Got the Peddells Ferry at 8am. The journey is lovely out through the islands and takes about 1 hour 10 mins. The ferry was packed we got two of the last tickets. The island itself is tiny only 3.5 square kilometres. We walked from the ferry port to the Green Hill Fort which was built 1891-1893 as part of the Australian defence against a possible Russian invasion. The Torres Strait played a vital role in Australia’s northern defence during WWII. The war reached the strait with air raids on Horn Island in March 1942. However the islands were not bombed as there was a rumour back then that a Japanese princess was buried here, which could have been true because from 1878 to 1941 thousands of Japanese were employed in the gathering of pearl shells. 99% of all diving licences were Japanese. Approximately 700 died and over 50% of those were under 21 years of age. The legendary “Darnley Deeps” (the deep waters of Darnley Island) claimed these young lives. The most common cause of death was “The Bends”. There is a monument to commemorate the 700 lives lost.

I didn’t realise that there are three languages spoken in the Torres Islands – Kalaw Lagaw Ye, Meriam Mir and a Torres Strait Creole. This creole sounds like a mix of French and Pidgin English, the pronunciation is definitely more French.

A really lovely island everything was clean with decent houses and well looked after gardens. There is a hospital on the island and I was amazed to see that James Cook University has a building here for Tropical Diseases. Even though the island is small it is the administrative hub for all the Torres Strait hence the decent infrastructure.

A great day trip.