Qld - Thursday Island

While staying at Seisea, the northern most town in Australia, about 40 km from the tip, we decided to take a day trip to Thursday Island.
Thursday Island is 30km off the Cape York Peninsula in the heart of the Torres Strait. The people are lovely and friendly and the island had a real Polynesian feel about it. I love the accents of the people and could listen to them talk all day. Years ago, the island had a huge pearl shell industry, mainly for making buttons, and unfortunately over 700 Japanese divers lost their lives due to the bends. They are buried in the local cemetery where there is now a memorial dedicated to their lives. Today, the main industries are cray fishing and tourism.
We hired a local taxi driver, Slim, who took us on an island tour and showed us all the interesting spots. The island is only about 3 kms around, so the tour was only about an hour long.
At the dock we watched the barges arriving. Everything on the island, including food, has to be brought in.
The island is very relaxing and you almost feel like you are in a time warp about 50 years ago. ((Nice feeling actually.)