See also
- History of Cairns
- Malay Quarter, former name of Bo-Kaap, an area in Cape Town, South Africa
Malay Town was the unofficial name for a shanty town area of Cairns in Australia during the first half of the 20th century.
Malay Town was built around Alligator Creek by Malay workers in the early 1900s, but by the 1920s was mainly populated by Torres Strait Islanders, with many immigrant communities also represented. [1] Malay Town remained its unofficial name for some time. [2]
The town itself was surrounded by swamp and mangroves and bordered the city dump. [3] It was described in the following terms: [2]
...there was a place called "Malay Town" set up in Cairns where a whole range of people lived — Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders, Malays, Chinese, Indians; in fact, everybody except Europeans — and there were probably one or two of them that no-one else wanted.
There were, however, also some post-World War I German migrants, and many living in the town learned multiple languages from their neighbours. [4]
Many of the town's Torres Strait Islander inhabitants were members of three large families who had moved to mainland Australia without permission (their movement restricted by the government until 1947). The Pitt, Sailor and Walters families were among the largest single group of Malay Town inhabitants. [5]
"Malaytown", an episode in the 2013 television series Desperate Measures , featured interviews with the last surviving inhabitants of Malay Town. [6]
Cairns is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-populous in Queensland, and 15th in Australia.
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of 48,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), but their total land area is 566 km2 (219 sq mi).
Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped with them as Indigenous Australians. Today there are many more Torres Strait Islander people living in mainland Australia than on the Islands.
Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately 39 kilometres north of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia. Thursday Island is also the name of the town in the south and west of the island and also the name of the locality which contains the island within the Shire of Torres. The town of Rose Hill is located on the north-eastern tip of the island.
Murray Island in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. The island is part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. The town is on the island's northwest coast and within the locality of Mer Island. The island is of volcanic origin, the most easterly inhabited island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, just north of the Great Barrier Reef. The name Meer/Mer/Maer comes from the native Meriam language. In the 2016 census, Murray Island had a population of 453.
Yarrabah (traditionally Yagaljida in the Yidin language spoken by the indigenous Yidinji people is a coastal town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Yarrabah recorded a population of 2,559 people. It is an Aboriginal community.
Horn Island, or Ngurupai/Narupai in the local language, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago located in the Torres Strait, in Queensland in Northern Australia between the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea. It is within the locality of Horn within the Shire of Torres. The town of Wasaga is on the north-western coast of the island. In the 2016 census, the locality of Horn had a population of 531 people.
Mabuiag, also known as "Mabuyag" and natively "Mabuyaagi", formerly "Jervis Island") is one of the Torres Strait Islands in Queensland, Australia. Mabuiag is also a town and locality in the Torres Strait Island Region local government area. In the 2016 census, Mabuiag Island had a population of 210 people.
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. The waters of Torres Strait include the only international border in the area contiguous with the Australian mainland, between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and identity.
Bamaga is a small town and locality about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australia and is the administrative centre for the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council.
Hammond Island is an island with a town of the same name, in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is the only island within the locality of Keriri Island within the local government area of Torres Strait Island Region.
Darnley Island or Erub in the native Papuan language, Meriam Mir, is an island formed by volcanic action and situated in the eastern section of the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the Torres Strait Islands and is located near the Great Barrier Reef and just south of the Bligh entrance. The town on the island is also called Darnley, but the locality is called Erub Island, both being within the local government area of Torres Strait Island Region. In the 2016 census, Erub Island had a population of 328 people.
The Shire of Douglas is a local government area in Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mossman, covers an area of 2,428 square kilometres (937.5 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1880 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the City of Cairns to become the Cairns Region. Following a poll in 2013, the Shire of Douglas was re-established on 1 January 2014.
The Mills Sisters, formerly known as the Singing Grandmas, were a group of three sisters from Torres Strait Islands, Rita Mills and twins Cessa and Ina.
The Medics are an Australian rock band formed in Cairns, Queensland in 2007. In April 2010 they moved to Brisbane. The band were formed by Emma Andrews, Jhindu Lawrie, Charles Thomas and Kahl Wallis. They later expanded to a five-piece with Andrew Thomson joining. Andrews left the band, reducing it back to four members. They are mentored by Lawrie's father, Coloured Stone's Bunna Lawrie.
Kaurareg is the name for one of the Indigenous Australian groups collectively known as Torres Strait Islander peoples, although many or most identify as Aboriginal Australians. They are the traditional owners of Thursday Island (Waiben) as well as a number of Torres Strait Islands.
Thursday Island Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery at Summers Street, Thursday Island, Shire of Torres, Queensland, Australia. It was established c. 1887 and includes the Japanese Cemetery and grave of the Hon. John Douglas. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Dauan Island is an island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia; it is also known as Cornwallis Island. Dauan Island is also a town and locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia.
Desperate Measures is an Australian television documentary series that tells the stories of Indigenous Australians who have been part of political movements and/or who have made an impact on Australian Government policies.