Community Profiles

Torres Strait Communities

The Torres Strait consists of 18 island and 2 Northern Peninsula Area communities. The islands are scattered over a geographic area of 48,000 square kilometres, from the tip of Cape York, north towards the borders of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

There are 5 traditional island clusters in the Torres Strait. These clusters are:

Top Western Islands
Boigu
Dauan
Saibai

Western Islands
Badu
Mabuaig

Moa - Kubin and St Pauls communities

Central Islands
Iama (Yam Island)
Masig (Yorke Island)
Poruma (Coconut Island)
Warraber (Sue Island)

Eastern Islands
Mer (Murray island)
Ugar (Stephen Island)
Erub (Darnley island)

Inner Islands
Hammond Island
Muralug (Prince of Wales Island)
Ngurupai (Horn Island)
Thursday Island - TRAWQ and Port Kennedy

The two Torres Strait communities on the Northern Peninsula Area are:

Bamaga
Seisia

Except for Thursday, Horn and Prince of Wales Islands, which are governed by the Torres Shire Council, Torres Strait's Island and NPA communities are governed by local Community Councils. 17 Chairpersons from these Community Councils and 3 representatives from the region's communities, form the TSRA Board.

Thursday Island is the main administrative centre of the Torres Strait. Government offices based on Thursday Island include, the Australian Customs Service, Australian Federal Police, Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Australian Quarantine Inspection Service, Centrelink, Australian Departments of Defence (Army & Navy), Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Immigration and Citizenship plus the Queensland Departments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Education, Health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing and Q Build.

Thursday Island is also the business hub of the region, containing various local enterprises ranging from art, pearl, souvenir and clothing retailers, a newsagency, bakery, pharmacy, supermarket, restaurants, hotels/motels, freight carriers and seafood outlets.

The communities located on the outer islands of the Torres Strait, have access to government services such as Health, Quarantine, Customs, Police and Immigration. Most outer island communities have a grocery store and limited accommodation facilities. Resorts and guest houses are usually operated by local community Councils and all communities except for Dauan and Ugar (Stephen) Islands, are accessible by sealed all-weather airstrips.

Essential infrastructure throughout all the communities are currently being upgraded or installed. All communities are highly dependent on annual rainfall and have reservoirs which store community water reserves to provide clean water. In the last decade septic systems have been installed and currently works are continuing through the Major Infrastructure Program, to deliver environmental health infrastructure projects such as sewerage, drainage, subdivisional and road works.

Should you be planning a trip to one of Torres Strait's islands or communities, it is advisable that you contact the respective Council in advance, advise them of your intentions, and obtain current information on the community, services and accommodation available as well as any cultural protocols that may need to be adhered to.