|
The
Point:
The Location:
This
confluence point is located on the edge of the Inskip Banks at the
western end of the Endeavour Strait about 10 km off Crab Island. The
point is 53 km south-west of Thursday Island, the administrative
centre for the Torres Shire and 45 km west-south-west of Bamaga on
the Cape York mainland. The point has not been visited.
The
Landscape: At
Sea
Point
information and photos: Ken
Granger and Google Earth, 2008.
WITHIN THE
DEGREE SQUARE:
The Country: The
area covered by the degree square covers the waters of the western
Torres Strait, including Endeavour Strait, the most southerly of
islands of the Western Torres Strait and the north-west tip of Cape
York. Most of the islands within the square are continental islands
of Carboniferous age volcanic rocks (354 to 298 million years). The
larger islands include Prince of Wales (Muralag), Horn (Narupai),
Hammond (Keriri), Wednesday (Maururra), Thursday (Wai-ben), Friday
(Gealug), Goods (Paliliug), Zuna and Possession (Bedenug). The
greatest elevation in the islands is Mt Scott (247 m ASL) at the
northern end of Prince of Wales Island.
The mainland
section is mostly low-lying and swampy in places. The highest country
is near the northern end behind Punsand Bay just west of 'The Tip'.
The highest elevation in that area is 157 m ASL. The core of the Cape
is Jurassic-Cretaceous age (205 to 65 million years) sandstone and
mudstone. The western coast and its backing country is composed of
recent (less than 1 million years) outwash sand, soil and gravel.
Vegetation
across the area ranges from low open eucalypt woodland to patches of
monsoon forest. In areas of poor drainage Melaleuca forests tend to
dominate. Mangroves fringe the west coast.
|
Horn Scrub (Ken
Granger, 2008) |
Melaleuca
Wetland (Ken Granger , 2008) |
|
Ant House Plant
(Ken Granger, 2008) |
Kapok Pod and
Flower (Ken Granger, 2008) |
The area is
home to some most unusual plants including the Ant House Plant (Myrmecodia
tuberosa). This rare epiphytic plant grows mainly on Melaleucas
and is home to a colony of guardian ants that defend the plant from
being eaten. The Apollo Jewel butterfly forms the final link in an
unusual three-way symbiotic relationship. The butterfly lays a single
egg on the plant and when hatched the ants take the caterpillar into
the chambers in the pithy interior of the plant. The caterpillar eats
out more chambers inside the plant giving the ants more space. The
caterpillar's droppings also provide nourishment for the ants and the
ants defend the caterpillar. The plant gains nutrients from the
wastes of both the ants and the caterpillar.
The deciduous
native kapok (Cochlospermum gillivraei) is a striking tree in
the dry season landscape. Its mass of bright yellow flowers stand out
on its bare branches and its seed pods, when dry, split to release a
mass of downy kapok. The roots of the young plant are used as bush
tucker and the kapok is used by both Torres Strait islanders and
Aborigines for body decoration in dances.
The fauna of
the area ranges from marine animals including the Dugong, turtles and
sea snakes. Crocodiles (both estuarine and fresh water) are common
along the coast and rivers. Terrestrial mammals include the Spotted
Cuscus, the Striped Possum and Sugar Glider as well as Swamp and
Agile Wallabies. Reptiles include the very dangerous Taipan, King
Brown and Eastern Brown Snakes as well as a range of non-venous
snakes such as the diamond python and the common tree snake and
numerous species of monitors and skinks. There is also a prolific
bird life, including the Palm Cockatoo, frequently used as a regional
emblem, and the elusive Magnificent Riflebird. A large number of bird
species are migratory, crossing from PNG during the summer. They
include the spectacular Red-bellied Pitta and the Papuan Frogmouth.
The Climate: The
climate of the area is tropical maritime with a markedly dry winter.
The nearest climate station with good records is Horn Island, about
55 km north-east of the confluence point.
Horn Island
(site 027058) 1995-2008 (elevation 4 m ASL)
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
|
Mean
max
(ºC) |
30.8 |
30.4 |
30.4 |
30.3 |
29.8 |
29.2 |
28.6 |
28.8 |
30.0 |
30.9 |
31.8 |
31.7 |
30.2 |
|
Mean
min
(ºC) |
25.2 |
24.9 |
25.0 |
25.2 |
24.7 |
23.9 |
22.9 |
22.8 |
23.6 |
24.8 |
25.5 |
25.7 |
24.5 |
|
Mean
rain
(mm) |
359.6 |
497.2 |
353.5 |
244.0 |
67.9 |
16.8 |
8.9 |
5.2 |
2.7 |
9.3 |
50.0 |
197.6 |
1757.2 |
The
highest temperature ever recorded on Horn Island in the 13 years or
record was 37.9°C in December 2002 while the lowest temperature
was 15.3°C in August 2004. Rainfalls also vary greatly. The
highest total of 2683.8 mm was recorded in 2000 and the lowest total
of 1244.2 mm in 2002.
Extremes of Nature:
The area is subject to cyclones. The cyclone database maintained by
the Bureau of Meteorology shows that 27 cyclones have tracked within
200 km of the confluence point between 1906-7 and 2006-7. Amongst
these storms were: an unnamed storm in December 1920, another unnamed
storm in March 1923, TC Audrey in January 1964, an unnamed
storm in January 1965, TC Bronwyn in January 1972, TC Faith
in April 1972, TC Pierre in February 1985, TC Kelvin in
February 1991, TC Ingrid in March 2005 and TC Monica in
April 2006.
Cyclone track
within 200 km of the confluence point (Bureau of Meteorology web site)
These storms
bring potentially destructive winds and high seas. Some have caused
erosion to the low-lying islands and coastal areas. They have also
been the cause of many shipwrecks in earlier days.
The area
averages between 30 and 40 thunder days each year. Severe
thunderstorms can also bring destructive winds and produce high seas.
They can come up very quickly posing a serious threat to people
travelling through the area in small boats. During the winter dry
season thunder storms may spark bushfires if there is sufficient fuel
to promote spread.
There are 14
earthquake epicentres within the degree square recorded in the
National Earthquake Database maintained by Geoscience Australia. The
nearest events to the confluence point were a series of 12
earthquakes of ML 3 to 3.5 during 1908 and 1909. These
were located at roughly the same point around 55 km north-east of the
confluence point. A ML 4.0 event of 5 August 1932 was
centred 70 km to the north-east and a ML 3.5 around 78 km
to the south-east. No damage was recorded from any of these earthquakes.
The
Indigenous Story: The
area within the degree square contains populations of both Torres
Strait Islanders of Melanesian ethnicity and the Aboriginal peoples
of the mainland. The Islanders are from the Muralag language group
and the Aboriginals are from the Yadhaigana group (in the east) and
Anggamundi group (along the west coast).
Horn, Prince of
Wales and Hammond Islands have the largest populations of Islanders
on their traditional lands, while Thursday Island has the largest
population of Islanders overall.
On the mainland
the indigenous populations are located in four settlements. Seisia
(the port for the northern Cape York area) and Bamaga are populated
by Islanders who are descended from the group that migrated from
Saibai Island in 1947 after their home place was devastated by a
series of big storms. Injinoo was originally settled by Aboriginal
people, however, following WW II many Islanders moved into the
Injinoo area. New Mapoon is an Aboriginal settlement that was created
in the 1960s to take people relocated from Mapoon (to the north or
Weipa) to make way for the bauxite mining operation. Umagico, known
locally as Alau, was established in 1963 to house Aboriginal people
relocated from Lockhart River Mission. In 1970 Islanders from Moa
Island were also relocated to this centre.
European
Exploration and Settlement: The
Islanders had certainly had contact with outside peoples before the
first Europeans ventured through the area. Fishermen from the
Macassar area of Indonesia had made annual visits to the area
collecting trepang and trochus shell since the late 17th Century.
The first
Europeans to sight the area were with the Spaniard Luis de Torres in
1606, when they sailed through the Strait that now carries their
leader's name. It took de Torres' crew over two months to thread
their way through the reefs and shoals from east to west before
reaching open water and turning for the Philippines.
It was not
until 1770 that the British first ventured into the area. Cook made a
transit of the Strait that now bears the name of his ship Endeavour.
On 22 August 1770 Cook landed on Possession Island to claim all of
the lands to the south for England. Bligh and his two whale boats
passed through the area in their epic voyage following the Bounty
mutiny in 1789. They landed on Booby Island to replenish supplies.
The first detailed survey of the Strait was undertaken by Flinders in
the Investigator in 1802. Captain Hobson on HMS Rattlesnake
set up a form of post office for passing ships on Booby Island during
his cruise of botanical observations in 1835.
Queensland
annexed the islands of Torres Strait within 60 miles (96.6 km) of
Cape York by Letters Patent in1872 and in 1879 the remaining island
in Torres Strait were annexed.
With the
charting of passages through the 'sieve for ships', as the waters of
the Strait became known, shipping between the ports of Sydney and
Brisbane and Asian ports began to increase and with that trade, so
did the increase in the number of shipwrecks. Few ships stopped in
the Torres Strait until the start of the pearling trade around 1869,
though the 'post box' and emergency supplies established on Booby
Island were frequently visited. A lighthouse was eventually built on
Booby Island in 1890.
The first
European settlements on the Cape were at Somerset on the east coast
of Cape York (see square 11-143) in 1864. This settlement was
proposed as the 'Singapore of the Pacific' and was established by
John Jardine as Government Resident. Jardine's son Frank established
Lockerbie Station to the south of Punsand Bay on the eastern edge of
the degree square. Frank Jardine and his Samoan wife established a
wonderful garden at Lockerbie and experimented with crops including Ficus
rubber, coffee, sugar, tea and various tropical fruits including more
than 20 different varieties of mangoes. Jardine went into partnership
with 'Ginger Dick' Holland in 1913 to run cattle on Lockerbie. The
station remains in the Holland family today.
|
100 Year
mangoes at Lockerbie (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Lockerbie
Homestead (Ken Granger, 2008) |
|
|
|
 |
The first
European settlement in the degree square was established on Thursday
Island in 1877. 'TI' as it is widely known, became the administrative
centre for the whole Torres Strait area, taking over that role from
Somerset which had been established. TI had only a small Islander
population because it lacked a good supply of fresh water (its name
Wai-ben is thought to mean 'dry place'). This lack of a good water
supply remained a limiting factor to growth of the centre until an
undersea pipeline from Horn Island was finally constructed in the 1990s.
In 1877 the
growing power of Russia in the Pacific drew attention to the area's
strategic significance and the construction of the Greenhill Fort was
commenced in 1891 to protect the important shipping lanes through the
Strait. TI was finally linked to the rest of Australia by telegraph
in 1887 via the Cape York telegraph line to Cooktown.
Coastal
artillery in Greenhill Fort Thursday Island (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Alluvial gold
was discovered on Horn Island in 1894 and reef mining began in the
following year. Some 20 kg of alluvial gold was won up until 1896 and
161 kg of reef gold was won up until 1900 by which time the field was
largely abandoned. Gold was also found on Hammond Island. The
pearling industry had also become well established in the Torres
Strait by 1884 and TI became a very cosmopolitan community with
people from the Pacific Islands, Japan, Malaya, Philippines
('Manillamen') and India using the town as a base. The historic TI
cemetery contains the remains of many Japanese divers and others
involved in the pearling industry.
The Darnley
Island woman Mohara, heroine of the 1899 TC Mahina tragedy
(see 14S° 144°E), is also buried in the Thursday Island
cemetery. Local historian Jim McJannett, with the assistance of his
friend Omar Bin Awel, uncovered her grave in 2009 after a long
search. As with the story of her heroism during the cyclone, there
are several inaccuracies perpetuated on her tomb. Apart from the
spelling 'Muara', the name 'Lifu' is derived from the name of Lifu
Island, the ancestral home of many Darnley (Erub) Islanders. She was
married to a pearl diver William Wackando (or Wacando).
|
Omar Bin Awel
at Mohara's grave (Jim McJannett 2009) |
Inscription on
Mohara's grave (Jim McJannett 2009) |
WW II saw
considerable change in the area. Airstrips on Horn Island and at
Bamaga (known as Jacky Jacky) became Australia's most northern air
bases. Horn Island was bombed by the Japanese eight times during 1942
but TI itself was not attacked. TI locals suggest that the reason
that it was not bombed was because of the many Japanese from the
pearling days who are buried in the island's cemetery. Many roads and
other infrastructure were built by Australian and US forces in the
area. At one stage there were as many as 5000 troops posted to the TI
and Bamaga area. Many Islanders were recruited to the Torres Strait
Light Infantry Battalion to provide a defence force for the local area.
|
Fighter on Horn
Island (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Gun Emplacement
Horn Island (Ken Granger, 2008) |
|
DC-3 Wreck at
Bamaga (Ken Granger, 2008) |
War-Time radar
at Bamaga (Tony Hillier, 2008) |
Cultured pear
farming was established on Friday Island in 1960 by a Japanese group.
This operation continues to produce quality pearls.
In 1973, with
self government granted to PNG, negotiations on the location of the
border between Australia and PNG greatly involved the Islander
community. Given their Melanesian ethnic origin it was argued by PNG
negotiators that the Torres Strait islands should be part of PNG -
the Islands argued successfully to remain part of Australia. |
|
Today: The
total population of the degree square at the 2006 national Census
was 5391, a slight decline since the 2001 census but an increase over
the past decade.
|
Measure |
1996 |
2001 |
2006 |
|
Total
Population |
5121 |
5503 |
5391 |
|
Total
Males |
2628 |
2774 |
2673 |
|
Total
Females |
2493 |
2729 |
2718 |
|
Under
5 |
640 |
653 |
624 |
|
65
Years and over |
258 |
295 |
276 |
|
Indigenous |
3669 |
3828 |
4209 |
Almost half of
the population within the square live on Thursday Island (2546 people
in 2006). Horn Island has a population of 586; Bamaga and Seisia have
a combined population of 951; Injinoo had a population of 416;
Umagico's population was 229 and New Mapoon had a population of 346.
Much of the
area within the square comes under the Torres Shire, with TI the
Shire headquarters. TI is also headquarters for the Torres Strait
Islands Regional Council that covers all of the inhabited islands
except Thursday, Horn and Prince of Wales. TI is also headquarters to
a very large number of Commonwealth Government and State Government
agencies ranging from Customs, Quarantine and Defence to Health and
Education - it is said that representatives of some 52 government
agencies are based on TI.
The base
hospital that services the whole Torres Strait and Northern Cape York
region is located on TI as is the only high school covering the
region. TI is also headquarters to many of the churches that serve
the islands. All Souls and St Bartholomew Anglican Cathedral, for
example, is the most northerly cathedral in Australia. This historic
church is a memorial to those who lost their lives in the SS Quetta
shipwreck in February 1890.
|
Thursday Island
Township (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Quetta Memorial
Church (Ken Granger, 2008) |
|
Bamaga main
Stree (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Bamaga
supermarket (Ken Granger, 2008) |
The largest
settlement on the Cape is Bamaga. This has a hospital, shops, a
Centrelink office and services such as mechanical repairs and fuel
supplies. It is the key re-supply place for tourists travelling up
the Cape. It also has a small museum dedicated to the Islanders who
served in the Torres Strait Light Infantry.
Horn Island
airfield provided year-round facilities for scheduled passenger
services from Cairns as well as for general aviation and charter
flights to some of the Torres Strait Islands. It is also base for
Coastwatch surveillance flights to support Customs, quarantine and
fisheries patrols in the Straits and northern Great Barrier Reef
area. There are port facilities at TI, Horn Island and Seisia to
accommodate coastal vessels that provide a weekly service to the area
from Cairns. These vessels provide a logistic lifeline for the area
bringing fuel, food, equipment and bulky cargo such as building
materials. The ports are also used by a range of other vessels
including Customs patrol craft, fishing boats and landing barges that
serve the more remote islands.
|
Thursday Island
Jetty (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Custom Boats at
Horn Island (Ken Granger, 2008) |
|
Unloading Cargo
at Horn Island (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Landing barges
at Horn Island (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Road access to
the area is available only during the dry seasons - typically from
May to November. Many river crossings on the road up Cape York can be
flooded and the road surface can be very boggy. Within the degree
square the Jardine River is the main barrier. It is crossed by barge
operated by the Injinoo Council. Apart from the roads within TI and
Bamaga the roads throughout the area are all unsealed. They can
become very rough and corrugated and four wheel drive vehicles or
trucks are the only suitable vehicles to use. Apart from the main
road down the Cape there is an extensive network of both public and
private roads within the degree square. One of the most frequently
travelled is the road east to the tip of Cape York. This passes
through Lockerbie Station to the east of Bamaga.
At times during
the dry season road traffic in the area can be surprisingly heavy
given the area's remoteness. This indicates the increasing popularity
of tourism in the area. Camping areas have been established at
several locations including Punsand Bay, Bamaga and Seisia. There is
also tourist accommodation on TI and Horn Island.
|
Jardine River
barge (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Roads at
Lockerbie Junction (Ken Granger, 2008) |
|
Punsand Bay
camping area (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Lockerbie
tourist shop (Ken Granger, 2008) |
Power supply is
provided by diesel generators at most settlements. TI has two wind
turbines to augment the diesel generators. Telecommunications are
provided through a variety of microwave links and an optical fibre
link that has replaced the old telegraph line to Cooktown.
The Jardine
River National Park occupies a large proportion of the eastern
portion of the Cape York section of the degree square. Possession
Island is also a National Park.
Site Summary:
|
Location |
On the edge of
the Inskip Banks at the western end of the Endeavour Strait
about 10 km off
Crab Island |
|
Nearest
town |
Thursday Island |
|
Access |
By boat but
site not visited |
|
Terrain |
At sea |
|
Catchment |
Jardine River
is the largest stream in the square |
|
Geology
& soils |
Volcanic
islands; sandstone and mudstone on higher areas of the Cape;
poorly drained
sand, gravel and clays on the rest of the Cape section |
|
Vegetation |
Includes
coastal mangroves, Melaleuca wetlands, open eucalypt woodland and
monsoon forest. |
|
Land
use |
Limited cattle
grazing; fishing; some mining |
|
Climate |
Tropical
maritime with a markedly dry winter |
|
Population
in degree square |
5391 at 2006 census |
|
Infrastructure |
Horn Island
airport; port facilities at TI, Horn Island and Seisia;
dirt road
network on the Cape; power supply and water supply facilities
for each settlement |
|
National
Parks |
Possession
Island NP, Jardine River NP |
Compliler: Ken
Granger, 2008
References: various
web sites including EPA, Torres Strait Regional Authority, local
governments and Bureau of Meteorology.
Mining history
taken from Colin Hooper, 2006: Angor to Zillmanton - stories of
North Queensland's deserted towns, Bolton Print, Townsville.
Details of the
grave of Mohara were provided by Mr Jim McJannett. His assistance and
that of his friend Omar Bin Awel in recovering the location of her
grave and passing the information to us is greatly appreciated. |
