Throwing off the Cloak: Reclaiming self-reliance in Torres Strait

Description

Osborne focuses on the Torres Strait Islander peoples' evolving struggles for recognition of their unique Indigenous island identities. She foregrounds the voices of the Torres Strait Islanders themselves, as views were rarely sought nor recorded from the arrival of outside intervention in the 1840s up to the 1970s. Osborne records the peoples' collective passive resistance as well as the successful Border No Change protest. In more recent years the Islanders have refined their skills in dealing with political leaders and have used the media to reach a wider audience. The local newspaper and radio station are now platforms for lively discussion. As governmental policies became less dismissive of Indigenous aspirations and concern for Indigenous welfare increased, Osborne explores the debates centering on the Islanders' struggle to recover their rights to their land, sea, fish resources, and decision-making for their own wellbeing.

Dr Elizabeth Osborne's association with Torres Strait began in 1967. For five years she lived on Thursday Island and became the foster mother of several local children. She and her husband continue to share a vision for education in Torres Strait. Her writing expresses her desire for recognition of those Torres Strait Islander women whose wartime courage had gone undocumented.

This is a passionately-written and valuable chronicle of events of great significance to the recent history of Torres Strait and has broader resonances for the future of remote Aboriginal mainland communities. --Dr. Anna Shnukal, Queensland Museum