Decolonising the Migration and Urbanisation of Torres Strait Islanders (Ailan pipel) from the Torres Straits to Mainland Australia between the 1960s and 1970s

John Doolah

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Philosophy

Umulliko Higher Degree Research Centre The University of Newcastle Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY

This work contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to this copy of my thesis, when deposited in the University Library, being made available for loan and photocopying subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.

I hereby certify that the work embodied in this Thesis is the result of original research, the greater part of which was completed subsequent to admission to candidature for the degree.

Signature: …………………… Date: ……..

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this thesis to my Nene (Grandmother) Charlotte Buri Doolah (née Reuben) who provided me with the values of life in my childhood and who demonstrated her unconditional love, which became the basis for my adult learning experiences. In writing this thesis, I came to understand and accept that Nene Charlotte was the first person who believed in me and was blind to all the negative things of my character. She sheltered me and provided a nurturing and protective environment for my early childhood growth and development within the Ailan society.

Later in life, my early experiences with Nene Charlotte, of growing and developing in a nurturing and protective environment, allowed me to understand self-determination through my tertiary education experience. Nene Charlotte gave me the opportunity to believe in myself. Like most of my people and our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, we are given opportunities but never allowed the support and protective environment to allow us to be ourselves, because in the broader society we are always measured or expected to measure up to the Kole, Migloo or Gubba (white man) standard(s). I have come to understand and experience the meaning of Indigenous self-determination in relation to my tertiary education journey and struggle as a social reality otherwise like most of our people without the support and opportunity self-determination might have just been a word printed on paper.

I dedicate this thesis to all my parents, beginning with my Dad Gara Doolah, and Mum Harriet Doolah (née Bourne), my Big Daddy Harry and Big Ama Akazee Whaleboat (née Tapim), my Big Daddy Eila and Big Ama Perina Doolah (née Cowley), and also to my extended pamle (family), all my dads and mums, uncles and aunties, grandfathers and grandmothers, my Doolah, Whaleboat, Reuben, Cedar, Pensio, David, Cloudy, Sailor, Seden, Cowley, Bourne, Geas, Wasaga pamle and to my whole Ailan and Kaurareg Aboriginal pamle.

I also dedicate this thesis to my Ata (Grandfather) Marou Mimi, former elder of Mer. I was too young to remember Marou Ata but I have known him through the compassionate and respectful words and stories told to me by my parents Gara and Harriet Doolah and related by people in the Ailan community. Marou Ata was schooled in the Kole way he was an intellect (as all Ailan elders), a man of great wisdom and an inspiration to me and my people. I also

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dedicate this thesis to Mani Ata (my Grandfather John Bourne) after whom I was named. I also dedicate this thesis to Abu Daddy (Uncle George Mye) who was an Ailan elder and Ailan statesman.

Finally I dedicate this thesis to my wife, Julia Alekseyevna Doolah, (née Litvinenko), and our three-year-old daughter Maria Johnovna Doolah.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Based on my Christian beliefs I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for His blessing. Without Him in my life I would not have begun and continued in my education journey and completed this postgraduate study, thank you Lord Jesus.

Respect is always first and foremost in our Australian Indigenous culture pre- and post- invasion. Since I am an immigrant from the Torres Strait living and working on Aboriginal land, I first acknowledge The Pambalong Clan of the Awabakal Nation (and elders past and present) in whose lands the Callaghan Campus of the University of Newcastle where I study is located.

In reinforcing the Ailan kastom (Island custom), social obligations and community acknowledgment, I am very grateful to the Ailan elders for their consultation and to my pamle (family) for providing me with all the information and the photos I have used in this thesis. Just to name few pamle, au esuau (a big thankyou) to my son Morris Cloudy, my bala (brother) Kas Seden, and my Doolah sisters Margret, Nancy, Elizebeth and Tarita and also au esuau to all Ailan people. I respectfully acknowledge Koiki Aua (Uncle Koiki Mabo) for putting Ailan people on the national and global map in regards to the indigenous struggle and for the information and examples of him I used in my thesis, au esuau Koiki Aua. Au esuau to my balas (brothers) Father Dalton Cowley and Mua Sailor, for the time they gave me to discuss the Ailan culture and our Erubam le and Meriam le families and social connections.

Regarding my studies and academic life, au esuau to Tracey Bunda and to Dr. Joe Perry for their support and for believing in me and providing me the chance to realize the potential I did not realise I had. I enrolled at the University of Newcastle to do an Aboriginal Studies bridging course in 1990 within the first few weeks of our semester classes, Tracey saw my potential and encouraged me to enrol in the Diploma of Aboriginal Studies instead, for which I did and my high marks in the Diploma reflected how interested and motivated I was. Similar to the support I received from Tracey, from what I understand after graduating with a double degree it was Dr. Joe Perry who recommended me for a lecturing position at the University of Newcastle in 2006 to teach Aboriginal Studies. From Dr. Joe Perry’s recommendation, my tertiary learning was extended through my teaching and my experiences

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with the Indigenous and non-Indigenous, local, national and international students I taught in my semester classes for more than seven years.

Au esuau to the former and current staff, my sisters at the Wollotuka Institute of the University of Newcastle for their support towards me as a student and continued to support me as a lecturer during my time at Wollotuka. The help and support they provided me for the little things as well as the big ones are of equal importance to me during my 14 year journey of learning at university. To those who helped and supported me au esuau (big thankyou) to Deirdre Heitmeyer, Denise Emmerson, Cheryl Newton, Mandy Kelly, Adelle Grogan and Renee Chambers. Renee I have not forgotten about the time you bounded copies of my research thesis before I took them over to the Office of Graduate Studies for submission. I promised I will bring you a present and I will drop it in to you when next I visit Wollotuka.

Au esuau to my research supervisors Dr. Greg Blyton and Dr. Joe Perry of the Wollotuka Institute for providing me the academic as well as the Indigenous support I needed at the University of Newcastle, especially at the end of my thesis. I felt their support was directed first toward me as an Indigenous person and second as a postgraduate student. I consider without the first I could not successfully have functioned as a postgraduate student.

I understand that our Indigenous identity can also present a challenge particularly for the support of Indigenous students and staff at the university. Regarding my situation Dr. Greg Blyton is to be commended as an example of how he managed the challenges he faced and at the same time provided the support I needed from the time I began my postgraduate studies, to jump the hurdles together with me in the situations I faced in my research until its completion, thanks brother.

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ABSTRACT

The migration of the Ailan pipel (Island people) from the Torres Straits to mainland Australia presents specific challenges to contemporary Indigenous cultural practices and the unique Ailan Kastom (Island Custom). Factors relating to the nature of indigenous migration will be discussed because of the indigenous context of the Ailan (Island) migration account. The indigenous storytelling account and secondary sources re-interpretation and re-analysis will provide a valuable insight of the Ailan Kastom (Island custom) and Kole (white man) economic migration reasons from the Ailan cultural practices in the pre-and post-invasion period right to the present, covering topics of Ailan sharing and socio-cultural relationships, urbanisation and self-determination in tertiary education. The thesis will emphasis, highlight and elaborate on the reasons for the Ailan migration from an indigenous decolonising viewpoint with the application of the indigenous research methodologies in adherence to indigenous research protocols. Historical analysis provides an overview of the affect and progress of colonisation and the shift of Ailan and Kaurareg Aboriginal communities from their homeland (countries). This research is focused on the migration and urbanisation within the 1960s and 1970s timeframe by critically discussing specific events of Ailan (Island) and Kaurareg Aboriginal people in the Torres Strait regions of Australia and in the Australian mainland urban setting.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ...... ii

DEDICATION ...... iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... v

ABSTRACT ...... vii

CONTENTS ...... viii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES...... xiii

GLOSSARY OF TERMS ...... xiv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.1 Introduction ...... 1 1.2 Chapter 3 Methodo(ology) ...... 2 1.3 Chapter 4 How to Read this thesis ...... 2 1.4 Chapter 5 The Story ...... 3 1.5 Chapter 6 The Journey ...... 4 1.6 Chapter 7 The Migration Experience ...... 5 1.7 Chapter 8 Ailan Resistance ...... 5 1.8 Chapter 9 Establiahing Foundation and the Effect ...... 6 1.9 Decolonisation process ...... 6 1.10 Migration focus period ...... 7 1.11 The traveler and learner ...... 8 1.12 My cultural introduction ...... 8 1.13 Conclusion of introduction ...... 13

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 14 2.1 The migration ...... 14 2.2 The indigenous migration ...... 18 2.3 Internal migration...... 22 2.4 Ailan migration research ...... 25 2.5 Migration and urbanisation ...... 26

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ...... 35 3.1 Ailan research methodology ...... 35 3.2 Why apply Indigenous research methodology and protocols? ...... 35 3.3 Insider researcher ...... 39 3.4 Messy Texts and Storytelling conventions ...... 41 3.5 Researcher reflexivity ...... 43 3.6 Storytelling design ...... 44 3.7 Indigenous ontologies, exiology and epistemology ...... 45 3.8 My Ailan ontology ...... 46 3.9 Qualitative research ...... 49 3.10 Data sources ...... 50 3.11 Primary, Secondary and Tertiary documentary resources ...... 51 3.12 Interdisciplinary Social Science sources ...... 52 3.13 Secondary data collection techniques ...... 52 3.14 Endnote X6 data library and citation software ...... 53 3.15 Ethical considerations ...... 54 3.16 Ailan elders consultation...... 55 3.17 Informed consent ...... 56

CHAPTER 4: HOW TO READ THE THESIS ...... 57 4.1 Introduction ...... 57 4.2 Reading the topics of the migration account...... 57 4.3 Drawing from other colonised Indigenous experiences ...... 60 4.4 Ailan specific terms of references ...... 62 4.5 Cultural approach ...... 65

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CHAPTER 5: THE STORY ...... 67 5.1 Different social context ...... 67 5.2 Yarning approach ...... 67 5.3 Ailan knowledge ...... 68 5.4 Migrating to the mainland ...... 70 5.5 Not a typical story of a child growing up ...... 70 5.6 Rich Ailan family cultural practice ...... 71 5.7 Meriam tribal divisions ...... 71 5.8 Human life and organisation of society ...... 73 5.9 Torres Strait ged ...... 74 5.10 Human migration ...... 74 5.11 Not a permanent migration ...... 76 5.12 Practical social cultural experience ...... 76 5.13 Cultural roles and family responsibilities ...... 78 5.14 Nene's story before Christianity ...... 79

CHAPTER 6: THE JOURNEY ...... 81 6.1 Introduction ...... 81 6.2 A sharing society...... 81 6.3 Cultural adoption ...... 82 6.4 My research journey as an Ailan man...... 83 6.5 My Y journey ...... 84 6.6 Sap lubabat journey...... 86 6.7 Sagar people wind identity...... 87 6.8 Beginning of the migration story ...... 90 6.9 Memories of important events ...... 92

CHAPTER 7: THE MIGRATION EXPERIENCE ...... 95 7.1 Introduction ...... 95 7.2 Thursday Island urban experience ...... 95 7.3 Rude shock ...... 99

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CHAPTER 8: FOUNDATION FOR RESISTANCE ...... 103 8.1 Introduction ...... 103 8.2 The Company Boats and Ailan autonomy ...... 103 8.3 New, stricter local Protector ...... 104 8.4 Sharing giving and returning ...... 105 8.5 Restricting cultural obligations ...... 105 8.6 Strike the Ailan way...... 106 8.7 The struggle ...... 106 8.8 Fighting back ...... 108 8.9 Paternalistic exclusion and restriction ...... 109 8.10 Army Taime ...... 109 8.11 First time relationships of equality ...... 111 8.12 Discontent and neglect ...... 111 8.13 Ailan women army taime contribution ...... 112 8.14 Negative experiences ...... 113

CHAPTER 9: ESTABLISHING FOUNDATION AND THE EFFERT ...... 115 9.1 The concept of migration and Eurocentric Kole boundaries ...... 115 9.2 Interdisciplinary view of cultural account ...... 115 9.3 How we measure up to the Kole ...... 116 9.4 Decolonisation approach highlights Kole influence ...... 116 9.5 Ailan rights to self-determination ...... 117 9.6 Push and pull migration factors ...... 119 9.7 Kole and culture approach ...... 120 9.8 Traditional and post-invasion background...... 120 9.9 Managing change ...... 121 9.10 Twenty year focus 1960s to 1970s...... 122 9.11 Analysing traditional economy ...... 124 9.12 Trade ...... 126 9.13 Kole paid employment system ...... 127 9.14 Chapter conclusion...... 127

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CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSION ...... 130 10.1 Overall analysis and integration and research conclusions ...... 130 10.2 Metholological Limitations ...... 135 10.3 Limitations of the Researcher ...... 137 10.4 Limitations of the Research ...... 137 10.5 Strength of Research ...... 137 10.6 Applications for research findings ...... 138 10.7 Future research directions ...... 139

APPENDIX ...... 143 Appendix 1 Screenshot copy of Copyright permission for Torres Strait Map ...... 143

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 144

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LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES

Figure 1: A map of the Torres Strait Islands...... 1 Figure 2: Big Daddy Harry Whaleboat and Big Ama Akazee Whaleboat...... 3 Figure 3: Dato Geoffrey Doolah teaching at Cherbourg Mission State School 1959...... 4 Figure 4: Nene Charlotte Buri Doolah...... 7 Figure 5: Mer with clan boundaries...... 9 Figure 6: Dauar and Waier...... 30 Figure 7: Dato Bora and Nene Mareja Bin Juda...... 39 Figure 8: The Doolah maternal linage...... 45 Figure 9: Dad and Mum...... 49 Figure 10: The Wind-circle of Meriam identities ...... 51 Figure 11: Tribal dividions of Mer...... 54 Figure 12: Big Daddy Elia Doolah's family...... 58 Figure 13: Dato Napoleon Doolah...... 62 Figure 14: Sammy Daddy's family...... 64 Figure 15: Vicky and Taiby...... 65 Figure 16: Uncle Rete Doolah’s place...... 78 Figure 17: Big Daddy Elia Doolah and Pastor Don Brady...... 82 Figure 18: Uncle Rete and family...... 88 Figure 19: Universal World Church Ministers...... 99 Figure 20: Men of Erub who served in Australian Military Forces 1945...... 110 Figure 21: Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion...... 113

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS

This glossary of terms and expressions used in this thesis are listed below alphabetically in descending order. The glossary includes words from languages used in the Torres Strait by Ailan pipel, languages from the Eastern Islands: Meriam Mir and Kala Lagaw Ya, and Kalakawal of the Western Islands. The glossary also contains Torres Strait Creole and Aboriginal English terms and words mostly used by the researcher, researcher’s pamle and extended pamle. The origin of the word or term will be in brackets following the definition and without brackets if the origin is not known. Some of the terms are contemporary terms and in some instances are expressions of both Torres Strait languages and creole.

Term Definition (origin of term)

abung eldest brother or head of the family (Asian origin) adud tonar bad manners, wrong way of behaving or doing things (Meriam Mir) ad le outsiders, those who do not belong (Meriam Mir) Aka grandmother (Kala Lagaw Ya) ailan ‘island’ in Torres Strait Creole, but it is also used in context to mean ‘Torres Strait Islander’. The term Ailan is sometimes spelt Ilan. ailan kastom island custom describing a social practice that is unique and common among all Torres Strait Islanders (Torres Strait Creole) ailan pasin Ailan or Torres Strait Islander way of doing things (Torres Strait Creole) Ailan pipel Island people or Torres Strait Islander people (Torres Strait Creole) Ama mother or aunty (Meriam Mir) Apu mother (Meriam Mir) Apu le mother’s people (Meriam Mir)

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army taime ‘army time’ is the period of World War Two when the Ailan people participated in the war effort in Far North Queensland so therefore all events which took place in that period took place in army taime (Torres Strait Creole) Ata used to designate either the grandfather or grandmother (Meriam Mir) Athe grandfather (Kala Lagaw Ya) Aua uncle (Meriam Mir) au esuau big thank you (Meriam Mir) Au ged boai mainland people (Meriam Mir) au nar ship (Meriam Mir) Au sissy eldest or older sister (Meriam Mir/Torres Strait Creole) Awahdeh uncle (Kala Lagaw Ya) Bab le father’s people (Meriam Mir) Badu Torres Strait name for Mulgrave Island Bakei west wind (Meriam Mir) Bebe Aunty (Asian) beizam tiger shark (Meriam Mir) big pipel adults (Torres Strait Creole) Boigu one of the Top Western Islands of the Torres Strait close to the coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Boigu is about eight kilometres from PNG and one of the 17 inhabited islands of the Torres Strait. Its European name is Talbot Island. The language of the Boigu people is Kalakawal Dato grandfather (Asian origin) Darnley Island European name for Erub in the Torres Strait. Darnley Island was the official landing site of the London Missionary Society (LMS) on July 1, 1871, who first landed there before spreading Christianity throughout the Torres Strait (see Zuli One) Dauan one of the Top Western Islands of the Torres Strait close to the coast of PNG. Dauan is one of the 17 inhabited islands of the Torres Strait. Its European name is Mount Cornwellis Island. The language of the Dauan people is Kalakawal

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Dauar one of the two smaller islands of the Mer group in the Torres Strait (Meriam Mir), spelt Dowar in other sources Dauareb belonging to Dauar Island (Meriam Mir) Dauer pek one of the three major tribal divisions of Mer the other two are Meriam pek and Komet pek debe tonar good custom, a good way of behaving (Meriam Mir) deumer Torres Strait pigeon (Meriam Mir) Erub an island on the far eastern part of the Torres Strait. Erub is inhabited by the Erubam le (Erub people), Indigenous people of the Torres Strait (Meriam Mir) Erubam le a person or people from Erub in the Torres Strait (see Erub) gared gouthern division of Sager (see Sager) (Meriam Mir) ged place or land (Meriam Mir) gedub garden (Meriam Mir) gedub boai an order of Meriam people classified according to their spiritual identity. The Piadram and Samsep clans of Mer belong to this order (Meriam Mir) gelar law (Meriam Mir) gubba an Aboriginal term for white man. The term was used in the 1800s to describe the white government, government man (gubba-min) then gubba (Aboriginal English) gur sea (Meriam Mir) gesep earth (Meriam Mir gesepge here on earth (Meriam Mir) Giralag the Kaurareg Aboriginal name for Friday Island, an island in the Torres Strait (Kala Lagaw Ya) giz root of a tree or plant. It can also be used to designate a starting point or origin (Meriam Mir) giz ged a place in Mer where organisation of Meriam Society began (Meriam Mir) golab dry banana leaf (Meriam Mir) Gudamalugal Top Western Island group composed of three islands of, Saibai, Boigu, and Dauan. These islands are in the northern most part

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of the Torres Strait region and are closest to the coat of Papua New Guinea Hammond Island the European name of the Island located in the Torres Strait, a 15 minute ferry ride northwest of Thursday Island. Horn Island the Kaurareg name for Horn Island is Ngarupai. An airfield was built there on Horn Island during World War Two. It is still in use as the main air-strip and Airport for the Torres Strait. Isem the name of the village in Erub in the Torres Strait (see Erub) Irewed ziai west-southwest wind (Meriam Mir) Kala Lagaw Ya language of the midwestern island group of the Torres Strait including the Kaurareg Aboriginal people living in the lower southern parts of the Torres Strait near the Cape York Peninsular of the continent of Australia (see Kaurareg) kara Lu giz my ancestry (Meriam Mir) kara nosik era nei my clan name (Meriam Mir) Kaurareg Aboriginal people of Australia located in the Torres Strait, who have lived there since time immemorial before the European invasion. The Kaurareg Aboriginal people are different from the Ailan people of the Torres Strait. So there are two groups of Australian Indigenous people living in the Torres Strait (Kala Lagaw Ya), it is also spelt as Kowrareg in other sources. kemer kemer the whole, complete (Meriam Mer) kes passage of water, or a space between two objects (Meriam Mir) Kie Daudai the larger continent of Australia to the south of the Torres Strait (Kala Lagaw Ya) Kiriri the Kaurareg Aboriginal name for Hammond Island (see Hammond Island) (Kala Lagaw Ya) koki northwest wind (Meriam Mir) Kole the white man (Meriam Mir) or the term can be used in context to refer to anything that belongs to the white man or

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of European origin. Because the term Kole is of an Ailan (Island) cultural origin it does not refer to the race of a person but is a reference to a person or institutions of a different culture. This view is a celebration of ‘diversity’ and uniqueness and is a stance within the Torres Strait Islander world-view. Komet pek one of the three major tribal divisions of Mer; the other two are Meriam pek and Dauer pek (Meriam Mir) korpor navel (Meriam Mir) korsamer a butterfly or moth, lubabat of the Warwe people of Warwe village of Mer (Meriam Mir) Kaiwalagal the inner islands are located in the lower western regions of the Torres Strait closest to Cape York. The group is comprised of Kiriri (Hammond Island), Waibene (Thursday Island), Muralug (Prince of Wales Island) and Ngurapai (Horn Island). As the administrative centre for the region, and government organisations are located in Waibene. The Kaiwalagal group of islands are the traditional lands and territories of the Kaurareg Aboriginal people in the Torres Strait (Kala Lagaw Ya) Kotor Heaven (Meriam Mir) Kotor ge in heaven, in the heavens or the sky (Meriam Mir) Kulkalgal Central Island group composed of comprised of Iama (Yam), Warraber, Poruma and Masig (Kulkalgal) lamar spirit or ghost (Meriam Mir) lavalava a cloth of rectangular shape worn as a skirt by the men. It is of Polynesian origin but has become the traditional dress for Torres Strait Islanders le people (Meriam Mir). The term has other meanings and used in different context but is used here in this thesis in a restricted context lubabat totem (Meriam Mir) Mabuaig Island the Midwestern Island of the Torres Strait Maluilgal in a term for the Midwestern Islands of the Torres Strait such as Mabuiag, Badu and Moa. The term is also used in this

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thesis to refer to an Indigenous person from the Midwestern Islands (Kala Lagaw Ya) Mama mother Mared eastern division of sager, the southeast wind (Meriam Mer) Masig European name of Masig is Yorke Island. The island is the of Central Island group in the Torres Strait Maway Kaurareg Aboriginal name for Wednesday Island in the lower western part the Torres Strait (Kala Lagaw Ya) Mer an Island (Meriam Mir) on the far eastern part of the Torres Strait. Mer is inhabited by the Meriam le (people), who are the Indigenous people of the Torres Strait. Mer is the larger Island, part of the Mer group of islands belonging to a group of three. The other two smaller islands in the Mer group are Dauar and Waier. The European name of Mer is Murray Island (see Murray Island) Meriam is a term used to designate people, person, place or things belonging to people of Mer, Ugar and Erub of Eastern Torres Strait. The term was also used by anthropologist A. C. Haddon to designate people or person of Mer (Meriam Mir) Meriam le person or people from Mer in the Torres Strait, also used to describe the region of the Eastern Island group (Meriam Mir) Meriam le ra ged refers to the Eastern Island group in the Torres Strait, Mer, Ugar and Erub (Meriam Mir) Meriam Mir Indigenous language of the people of the main three Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait which are Ugar, Erub and Mer Meriam pek one of the three major tribal divisions of Mer the other two are Dauer pek and Komet pek (Meriam Mir) migaloo a term for white man used by Aboriginal people in Queensland (Aboriginal English) Moa also called Banks Island, a large island located in Midwestern Torres Strait. Moa contained the two resettlements of the Saint Paul Mission and Kubin village of the Kaurareg Aboriginal people.

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Mugie Daudai the Continent of PNG, to the north of the Torres Strait (Kala Lagaw Ya) Muralag the European name is Prince of Wales Island in the Torres Strait (Kala Lagaw Ya) Muri the European name is Mount Adolphus Island in the Torres Strait (Kala Lagaw Ya) Murray Island European name for Mer in the Torres Strait my korpor e berem dere my umbilical cord or after birth is buried there in my country (Torre Strait Creole statement) Nagi the European name is Mount Ernest, an island of the Central Island group of the Torres Strait naiger true northeast wind (Meriam Mir) nap/napa grandchild (Meriam Mir) nei name (Meriam Mir) Nene grandmother (Asian origin) nener boundary markers (Meriam Mir) Ngarupai the European name is Horn Island (Kala Lagaw Ya) nosik clan, but can also be used in cultural context to emphasise pamle (see pamle) (Meriam Mir) ome fig tree (Meriam Mir) Pachie Uncle (Asian) pamle ‘family’, the term can also be referred to the extended family, as well as the overall Torres Strait Islander community (Torres Strait Creole) pasin a way of behaviour (Torres Strait Creole) pek division (Meriam Mir) Piadram clan one of the eight major clans of Mer (Meriam Mir) Puruma the name for Coconut Island of Central Island group respek respect (Torres Strait Creole) Sab north wind (Meriam Mir) Sager southeast wind (Meriam Mir) Sager people the group of people of the Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait whose villages are located on the southeast side of their islands (Meriam Mir) (see sager)

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Saibai a topwestern Island of the Torres Strait. It is 8 kilometres from the Papua New Guinea coast Saibailgal person from the Topwestern Islands of the Torres Strait or someone from Saibai Island Samsep one of the Indigenous clans of the Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait (Meriam Mir) Samsep Meriam one of the three divisions (Pek) of Mer’s Indigenous clans of the Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait (Meriam Mir) sap driftwood, and also the term for the totem of the Sager people, one of the social divisions in Meriam society (Meriam Mir) sap lubabat driftwood totem of the Sager people of Mer (Meriam Mir) (see sap and lubabat) Seg in the Ailan mythology Seg is the name of six of Tagai’s crew of 12. This crew of six became the constellation of Orion (Meriam Mir) (see Tagai) Seim a village of Erub in the Torres Strait Solwata salt water (Torres Strait Creole) South is mainland Australia, although it designates one of the four directions in a compass, in the Torres Strait Creole, it takes on the meaning and the name of the place south of the Torres Strait. In Torres Strait Creole meaning and conversation South can be substituted for mainland Australia Stephen Island Stephen Island is the European name for Ugar in eastern Torres Strait (see Ugar) Tagai in the short version of the story, Tagai the leader and his crew of 12 men went fishing and Tagai left his men for a short while. When he returned they had drank all his fresh water and in his fury he slaughtered all of them. Tagai and his crew became the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere. The left hand of Tagai is the Southern Cross. Six of Tagai’s crew are Usiam (the Pleiades) and the other six are Seg (Orion) (Meriam Mir)

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In the Kala Lagaw Ya version of the story the 12 crewmen of Taigai are called Zugubals (beings who took on human form when they visited Earth). Six of the crew are Usal (the Pleiades) and the other six are Utimal (Orion) (Kala Lagaw Ya) tawi brother-in-law (Torres Strait Creole) ‘naiwet’ in Meriam Mir teter mek footprint (Meriam Mir) (also see yaba teter mek) Thursday Island European name for Waibene, an island in the Torres Strait. Thursday Island is sometimes referred to by its abbreviation ‘TI’. Thursday Island is the commercial centre of the Torres Strait. In the past from the 1860s to 1960s, TI was the centre for the pearling industry in the Torres Strait, which was the largest industry in far north Queensland Torres Strait Creole is an English-based creole language also referred to as Torres Strait Pidgin, Yumplatok, Torres Strait Brokan/Broken, Cape York Creole, Lockhart Creole, Broken English. Spoken throughout the Torres Strait, and in the South-Western Coastal Papua region and Northern Cape York of mainland Australia TI abbreviation of Thursday Island, which is occationally substituted for Thursday Island Tudu a Torres Strait name, the European name is Warrior Island of the Central Island group of the Torres Strait u coconut (Meriam Mir) u ni coconut water (Meriam Mir) Ugar is an island on the far eastern part of the Torres Strait. Ugar is inhabited by the Ugarem le (people), who are Indigenous people of the Torres Strait (Meriam Mir) Usiam in Ailan mythology Usiam is the name of one crew of six of Tagai’s crew of 12. This crew of six became the constellation of the Pleiades (Meriam Mir). The Kala Lagaw Ya term for Usiam is ‘Usal’ (see Tagai) wag wind (Meriam Mir) wag/kerker seasons and seasonal winds (Meriam Mir)

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Waibene the Kaurareg name for Thursday Island (Kala Lagaw Ya) Waier one of the two smaller islands of the Mer group, Dauar is the other (Meriam Mir) Waraber European name is Sue island of Central Island group of the Torres Strait Warwe a village on Mer, also the title of the Meriam people of that village. Warwe is spelt differently in other sources (Meriam Mir) wauri cone shell (Meriam Mir) yaba teter mek ‘the footprints that belong to them’, ‘their footprints’ (Meriam Mir) (see teter mek) y coconut apple, a sweet spongy edible flesh (cotyledon) that forms inside the coconut Yam European name is Turtle-Backed Island of the central island group in the Torres Strait. Yam refers to Iama. Yam vine Islanders’ bush telegraph system that operates actively through their churches, dance groups, sports activities, pubs, as well as kinship and Eastern or Western Islander networks yarning the preferred Indigenous term for storytelling because it describes the social process of how Indigenous people tell their stories yumpla a plural meaning ‘we’, ‘we all’ or ‘all of us’ (Torres Strait Creole) Zenadth Kes the local cultural term for the Kole name of Torres Strait Ziai southwest wind (Meriam Mir) Zuli One In July 1st 1871 the London Missionary Society (LMS) led by Reverend Samuel McFarlane made the first official landing and religious contact with the people of Erub when they went ashore at Kemus Bay. On July 1st each year since Ailan pipel commemorate the landing with a celebration, including a re-enactment of that landing. Ailan pipel call the event the ‘Coming of the Light’ or Zuli One (July One) (Torres Strait Creole)

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