Sunday, February 18, 2018, Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia

Just off the northernmost tip of Australia’s Cape York in the Torres Strait, picturesque Thursday Island was once home to a thriving pearl fishing industry. From the late 19^th century, divers came from Japan, Malaysia, and India to harvest the precious stone of the gold-lipped oyster.  The diving has declined, but hints of Asia’s rich cultures remain.  Many island residents still live by a no-footwear policy out of respect for the spirits believed to live on the island.

We were greeted with an orientation of indigenous peoples and how they lived for thousands of years before Europeans first arrived 300+ years ago.

 Even though it was Sunday, towns people provided entertainment and set up craft displays.

 One and only grocery store in town.

 We spotted large turtles from our cruise ship while at anchor.

 The cloud formation were the largest and prettiest we have seen thus far.

The island’s Green Hill Fort was built in the 1890s as concerns about a Russian invasion grew.  It was shut down just 30 years later and reactivated during World War II as a wireless station.