Thursday Island Research Articles

Music in Thursday Island Schools: Processes of Reciprocal Exchange

This paper explores music teaching and learning as evidenced at Thursday Island State School and Thursday Island State High School. Based on a series of observations and interviews conducted with relevant school staff during 2002, it examines a number of significant issues: the multifaceted nature of the music programs offered; the potential for music to be an effective contributor to other learnings, such as literacy; the importance of community consultation and adherence to Torres Strait Island protocols in delivering music programs; and the development of culturally responsive pedagogies to facilitate learning. Each of these issues highlights the necessity of reciprocal exchange between the cultures of Island community and Western schooling structures in order for effective music teaching and learning to take place.

Report on the Torres Strait Creole Project, Thursday Island State High School

Abstract This is a slightly abbreviated version of part of a report commissioned at the end of 1995 by the Queensland Department of Education, Peninsula Region, and carried out with the help of teachers at Thursday Island State High School. It analyses some formal language differences between written Standard Australian English and spoken Torres Strait Creole (the language of most of the students) as a basis for workshop writers to develop material in a form suitable for teachers. Looked at objectively, most of the students’ errors in written English occur as a result of transference from their first language, or in areas of grammatical complexity which pose problems for all English as a Second Language learners. Certain common spelling errors seem also to be a result of transference from the Creole. The report has been fairly widely circulated and is sometimes quoted inaccurately; hence the decision to publish the formal linguistic section here. Some of the material in the report - on the languages of the region, students’ language backgrounds and cultural factors influencing language choice and language mixing and issues of classroom management - has been omitted (see Shnukal, 1996; see also Morrison David, 2003). The report fulfilled its main aim of raising awareness of language issues and providing information and rationale for various language and literacy programs now operating in the region (Shopen & Hickey, 2003).

Report on the Demographics and Language Groups of Thursday Island State High School Students at the State Esl (English as a Second Language) Conference, Brisbane, December 2001

ABSTRACT This report was originally delivered to the State English as a Second Language Conference held in Brisbane in December 2001. It was part of a team presentation made to a plenary session by representatives from Torres Strait (Terry McCarthy, Mette Morrison David, Judy Christian Ketchell, Raba Jobi, Keith Fisher, Kay Ahmat and Susan Shepherd). Its aim was to inform Queensland English as a Second Language teachers about the language situation at Thursday Island State High School shortly after the appointment of an Education Advisor English Language Acquisition. The report deals with the linguistic background of the students, the teaching of languages other than English and the urgent need for appropriate professional development in English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language insights and methodologies.

Answering Teachers’ Questions at the Esl (English as a Second Language) Conference, Badu Island, 15-18 May 2000

Abstract In 2000 a program of English as a Second Language inservice provision was initiated by the Thursday Island State High School in response to teacher and community concerns about low literacy rates in Torres Strait, as measured by the National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia Bandscales and other related difficulties. In mid-May of that year an English as a Second Language conference was held on Badu Island and was attended by teachers from throughout Torres Strait. During the conference, Susan Shepherd (Education Adviser English Language Acquisition at Thursday Island State High School) conducted a question-and-answer session dealing with some of the most commonly asked questions: What is English as a Second Language teaching? What is an English as a Second Language learner? What is an English as a Second Language school? Why is the students’ English not improving in my school? Can we have learning support teachers? Why shouldn’t the children’s home language be banned from the school so that the students will learn English more quickly? Why can’t the children understand more about what they read? Why, if the local Creole is so much like English, do we need special programs in English?

Around inCircles orExpanding Spirals?: aRetrospective Look atEducation inTorres Strait, 1964-2003

Abstract From the early 1900s, education in the Torres Strait was dominated by protectionism and segregation. In 1964 on Thursday Island the segregated state school system was abolished: “coloured children” could attend the high top from 1964 and thus secondary schooling became available to all as far as year 10. Since then there have been considerable changes. This paper describes and analyses some of these within a framework of relational justice and social access. Themes discussed include written texts about the people of Torres Strait and about education in Torres Strait; the growth of Torres Strait Islander voice in educational research; educational governance, facilities and staffing; teaching in Torres Strait classrooms; curriculum and vlanguage; preparing teachers to teach in Torres Strait; supporting teachers in Torres Strait; school-community relationships; and some recent initiatives.

'The Saving Grace of Social Culture'

This article explores the dissemination of globalised popular culture forms into the “white culture” of colonial Thursday Island (henceforth TI), the administrative centre of Torres Strait in northern Queensland. The analysis draws on a variety of media sources from approximately 1881 to 1906. It is grounded in an historical understanding of Torres Strait as a place of cultural convergence and also a society affected profoundly by the transnational flows and connections of popular culture forms, such as music, used in part to popularise British Imperialism (MacKenzie, 1992). Both “high” and “low” culture are examined to illustrate how British and North American cultural values and institutions helped create hybrid forms which contained aspects of the two main lineages of Australian popular culture, as explored by Whiteoak (2001; 1999; 1993), Waterhouse (1995), Johnson (1987), and Bisset (1979). Our goal in this article, and other on-going research, is to appreciate TI as the hub of this process for Torres Strait.

Contentious Connections

Contentious Connections

Japanese-Australians in the Post-war Thursday Island Community

From the late 19th century, a scattering of small Japanese communities gradually established themselves around the northern coast of Australia. These communities existed as ethnic minorities within already established communities of Europeans and indigenous Australians in towns such as Broome, Darwin and in the sugargrowing areas of northern Queensland. The largest of these communities were found on Thursday Island, in the Torres Strait, and Broome, in Western Australia. At the outbreak of World War II, Thursday Island was the largest Japanese community in the country.

Review Article1: Bringing Spencer and Gillen Home

My Dear Spencer contains extant letters of Frank J. Gillen to Baldwin Spencer between the years 1894 and 1912 when Gillen died. Different chapters of the book present letters pertaining to the writing of The Native Tribes of Central Australia, The Northern Tribes of Central Australia, to Gillen's and Spencer's 1901 expedition through the Centre to Thursday Island, and to their early and later collaborations. In addition, there are introductory essays on Gillen's 'life and times,' and his 'science,' by John Mulvaney and Howard Morphy respectively. A glossary of Aranda (Arrernte) and other terms has been supplied by David Wilkins and Alison Petch who is also a general editor for the book. My Dear Spencer is a work of immense scholarly interest to anthropologists, historians and Antipodean collectors alike. The editorial treatment of the letters is extensive and provides both national and international contexts for the stream of data and reflections contained in Gillen's corre-

Two contiguous outbreaks of dengue type 2 in north Queensland.

To investigate two outbreaks of dengue type 2 in north Queensland, one in the Torres Strait beginning in late 1996, the other in a Cairns suburb in early 1997. Epidemiological investigation of all laboratory-confirmed cases of dengue, entomological investigation of the local environment, and laboratory analysis of the isolated dengue viruses. Numbers of confirmed and of locally acquired cases; virus serotype; comparison of nucleotide sequences between viruses isolated from the two outbreaks; and Breteau Index (BI = number of containers with larvae of the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti found per 100 houses investigated) on the affected islands and in the Cairns suburb. There were 201 confirmed cases of dengue in the Torres Strait outbreak, which lasted nearly seven months, and seven confirmed cases in the Cairns outbreak, which lasted about nearly 11 weeks. Most (190) were confirmed as dengue type 2. Nucleotide sequencing of viruses isolated from the two outbreaks showed they were identical. Ae. aegypti breeding sites were very common on the five Torres Strait islands surveyed (BIs, 73-219--high risk), but less so in the Cairns suburb (BI, 23). The most common breeding sites were water storage reservoirs, particularly rainwater tanks, on the outer Torres Strait islands, discarded containers (such as plastic containers, buckets and tyres) on Thursday Island, and garden items (such as flowerpot bases and jars) in Cairns. The virus responsible for the Cairns outbreak was most probably introduced from the Torres Strait, whereas the virus responsible for the Torres Strait outbreak was imported from Papua New Guinea. Preventive strategies tailored to specific locations are needed to reduce breeding of Ae. aegypti in north Queensland, and the consequent risk of future outbreaks of dengue.

Selected lines of Aedes aegypti with persistently distorted sex ratios

A breeding scheme to isolate X chromosomes sensitive to drive by the T8 (Trinidad) Y chromosome of Aedes aegypti (the MD haplotype) is reported. Crosses with an Australian strain Th.I (Thursday Island) revealed not only sensitive and resistant X chromosomes but also some with the capacity to drive against the T8 Y chromosome. Four strains were created in which sex ratio was male-distorted (28–36 per cent ♀) for 10 generations, with no regression towards sexual parity. The proportion of females varied significantly between generations in each of the four strains. Further selection produced strains with normal sex ratios, capable of generating fewer than 15 per cent ♀ on outcrossing to T8 males.

Selected lines of Aedes aegypti with persistently distorted sex ratios.

A breeding scheme to isolate X chromosomes sensitive to drive by the T8 (Trinidad) Y chromosome of Aedes aegypti (the MD haplotype) is reported. Crosses with an Australian strain Th.I (Thursday Island) revealed not only sensitive and resistant X chromosomes but also some with the capacity to drive against the T8 Y chromosome. Four strains were created in which sex ratio was male-distorted (28-36 per cent Female) for 10 generations, with no regression towards sexual parity. The proportion of females varied significantly between generations in each of the four strains. Further selection produced strains with normal sex ratios, capable of generating fewer than 15 per cent Female on outcrossing to T8 males.

The trade of our ancestors:Papuan participation in the early Torres Strait Marine industry∗

Abstract Papuans on the New Guinea mainland along the northern coast of the Torres Strait became extensively involved in the commercial harvest of pearl‐shell and other marine products soon after the fishing industry began in the Strait during the 1860s. Papuan communities successfully integrated this new economic activity into their traditional lifestyle, and a stint working aboard one of the luggers attached to the Thursday Island fleet became almost a rite of passage for young men. Yet working conditions on these vessels were harsh and the wages offered indentured labourers were low. Despite remedial measures taken by the colonial government many Papuan crewmen fell victim to disease. Villagers quickly recognised the advantages of working as independent commercial harvesters and took pride in their ability to adopt European fishing techniques. Today, these Papuan communities regard the involvement of their ancestors in the early marine industry as a vital part of their cultural heritage.

Language in Learning at Thursday Island High Schoo

Last year I was approached by the Thursday Island High School in Torres Strait to analyse the major linguistic differences between Standard English and Torres Strait Creole – the language of the majority of the students – insofar as these affect the students' comprehension and production of written English texts. In this, the High School was responding to a request by its Management Committee and general concern about the students' acquisition of English literacy.

Dengue in north queensland, 1990-1992

Epidemics of dengue fever have occurred sporadically in North Queensland since the first reported cases in 1885. From April 1990 to March 1991, 36 locally acquired cases of infection with dengue virus type 1 were confirmed, either by serology or by virus isolation, in patients from Townsville, Caims and Thursday Island. These were the first cases of locally acquired Dengue Fever for 7 years in North Queensland. The most common symptoms were fever (90%), headache (62%) and rash (60%). No patients had haemorrhagic manifestations, or shock. An outbreak of Dengue Virus infection, which commenced in April 1992, was occurring in North Queensland at the time of abstract publication. By June 1992, at least 60 cases of infection with dengue virus type 2 had been confirmed either by virus isolation or serology in patients from North Queensland, with diagnostic work ongoing as the outbreak continues. The Breteau indices of Aedes aegypti abundance in Townsville and Thursday Island have, at times, indicated a moderate to high risk of Dengue Virus transmission. Dengue Fever outbreaks continue to emerge in North Queensland, with the ongoing risk of dengue haemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome.

Perceived Vulnerability of Citrus to Canker in the Major Citrus Growing Areas of Australia.

Xanthomonas campestris pv. citri, the cause of citrus canker, has not been detected in the major citrus growing areas of Australia. Recent isolated findings of canker A on Thursday Island (1984–85) and near Darwin (1990) have raised concerns about the vulnerability of citrus in the main citrus growing areas to the introduction of canker. Weather records indicate that, if introduced, canker could be serious at Gayndah in the Central Burnett area of Queensland and at Kulnura in coastal New South Wales. In the more arid areas of the Riverland (Loxton, Renmark), Sunraysia (Mildura), the mid-Murray area of Kerang and the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (Griffith), a less favourable environment for canker development exists.

Successful Eradication of Citrus Canker From Thursday Island.

A campaign to eradicate citrus canker from Thursday Island was initiated in 1984 following the detection of Xanthomonas citri. Ten citrus trees were found with symptoms of the disease over a two-year period. No symptoms of citrus canker have been observed since February 1986. The disease was declared eradicated in September 1988.

Isolation and characterization of dengue viruses serotype 1 from an epidemic in northern Queensland, Australia.

Thirteen strains of dengue type 1 were isolated from the lymphocyte fractions of 69 acute phase blood samples collected at Thursday Island Hospital during 1981 and 1982. One further strain of type 1 was isolated from 7 blood samples despatched by air from Cairns Base Hospital during 1982. Four of these Australian isolates representing the beginning, middle, and end of the epidemic were examined by restriction enzyme mapping and were found to be identical for the nine restriction enzymes used. The maps differed from those derived from two Malaysian dengue type 1 strains isolated during the epidemic of 1981-82 in that country. This suggests reliance on serological typing to establish global circulation patterns of epidemic dengue is insufficient and that more specific methods such as genome mapping are useful.

Categorization of domestic breeding habitats of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Northern Queensland, Australia.

In a survey of artificial water-bearing containers in northern Queensland, Australia, the eight wet-container categories generally did not differ significantly in proportions containing Aedes aegypti (L.) larvae. Water storage containers were a significant source of breeding on a tropical island (Thursday Island) and moderate at an inland rural town (Charters Towers); at two eastern seaboard cities (Townsville and Cairns), garden accouterments such as saucers for pot plants and plant-striking containers provided the majority of habitats. Rubbish (including automobile tires) and discarded household items were of less importance at all localities. A positive response to environmental sanitation and public education campaigns was indicated at Thursday Island and Townsville but not at Cairns.

William Saville-Kent, F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.R.M.S. (1845-1908)

William Saville-Kent pioneered the scientific management of fisheries in Australia from 1884 to 1907. His wide-ranging research interest extended from infusoria to salmon and he worked in Britain, off Portugal, and in every part of Australia from Thursday Island in the north to Tasmania in the south. He cultured a number of marine species and was a leader in the movement to utilise the great Victorian public aquaria for scientific purposes. His prolific pen delineated Australia's commercial fish resources, and brought to Europe, for the first time, the diversity and scale of the Great Barrier Reef.