Thursday Island
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Thursday Island Queensland |
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View of the township of Thursday Island
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 Thursday Island
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| Coordinates | 10°34′44″S 142°13′12″E / 10.57889°S 142.22000°ECoordinates: 10°34′44″S 142°13′12″E / 10.57889°S 142.22000°E | ||||||||||||
| Population | 2,610 (2011 census) | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 746/km2 (1,931/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4875 | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 8.0 m (26 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Area | 3.5 km2 (1.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Torres | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Cook | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Leichhardt | ||||||||||||
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Native name: Waiben Nickname: TI |
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A map of the Torres Strait Islands showing 'Waiben' in the south-western waters of Torres Strait
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| Geography | |
| Location | Northern Australia |
| Archipelago | Torres Strait Islands |
| Adjacent bodies of water | Torres Strait |
| Area | 3.5 km2 (1.4 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 104 m (341 ft) |
| Administration | |
| State | Queensland |
Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the native language, Waiben, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago located approximately 39 kilometres (24 miles) north of Cape York Peninsula in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It has an area of about 3.5 square kilometres (1.4 square miles). The Muralag peoples are the traditional owners of the land and seas surrounding Thursday Island. The highest point on Thursday Island, standing at 104 metres (341 feet) above sea level, is Milman Hill, a World War II defence facility. At the 2011 census, Thursday Island had a population of 2,610.
Thursday Island is within the Shire of Torres, but is the administrative and commercial centre of the Torres Strait Island Region despite not being part of that local government area.
The island has been populated for hundreds of years by the Torres Strait Islanders, though archeological evidence on Badu, further north in Torres Strait, suggests that the area has been inhabited from before the end of the last Ice Age. The archeology from Badhu, Pulu, Saibai and Mer shows that Melanesian occupation started around 2,600 years ago (see Kalau Lagau Ya).
The original place of permanent European settlement in Torres Strait was Somerset, south-east of the tip of Cape York Peninsula, established in 1864. However, the channel between Albany Island and Somerset proved to be hazardous for a port and in 1875 it was jointly decided by the Queensland and British governments to transfer the port to the deep anchorage on the south side of Thursday Island. The new port was called Port Kennedy, after Edmund Kennedy, the explorer of Cape York Pensinsula, was established in 1867.
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