Prince of Wales Island (Queensland)


The Prince of Wales Island, or Muralag, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago at the tip of Cape York Peninsula within the Endeavour Strait of Torres Strait in Queensland, Australia. The island is situated approximately north of Muttee Heads which is adjacent to Bamaga and south of Thursday Island. It is within the locality of Prince Of Wales within the Shire of Torres.
Most of the land has been returned to the Kaurareg people, who are the traditional owners of the island.

Geography

With an area of, Prince of Wales Island is the largest of the Torres Strait Islands. Being inhabited only by a few Kaurareg families, it is very sparsely populated. The town in the north of the island is called Muralug, after the native name of the island.
The northeastern corner of the island, Kiwain Point, is only away from Vivien Point of Thursday Island, the main and most populous of the Torres Strait Islands, separated by Normanby Sound.

History

First recorded sighting by Europeans of Prince of Wales Island was by the Spanish expedition of Luís Vaez de Torres on 3 October 1606.
A occurred on Muralag and Wednesday Island in 1869 after it was thought that they had attacked and killed the crew of the schooner Sperwer after it was shipwrecked in 1869, and punishments continued for years, decimating the population of Kaurareg people.

Language

The island's native name is Muralag. The indigenous language of the Thursday Island group is Kaiwaligau Ya, also known as Kauraraigau Ya . Kaiwalaig means "islander", and Kaiwaligau Ya means "islanders' language". Kaiwaligau Ya is one of the four dialects of Kala Lagaw Ya, spoken throughout Torres Strait except for the Eastern Islands, where Meriam Mìr is spoken. Most Kowrareg now use Brokan for everyday communication, though the dialect still has many good mother-tongue speakers.

Education

There are no schools on the island. The nearest primary and secondary schools are on Thursday Island.