family moved to Innisfail. James moved to Tully in 1927 and started Tully Cash Stores which later became Taylors. He also had several sugar cane and banana farms. The people in the photo are: Johnny Sing - fought in both Worlds Wars. Louisa Sing (Yet Foy) - married George Yet Foy of Croydon and lived in Cairns. Lily Sing (Elarde) - eloped with a Filipino pearl diver and became somewhat ostracized by the family because of it. Elizabeth Sing - became a dressmaker and worked for James Sing in Tully. She lived most of her life in Cairns. Never married. James Sing - My grandfather married Maud Gee Kee. Lived and died in Tully. Arthur Sing - Owned and operated a trucking company removing mill-mud from the Innisfail. Mourilyan and South Johnstone mills. Lived and died in Kurrimine Beach. Never married. Emily Sing - Lived most of her life in Innisfail as a spinster. Mary Veronica Ah Bow - my great grandmother and the daughter of a rich Hong Kong merchant name Ah Mee. Died in Innisfail. Roy Sing - Attended school at Saint Clares Tully and became an Australian Golden Glove boxing champion. Ran the general store across the street from the old Innisfail High School. Died on the Goldcoast. Billy Sing - Worked for James Sing at the Tully cane farm. After a huge falling out he moved to Western Australia and was never seen again. George Sing - my great grandfather. Born in Canton and died on T.I. David Sing - became the worlds first Chinese Carthusian monk and died in Sicily. Linda Sing - became one of Australia's first Chinese Carmelite nuns and lived most of her life in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Died in Sydney. Despite having its roots in FNQ, most of the Sing clan have left. The only remaining families are George Sing (my Dad) in Tully, Estelle Yet Foy and family in Cairns, and Margaret See Kee and family on T.I. - Submitted by James Sing

10.01.2022 The full story of the ketch Venture. James Mills operated Venture from Naghier Island and he is mentioned in this story By Chris Borough & Graham Nicholson The ...full story of the ketch Venture long remained a mystery as her official record shows she was purchased by a Mr Ealefeldt in 1897. It was not until the documents were researched that it was found the official register was incorrect. In reality, the buyer was a Mr Ehlefeldt, a well-respected and prosperous businessman in Forster; he operated Albert von Ehlefeldt and Sons Universal Providers store in Little Street. Accounts of the Venture are confusing as there were two vessels of that name - both built in 1897. The vessel with registration ON08576 was built in Singapore and registered in Darwin; she commonly operated in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The vessel with registration ON106141 was built by James Belfield at Cape Hawke and registered in Sydney in May 1897. Ownership Disputed The Venture was built for James Mills, a Samoan with interests in the Torres Straits. Mills had borrowed money from Ehlefeldt to settle with Belfield. As Mills was unable repay the debt, Ehlefeldt seized the ship. The seizure of the Venture did not suit her builder James Belfield, who had not been paid by James Mills. A dispute arose between Ehlefeldt and Belfield regarding ownership of the Venture and the sheriff was instructed to sell the vessel. She was sold to Ehlefeldt for 102 in July 1897. Belfield was paid and Ehlefeldt continued to operate her until 1902. Ehlefeldt employed John Frederick Gogerly as the ship's master, and the Venture commenced shipping timber to the Sydney market as forward loading, when he needed supplies for his business. Captain John Gogerly weathers the Maitland Gale John Frederick Gogerly took on legend status in early May 1898 when, as captain of the Venture, he was caught in what was later known as 'The Maitland Gale'. He left Forster heading for Sydney and anchored off Elizabeth Beach when the weather began to deteriorate. Gogerly's only course was to up-anchor and run bare-poled before it, and as the storm worsened he sent his companion into the hold and wrapped himself in oilskins against the weather. When complimented on his escape, Gogerly replied: 'There's not enough water in the Pacific Ocean to drown me.' He tied himself to the tiller, and fought the storm for three days. Time passed when the little boat did not return and people in Forster began to mourn the passing of Captain Gogerly. Astoundingly, Gogerly sailed the damaged vessel into the Clarence River on May 10 and finally returned to Forster on May 22. When complimented on his escape, Gogerly replied: "There's not enough water in the Pacific Ocean to drown me." Sale to Burns Philp & Co. Ltd and then to James Mills In September 1901, Ehlefeldt advertised Venture for sale and she was purchased by Burns Philp & Co. Ltd. in 1902. She commenced trading to Thursday Island under the command of Captain Beyer. Into the picture steps the Samoan, James Mills, the original owner before the vessel was seized by Ehlefeldt. As far as can be ascertained he bought it in late 1902 from Burns Philp, and de-registered it only for it to be re-registered in 1903. Venture lengthened yet register tonnage slightly reduced Originally the official register shows the vessel as 39.2 feet in length with a register tonnage of 23.17 tons. When the Venture was re-registered in 1903 the length had increased to 54.5 feet while the register tonnage had decreased to 21.06 tons. One can only speculate why the length would be increased by around 15 feet and the register tonnage (1 register ton = 100 cubic feet) decreased, but it seems likely that the living quarters for crew (or indentured labour for work on coconut plantations) were increased at the expense of cargo. Operational in the Torres Strait and Papua What is clear is that after repair and lengthening, James Mills took her to the Torres Straits for general use in the pearling and coconut plantation industries. By 1911, she had been leased to an operation in Papua. James Mills operated from Naghier Island, situated in Torres Straits, about 30 miles north of Thursday Island. Mills had his home, consisting of three five-roomed houses, a large coconut plantation and pearling station, on the south-east portion of the island. It was reported that by 1911 he had 25,000 coconut trees bearing, and 10,000 young trees coming on; he also had five boats in the pearling industry, and the ketch Venture was leased in Papua. By 1913 the Venture was back in the Torres Straits. Demise of the Venture The last recorded event indicates that the Venture was lost on a reef in early January 1914. On December 10, 1915, just two years after the loss of the Venture, James Mills died. It would appear that Mills did not report the loss of the Venture as there is no mention in the register and no records of shipwrecks in Australia. SOURCE: https://www.greatlakesadvocate.com.au//the-fascinating-hi/

08.01.2022 POINTING THE BONE Old Aboriginal Custom ATTEMPT TO STAMP OUT The practice of pourri-pourri, or "pointing the bone," among the blacks...Continue reading

02.01.2022 Quetta Brown by Captain Trevor Jackson She was the only child out of 30, to survive. Despite endless speculation, she lived her entire life never really knowing who she was. Her family perished when the RMS Quetta sank; February 28, 1890. Rescued from the water the following day, she was adopted by a Thursday Island ship’s captain, Edmund Brown. Because no one could definitively say who she was, Edmund renamed her Cecil Brown for the adoption. She was known publicly however a...s Quetta Brown In 1942, well into her fifties, after being hounded by the press for her entire life, she was quoted as saying: I wish they would leave me alone! They don’t know who I am. I don’t know who I am. Nobody knows who I am. Cecil Quetta Brown was just 18 months old when her parents carried her up the gangplank of the London bound, RMS Quetta. Just walking and barely able to speak, she was too young to remember her own name when, less than a week after the ship had left Brisbane, the shallow swirling waters of the Torres Straits stole her true identity. The RMS Quetta had her hull smashed in by an unknown rock, taking 134 to a salty end. Interviews with the girl and every surviving passenger from the ship failed to shed any light on who she really was, only on who she ‘could be’. The only words she said were Mama,Jimmsy and Willie, but the ships manifest showed that there was more than one family on board who had young boys with both the names James and William. All of them, parents and children, were now dead. The toddler had been dragged naked onto the decks of the sinking ship by one of the crew members and despite having been accidently dropped into the water, she somehow found herself in a lifeboat; cold, bruised and desperately crying out for her family.

01.01.2022 ANU Archaeologists have found the earliest evidence of Indigenous communities cultivating bananas more than 2,000 years ago. The evidence of cultivation and plant management dates back 2,145 years and was found at Wagadagam on the tiny island of Mabuyag in the western Torres Strait. The site comprised a series of retaining walls associated with gardening activities along with a network of stone arrangements, shell arrangements, rock art and a mound of dugong bones.... Soils from the site showed definitive evidence for intensive banana cultivation in the form of starch granules, banana plant microfossils and charcoal. Lead researcher, Kambri-Ngunnawal scholar Robert Williams, says the findings help dispel the view that Australia's first peoples were "only hunter gatherers". https://www.anu.edu.au//indigenous-banana-cultivation-date