Edward Koiki Mabo was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised that indigenous rights to land had continued after the British Crown acquired sovereignty and that the international law doctrine of terra nullius was not applicable to Australian domestic law. High court judges considering the case Mabo v Queensland found in favour of Mabo, which led to the Native Title Act 1993 and established native title in Australia, officially recognising the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.
The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago 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 peoples 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.
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 2021 census, Mer Island had a population of 406 people.
Melanesian Meriam people are an Indigenous Australian group of Torres Strait Islander people who are united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and live as skilled hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans on a number of inner eastern Torres Strait Islands including Mer or Murray Island, Ugar or Stephen Island and Erub or Darnley Island. The Meriam people are perhaps best known for their involvement in the High Court of Australia's Mabo decision which fundamentally changed land law in Australia - recognising native title.
The Torres Strait Islander flag is the official flag of the Torres Strait Islanders, an Indigenous people of Australia. It was designed in 1992 by Bernard Namok, winning a local competition held by the Islands Coordinating Council, and was recognised by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in June 1992. It was granted official status in 1995 under the Flags Act 1953 along with the Australian Aboriginal flag.
Saibai Island, commonly called Saibai, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, located in the Torres Strait of Queensland, Australia. The island is situated north of the Australian mainland and south of the island of New Guinea. The island is a locality within the Torres Strait Island Region local government area. The town of Saibai is located on the north-west coast of the island.
Indigenous Australian seasons are classified differently from the traditional four-season calendar used by most western European peoples. Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people have distinct ways of dividing the year up. Naming and understanding of seasons differs among groups of Aboriginal peoples, and depends on where in Australia the group lives.
East West 101 is an Australian drama series airing on the SBS network. The series was produced and created by Steven Knapman and Kris Wyld, the team behind other drama series such as Wildside and White Collar Blue. It ran from 2007–2011, having three series.
Aaron Fa'aoso is an Australian actor, screenwriter and producer, known for his roles in East West 101, The Straits and Black Comedy. He established Lonestar Productions in 2013, which brings stories of the people of the Torres Strait Islands and north Queensland to the screen.
The Torres Strait Island Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering part of the Torres Strait Islands. It was created in March 2008 out of 15 autonomous Island Councils during a period of statewide local government reform. It has offices in each of its 15 communities, and satellite services in Thursday Island and in Cairns.
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 Straits is an Australian television drama series for ABC1 filmed in Cairns, the Torres Strait Islands and other Far North Queensland locations.
Mabo is an Australian docudrama TV film, released in 2012, which relates the successful legal battle waged by Torres Strait Islander man Eddie Koiki Mabo to bring about native land title legislation in Australia.
Harry Walter Mosby, also known as Harry Moseby, is an Australian Paralympic athlete from the Torres Strait. At the 1976 Toronto Games, he won a silver medal in the Men's Discus 1C event and finished fourth in the Men's Javelin C1, fifth in the Men's Shot Put C1 and twelfth in the Men's Precision Javelin C1.
Jacob George Mye was an elder statesman from the Torres Strait.
Masig Island is an island and locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Masig Island had a population of 283 people.
Charles Passi is an Australian actor and musician from the Torres Strait Islands. His acting career began as a regular on RAN Remote Area Nurse. For this role he was nominated for the 2006 AFI Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama. He was also a main cast member of Grace Beside Me.
Poey Passi was one of the first two Torres Strait Islanders to be ordained a priest in the Anglican Church of Australia in 1925.
Merwez Whaleboat is an Australian actress.
