Sue Islet (or Sue Island), also known as Warraber, is the middle

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

of The Three Sisters,

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ 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, ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. This island is one of the

Torres Strait Islands 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 , but their tot ...

and is within the locality of Warraber Islet in the

Torres Strait Island Region 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 gove ...

Geography

It is in the Vigilant Channel. Situated on a

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

cay, Sue Island has an abundance of traditional foods such as wongai and

coconuts The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

. Fish,

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

s and

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...

inhabit the warm waters and coral reefs surrounding the island. The island is threatened by

rising sea levels The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

, and coastal defences have been built on many of the beaches on the island. The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...

(IPCC) has predicted that by 2100, tides will rise by 30–110cm, depending on the timing and level of cuts to

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

History

Warraber Island State School was opened on 29 January 1985. On 1 January 2007 it became the Warraber Island campus of the Tagai State College.

People

The people of Sue Island are part of the Kulkalaig, of the Central Islands of Torres Strait, including Nagi. Specifically, the Nagilgal and of Waraberalgal are the same people. Life on the island remains very traditional and includes hunting, dancing, and ''thayilai'' (feasts); vital components of contemporary life.

Language

The day-to-day language of Warraber is Brokan (

Torres Strait Creole Torres Strait Creole (), also known as Torres Strait Pidgin, Brokan/Broken, Cape York Creole, Lockhart Creole, Kriol, Papuan, Broken English, Blaikman, Big Thap, Pizin, and Ailan Tok, is an English-based creole language (a variety of Pidgin ...

); however, the traditional language of the people of Waraber is Kulkalgau Ya, one of the four dialects of

Kalaw Lagaw 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. On some islands, ...

. Kulkalagau Ya phrases: ''Ni midhadh?'' How are you? ''Ninu nel nga?'' What is your name? ''Stuwa unaga?'' Where is the store? ''Ninu waru ubilaig, au?'' Do you like turtle? ''Ni kulkalgadh yamuleka, au?'' Do you speak Kulkalgau Ya? ''Ni markaidh muleka, au?'' Do you speak English? ''Ina ngau mudh.'' This is my house. ''Kayib mina kapu goeiga.'' This is a really nice day. ''Maal kapu idi.'' The sea is dead calm. ''Inabi ai mina kapu mithalnga.'' This food is very delicious. ''Aye, ngoeba buthuka.'' Come, let's go to the beach.

Religion

Many Sue Islanders still retain strong links to their traditional religion, centring on ancestor worship, including a totemic clan structure. An important religious figure was Kulka, one of Malo-Bomai's brothers. The inhabitants (Kulkalgal) are named for Kulka. On 1 July every year the residents of Sue Island observe the " Coming of the Light". On this date in 1871, a Christian reverend named Samuel MacFarlane of the

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 tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

came to convert the Indigenous people of the Torres Strait to Christianity. Currently, there are two main churches on the island, including the more traditional Church of the Torres Strait and the Pentecostal

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

Church.

Education

Warraber Island Campus is a primary (Early Childhood - Grade 6) campus of Tagai State College ().

Facilities

Warraber Island has an Indigenous Knowledge Centre operated by the

Torres Strait Island Regional Council 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 gove ...

. It functions as a library and a

visitor centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic c ...

Navigation

This island houses new ship tracking and communications technologies (

Automatic Identification System The automatic identification system (AIS) is an automatic tracking system that uses transceivers on ships and is used by vessel traffic services (VTS). When satellites are used to receive AIS signatures, the term ''Satellite-AIS'' (S-AIS) is ...

s) and ship polling via the

INMARSAT Inmarsat is a British communications satellite, satellite telecommunications company, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with groun ...

C satellite system.

References

{{Coord, -10.207, 142.825, region:AU-QLD_type:isle, display=title Torres Strait Islands Torres Strait Island Region