Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal peoples of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped with them as Indigenous Australians. Today, there are many more Torres Strait Islander people living in mainland Australia than on the Islands.
Geographical distribution of people with Torres Strait Islander Indigenous status.
Geographical distribution of people with both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous status.
Geographical distribution of people with Torres Strait Islander ancestry.
Indigenous Status of population in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population.
Melanesians are the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in an area stretching from New Guinea to the Fiji Islands. Most speak one of the many languages of the Austronesian language family or one of the many unrelated families of Papuan languages. There are several creoles of the region, such as Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Solomon Islands Pijin, Bislama, and Papuan Malay.
Biak in Southwest Papua, Indonesia
A Fijian mountain warrior, photograph by Francis Herbert Dufty, 1870s.
Girls from Vanuatu