A Chart of Bligh’s Straits in the Clarence Archipelago discovered and explored by William Bligh of the Royal Navy, September 1792

Torres Strait, QLD
Australia
See map: Google Maps
1 January 1792

Location

Torres Strait, QLD
Australia
See map: Google Maps
Mapping the Torres Strait: from TI to Magani Malu and Zenadh Kes

Just a few months after the declaration of the new Queensland colony in 1859, the crew of the Sapphire were attacked by people from Kirriri in south-west Torres Strait, and their vessel subsequently wrecked near Raine Island. This event galvanized Governor Bowen and the Duke of Newcastle into action to establish a ‘safe settlement’ in and around Torres Strait. The initial settlement of Somerset at Cape York (1864-1877) was replaced by Thursday Island. Affectionately known as ‘TI’ it continues as the administrative centre and town of Torres Strait, and is often mistakenly seen by outsiders as the Torres Strait itself. A Chart of Bligh’s Straits in the Clarence Archipelago discovered and explored by William Bligh of the Royal Navy, September 1792. Courtesy National Library of Australia

Mapping the Torres Strait: from TI to Magani Malu and Zenadh Kes

Maps and the power of knowledge

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Walkabout cover, July 1969

Our cover shows masked dancers of the sivirri cult on Cape York, cover image Walkabout, July 1969. "Hero cults, cults of masked dancers of Papuan affinity, infiltrated Cape York Peninsula and established a foothold on both eastern and western seaboards. The cover photograph shows masked dancers in colour associated with the culture hero, Sivirri, in the Tjundjundji Tribe of the Lower Batavia River, western Cape York. In the foreground is the Trenna, the scared initiation ground, and in the background the Mbaga, the enclosure for the initiates." Copyright Collection of the Centre for the Government of Queensland
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