Coconut Island (Queensland)
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Coconut Island, Poruma Island, or Puruma in the local language, is an
island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in the Great North East Channel near Cumberland Passage,
Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...
,
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
, Australia. One of the
Torres Strait Islands 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 , but their total land ...
, Coconut Island is northeast of
Thursday Island 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 north of Cape ...
. Administratively, Coconut Island is a town and Poruma Island is the
locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...
within the
Shire of Torres The Shire of Torres is a local government area located in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering large sections of the Torres Strait Islands and the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula north of 11°S latitude. It holds two distinctions—it ...
. The ancestors of Coconut Island built their houses out of grass, coconut leaves and trees that floated down from the
Fly River The Fly River is the third longest river in the island of New Guinea, after the Sepik River and Mamberamo River, with a total length of and the largest by volume of discharge in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its cat ...
jungles of
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. The islands have
sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...
hatcheries, bird life,
giant clam The giant clams are the members of the clam genus '' Tridacna'' that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus '' Tridacna'', which are often misidentified for ''Tridacna gigas'', ...
ground, huge palms,
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
relics and massive sand flats.


Language

The language of Poruma (locally known as Puruma) is the Kulkalgau Ya dialect of
Kalau Lagau Ya ''Kalau Lagau Ya'', ''Kalaw Lagaw Ya'', ''Kala Lagaw Ya'' (), or the ''Western Torres Strait language'' (also several other names, see below), is the language indigenous to the central and western Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia. O ...
. Poruma, also known as Coconut Island, is situated in the central island group of the Torres Strait. It is a narrow coral island approximately 1.4 km long and 400m wide, bounded by shallow, fringing coral reefs. The Torres Strait Islander people of Poruma are of Melanesian origin and lived in village communities following traditional patterns of hunting, fishing and trade for many thousands of years before contact was made with the first European visitors to the region. The
Traditional Owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have right ...
of Poruma are the Billy and Fauid (Fy-Hood) families.


History

In the 1860s, beche-de-mer (sea cucumber) and pearling boats began working the reefs of Torres Strait. An unnamed Frenchman and an operator named Colin Thomson are believed to have harvested the reefs surrounding Poruma in the 1860s. Another operator named Captain Walton began employing men from Poruma to work as divers and crew on his vessels in the early 1870s. An Englishman named George Pearson operated a pearling station on Poruma in the 1870s and a semi-permanent floating beche-de-mer station was established near the island around 1872. In 1872, the
Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...
sought to extend its jurisdiction and requested the support of the British Government. Letters Patent were issued by the British Government in 1872 creating a new boundary for the colony, which encompassed all islands within a 60 nautical mile radius of the coast of Queensland. This boundary was further extended to 96 km by the ''Queensland Coast Islands Act 1879'' (Qld) and included the islands of Boigu,
Erub 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 locat ...
, Mer and Saibai, which lay beyond the previous 60 nautical mile limit. The new legislation enabled the Queensland Government to control and regulate bases for the beche-de-mer and pearling industries which previously had operated outside its jurisdiction. Torres Strait Islanders refer to the arrival of
London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...
(LMS) missionaries in July 1871 as ‘the Coming of the Light.’ Around 1900, the LMS missionary Rev. Walker established a philanthropic business scheme named Papuan Industries Limited (PIL). PIL encouraged Islander communities to co-operatively rent or purchase their own pearl luggers or ‘company boats.’ The ‘company boats’, were used to harvest pearl shells and beche-de-mer, which was sold and distributed by PIL. The people of Poruma purchased their first company boats around 1905. Company boats provided Islanders with income and a sense of community pride and also improved transport and communication between the islands. In November 1912, 800 acres of land on Poruma were officially gazetted as an
Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...
by the Queensland Government. Many other Torres Strait Islands were gazetted as Aboriginal reserves at the same time. A government report from 1912 mentioned that Poruma was used as a rendezvous point and anchorage for fishing and pearl boats and suggested that the Islander population be removed to Yorke Island, to allow the children of the island to attend the new school on Yorke Island. Reports from 1913 indicate that while some Islander families left Poruma and moved to Sue and Yorke Islands, many refused to leave the island. By 1918, a Protector of Aboriginals had been appointed to
Thursday Island 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 north of Cape ...
and, during the 1920s and 1930s, racial legislation was strictly applied to Torres Strait Islanders, enabling the government to remove Islanders to reserves and mission across Queensland. A world-wide influenza epidemic reached the Torres Strait in 1920, resulting in 96 deaths in the region. The Queensland Government provided the Islands of Coconut, Yorke and Yam with food relief to help them recover from the outbreak. In March 1923, the islands of Coconut and Yorke were hit by a ‘violent hurricane’ which destroyed local crops and gardens. In 1936, around 70% of the Torres Strait Islander workforce went on strike in the first organised challenge against government authority made by Torres Strait Islanders. The nine-month strike was an expression of Islanders’ anger and resentment at increasing government control of their livelihoods. The strike was a protest against government interference in wages, trade and commerce and also called for the lifting of evening curfews, the removal of the permit system for inter-island travel and the recognition of Islanders’ right to recruit their own boat crews. The strike produced a number of significant reforms and innovations. Unpopular local Protector J.D McLean was removed and replaced by Cornelius O’Leary. O’Leary established a system of regular consultations with elected Islander council representatives. The new island councils were given a degree of autonomy, including control over local police and courts. On 23 August 1937, O’Leary convened the first Inter Islander Councillors Conference at Yorke Island. Representatives from 14 Torres Strait communities attended. Mimia and Abiu Fauid represented Poruma at the conference. After lengthy discussions, unpopular bylaws (including the evening curfews) were cancelled, and a new code of local representation was agreed upon. In 1939, the Queensland Government passed the '' Torres Strait Islander Act 1939'', which incorporated many of the recommendations discussed at the conference. A key section of the new act officially recognised Torres Strait Islanders as a separate people from
Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...
. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the
Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...
recruited Torres Strait Islander men to serve in the armed forces. Enlisted men from Coconut and other island communities formed the Torres Strait Light Infantry. While the Torres Strait Light Infantry were respected as soldiers, they only received one third of the pay given to white Australian servicemen. On 31 December 1943, members of the Torres Strait Light Infantry went on strike, calling for equal pay and equal rights. The Australian Government agreed to increase their pay to two thirds the level received by white servicemen. Full back pay was offered in compensation to the Torres Strait servicemen by the Australian Government in the 1980s. After World War II, the pearling industry declined across Torres Strait and Islanders were permitted to work and settle on the
Australian mainland Mainland Australia is the main landmass of the Australian continent, excluding the Aru Islands, New Guinea, Tasmania, and other Australian offshore islands. The landmass also constitutes the mainland of the territory governed by the Commonwea ...
. In December 1978, a treaty was signed by the Australian and
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
governments that described the boundaries between the 2 countries and the use of the sea area by both parties. The Torres Strait Treaty, which commenced operation in February 1985, contains special provision for free movement (without passports or visas) between both countries. Free movement between communities applies to traditional activities such as fishing, trading and family gatherings which occur in a specifically created Protected Zone and nearby areas. Coconut Island State School opened on 29 January 1985. On 23 March 2005 it was renamed Poruma State School. On 1 January 2007 the school became a campus of Tagai State College and was renamed Tagai State College - Poruma Campus. On 30 March 1985, the Poruma community elected 3 councillors to constitute an autonomous Poruma Council established under the ''Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984''. The Act conferred local government type powers and responsibilities upon Torres Strait Islander councils. The council area, previously an Aboriginal reserve held by the Queensland Government, was transferred on 21 October 1985 to the trusteeship of the council under a
Deed of Grant in Trust A Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) is the name for a system of community-level land trust established in Queensland to administer former Aboriginal reserves and missions. They came about through the enactment by the Queensland Government of the '' ...
. On 24 April 2002, the council’s name was changed from Poruma Council to Poruma Island Council. In 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission recommended that the 15 Torres Strait Island councils be abolished and the Torres Strait Island Regional Council (TSIRC) be established in their place. In elections conducted under the ''Local Government Act 1993'' on 15 March 2008, members of the 15 communities comprising the Torres Strait Island Regional Council local government area each voted for a local councillor and a mayor to constitute a council of 15 councillors plus a mayor. In the , Poruma Island had a population of 149 people. In the , Poruma Island had a population of 167 people.


Education

Tagai State College - Poruma Campus is a primary (Early Childhood-6) campus at Olandi Street () of Tagai State College (headquartered at Thursday Island) .


Amenities

The Torres Strait Island Regional Council operates the Poruma (Ngalpun Ngulaygaw Lag) Library on Main Street.


See also

* Coconut Island Airport *
List of Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait between Queensland, Australia and Papua New Guinea. This is a list of the named islands and island groups in the Torres Strait. In addition there are u ...


References


Attribution

This Wikipedia article contains material fro
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community histories:Poruma (Coconut Island)
Published by The State of Queensland under CC-BY-4.0, accessed on 3 July 2017.


Further reading

*


External links


The Poruma resort
{{authority control Torres Strait Islands Torres Strait Island Region Queensland in World War II Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Government Localities in Queensland