Tolin's 2024 World Cruise blog posts, Day 47 Feb 25, 2024, Thursday Island, AU, Thursday Island Intro

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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 24 miles north of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.


Thursday Island is also the name of the town in the south and west of the island, formerly known as Port Kennedy, and also the name of the locality which contains the island within the Shire of Torres. The town of Rose Hill (known as Abednego until 7 September 1991) is located on the north-eastern tip of the island.

In the 2021 census, Thursday Island had a population of 2,805 people.




Thursday Island has an area of about 1.4 square miles. The highest point on Thursday Island, standing at 341 feet above sea level, is Milman Hill, a World War II defense facility.

More info:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thursday_Island




Dance program by Torres Straight students who attend the
Thursday Island boarding high school





One of two hotels on the small island



Self defense gun left over from WW II


Housing area


Back to the Torres Straight flag
  • The colors of the flag represent the Torres Strait Islander people’s connection to the land, sea and sky.
  • The flag was the winning entry in a design competition in 1992.
  • In 1995, the Torres Strait Islander flag was recognized by the Australian Government as an official 'Flag of Australia' under the Flags Act 1953.
  • The flag was created as a symbol of unity and identity for Torres Strait Islander peoples. The cultures and traditions of Torres Strait Islanders are strongly connected to the land, sea and sky — elements which are represented in the flag.

The green panels at the top and bottom of the flag represent the land and the central blue panel represents the sea. The black lines dividing the panels represent the Torres Strait Islander people. The center of the flag shows a white dhari (dancer’s headdress) which represents Torres Strait Islander culture.

Underneath the dhari is a white five-pointed star. The star is an important symbol for navigating the sea. The points of the star represent the five island groups in the Torres Strait and the white symbolizes peace.

Each part of the flag gives meaning to Torres Strait Islander culture and holds special legal and political status worldwide.

More info:  https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/torres-strait-islander-flag




Customs House


Meanwhile, a tender will transport us back to our waiting cruise ship



After three sea days, we will pay a visit to the Komodo (+ "O") Island



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