Thursday Island, Last stop in Australia

Where's Thursday Island, you may ask? Well, it's between Wednesday Island and Friday Island, of course. 😀. The Torres Strait Islands ( between Australia and Papua New Guinea) is an archipelago of at least 274 small islands, one of them being Thursday Island.

The island was once home to a thriving pearl fishing industry. From the 19th century, divers came from Japan, Malaysia and India to harvest pearls.
So it was thought that the area would be spared from bombing in World War II, due to it being the burial place of many Japanese pearl divers as well as current Japanese residents on the island. However, neighboring Horn Island was a strategic air base, and it was extensively bombed.

On the tour, we saw a wonderful dance by the Torres Strait Islander's in their native costumes. The kids were all too happy to share their culture and how the instruments worked. Notice the intricate weaving of the palm fans

Warupaw uu (The Echo of the Drums) was printed on the pathway to town.
The drum has been used in sacred music performances for thousands of years by Torres Strait Islanders and is a quintessential symbol of their identity.
"Warupaw UU" drum top is made of stretched snake skin. They add nubs for sound variation and heat it up to keep it tight prior to playing.

Torres Straight flag's white design center is meant to resemble the official head dress wore by the Islander's elders. Green Hill Fort on Battery Point was built in 1892 to protect the island over growing concern of a potential Russian invasion as a result of the deterioration of the relations between the Russian Empire and the British Empire. It was shut down 30 years later, then reactivated during WWII as a lookout and communication station.

Small Island with a lot of history.Read more