1: Torres Strait Islands
The islands of the Torres Strait extend from the tip of Cape York
Peninsula to within 5 km of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) coastline. The
outer islands are north of the arbitrary dotted line, and consist of
the western islands (Badu, Moa, Mabuiag), the northwestern islands
(Boigu, Dauan, Saibai), the eastern islands (Ugar, Erub, Mer) and the
ceîtral islands (Masig, Poruma, Warraber, Iama). Recent estimates
place the population of the Torres Strait at about 6500, 2 with 3500 living on either the
administrative centre of Thursday Island or on nearby islands, and
the remainder living on 13 of the outer islands. A treaty between
Australia and PNG allows Papuans to freely visit the Torres Strait
islands (and vice versa) for "traditional" purposes (e.g., to trade
and to attend ceremonies). On most of the outer islands domestic pigs
are reared as a particularly valued source of meat for ceremonial
feasts.
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© 1997 Medical Journal of Australia.
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