History of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have their own distinct identity, history and cultural traditions.

Aboriginal people

We do not know precisely when Aboriginal people arrived in what is now Queensland. Many archaeological sites in Queensland have been dated between 15,000 and 30,000 years. The oral tradition of Aboriginal people, passed down in myths and legends of the Dreaming, also tells us that they lived here for thousands of years before European settlement.

Research shows that Aborigines were knowledgeable and sophisticated managers of resources. They arranged themselves into complex social and territorial groups that varied throughout the continent. The diversity of art styles and ceremonies show that the Aboriginal lifestyle was more than mere survival. These people had spiritual, economic and social practices.

Torres Strait Islander people

The Torres Strait Islands are between Australia and Papua New Guinea and are made up of over 100 islands. The strait was named after Luis Vaez de Torres, a Spanish explorer who sailed through the area in 1606. Torres Strait Islanders are Melanesian in origin.

Torres Strait became part of Queensland in 1879, after the Queensland Coast Islands Act 1879 was passed in the Queensland Parliament.

The Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 was used to effectively make Indigenous people wards of the State. This Act was enforced in the Torres Strait in the early 1900s and saw Islanders subjected to travel restrictions and their wages placed under the control of the government.

In 1936 a maritime strike was held in an effort for Islanders to take control of their own affairs and to gain fairer treatment.

In 1947 the first Torres Strait Islander was permitted to work on the mainland to cut cane and in the 1960s Islanders were free to work and settle elsewhere.

There are 4 different languages spoken by Torres Strait Islander people. The traditional religion is Zogo; many converted to Christianity in the 1870s when the London Missionary Society visited the Islands.

In 1982 Eddie Mabo and other Torres Strait Islander people started legal action to claim ownership of their land in the Torres Strait. The case spanned over 10 years resulting in the High Court of Australia judgement that overturned the principle of terra nullius in Australia and recognised the traditional land rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.