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#REDIRECT ]
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Refimprove|date=July 2011}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = Murray Island
| native_name = ''Mer''
| sobriquet = <!-- or nickname -->
| image_name = Murray Islands (Landsat).png
| image_size = 220px
| image_caption = A satellite image of Murray Island
| image_alt =
| map_image = TorresStraitIslandsMap.png
| map_alt =
| map_size = 220px
| map_caption = A map of the ] showing ''Mer'' in the northeastern waters of ]
| location = ]
| coordinates = {{coord|9|55|S|144|3|E|type:isle_region:AU|display=title,inline}}
| archipelago = ]
| waterbody = ]
| total_islands = 3
| major_islands = 1
| area_km2 = 4.29
| area_footnotes =
| rank =
| length_km = <!-- or length m -->
| length_footnotes =
| width_km = <!-- or width m -->
| width_footnotes =
| coastline_km = <!-- or coastline m -->
| coastline_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 234
| elevation_footnotes =
| highest_mount = Gelam Paser
| country = Australia
| country_admin_divisions_title = State
| country_admin_divisions = ]
| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = Regional Authority
| country_admin_divisions_1 = ]
| country_admin_divisions_title_2 = Local Government Area
| country_admin_divisions_2 = ]
| demonym =
| population = 485
| population_as_of = {{CensusAU|2006}}
| density_km2 =
| density_footnotes =
| ethnic_groups =
| website =
| additional_info =
}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type = town
| name = Murray Island
| city =
| state = qld
| image =
| caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|-9.914|144.042|type:city_region:AU-QLD|display=inline}}
| pop = 453
| pop_year = {{CensusAU|2016}}
| pop_footnotes = <ref name=Census2016/>
| established =
| postcode =
| timezone = ]
| utc = +10:00
| dist1 =
| dir1 =
| location1 =
| dist2 =
| dir2 =
| location2 =
| dist3 =
| dir3 =
| location3 =
| dist4 =
| dir4 =
| location4 =
| lga = Torres Strait Island Region
| stategov =
| fedgov =
| maxtemp =
| mintemp =
| rainfall =
}}
'''Murray Island''' is a town on the north-west coast of '''Meer Island''' (also known as '''Mer Island''' or '''Maer Island)''' in the ], ], Australia.<ref>{{Cite QPN|23612|Murray Island|population centre in the Torres Strait Island Region|accessdate=17 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite QPN|20523|Meer Island|island in the Torres Strait Island Region|accessdate=3 November 2019}}</ref> The island is part of the Murray Island Group in the ].<ref>{{Cite QPN|23613|Murray Island|island group in the Torres Strait Island Region|accessdate=17 January 2020}}</ref> The town is within the ] of ] (the locality boundaries are the coast line of the island).<ref>{{Cite QPN|46717|Mer Island|locality in the Torres Strait Island Region|accessdate=17 January 2020}}</ref> The island is of ] origin, the most easterly inhabited island of the ] ], just north of the ]. The name ''Meer/Mer/Maer'' comes from the native ] language. In the {{CensusAU|2016}}, Murray Island had a population of 453 people.<ref name=Census2016/>


{{R from merge}}
The island is populated by the ] ]. There are eight tribes on Mer: Komet, Zagareb, Meuram, Magaram, Geuram, Peibri, Meriam-Samsep, Piadram/Dauer. The organisation of the island is based on the traditional laws of boundary and ownership.

==Geography==
Murray Island, located in the eastern section of ], is a ]ic island formed from an ], which was last active over a million years ago.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.volcanolive.com/murray.html|title=Murray Island Volcano|last=Seach|first=John|website=Volcano Live|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101000142/http://www.volcanolive.com/murray.html|archive-date=1 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> It formed as a result when the ] slid over the ]. The island rises to a plateau {{convert|80|m}} ].

The highest point of the island is the {{convert|230|m|adj=on}} Gelam Paser, the western end of the volcano crater. The island has red fertile soil and is covered in dense vegetation. The island has a tropical climate with a wet and dry season.

The ] group comprises three islands: Murray Island (''Mer''), ] (''Dauar'') and ] (''Waua'').

==History==

=== Pre-European settlement ===
]
Murray Island has been inhabited for around 2800 years, the first settlers being Papuo-Austronesians who brought agriculture and pot making with them. Regular contact between the inhabitants of Torres Strait (including Murray Island, known by the Meriam people as Mer Island), Europeans, Asians and other outsiders began once the Torres Strait became a means of passage between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean in the 19th Century.

]
The inhabitants of the Torres Strait, including the Meriam people, gained a reputation as fierce warriors and skilled mariners. Warfare (both intertribal and against European ships in transit through the Coral Sea) and ] were part of the culture of all Torres Strait islanders. The account of Jack Ireland, a surviving cabin boy from the ] Charles Eaton that was wrecked in 1834 at Detached Reef near the entrance to Torres Strait, is of interest in this respect. Ireland and another young survivor named William D'Oyley spent much of their time on the island before being rescued.

In 1836 a large ceremonial mask was recovered from neighbouring Aureed (Skull) Island following the rescue of Ireland and D'Oyley and their return to Sydney. The mask was made of turtle shells surrounded by numerous skulls, seventeen of which were determined to have belonged to the crew and passengers of the ''Charles Eaton'' who were massacred when they came ashore following the shipwreck. The mask was entered into the collection of the Australian Museum after the skulls were buried on 17 November 1836 in a mass grave in the Sydney cemetery in Devonshire Street. A monument - in the form of a huge altar stone - recording the catastrophe by which they perished was erected. When the ] was resumed for the site of the Central Railway Station in 1904 the skulls and the monument were removed to Bunnerong Cemetery at Botany Bay Sydney.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McInnes|first1=Allan|title=The Wreck Of The ''Charles Eaton''|date=1983|publisher=Diamond Press|location=Windsor|page=45}}</ref>

=== Post European settlement (1872) ===
Missionaries (mainly Polynesian) and some other Polynesians began to settle on the island in 1872 when the ] founded a missionary school there.<ref name="tsic">{{cite web |url=http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/atsi/community-history/missions/tsi-communities/i-m#murray |title=Torres Strait Island communities I-M |date=11 May 2011 |publisher=State Library of Queensland |accessdate=4 July 2011 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924102847/http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/atsi/community-history/missions/tsi-communities/i-m#murray |archivedate=24 September 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The ] annexed the islands in 1879. Tom Roberts, the well-known Australian painter, visited the island in 1892.<ref name="mad">{{Cite news |url=http://www.torresnews.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1387%3A118-year-old-murray-island-art-discovered&catid=3%3Anews&Itemid=1 |title=118-year-old Murray Island art discovered |author=Bousen, Mark|accessdate=4 July 2011 |date=6 March 2010 |newspaper=Torres News }}</ref> He witnessed a night-time dance and depicted it in a painting.

In 1936, a maritime strike fuelled by Islander dissatisfaction with the fact that their wages and boats were managed by the ] allowed islanders to assert control and reject government controls. In 1937, the inaugural meeting of Island Councillors on ] resulted in the '']'', giving Islanders more authority in their own affairs and established local governments on each island.

]
After the outbreak of the ] in 1941, over 700 Islanders volunteered to defend the Torres Strait. This group was organised into the ]. The migration of Islanders to mainland Australia increased as jobs disappeared in the ] industry. A call for independence from Australia in the 1980s was due to the government failing to provide basic infrastructure on the island.

Murray Island's most famous resident was trade unionist ], whose decision to sue the Queensland Government to secure ownership of his land, which had been removed from his ancestors by the British colonial powers using the '']'' legal concept, ultimately led to the ], on appeal from the Supreme Court of the State of Queensland, issue the "]" to finally recognise Mabo's rights on his land on 3 June 1992. This decision continues to have ramifications for Australia. Mabo himself died a few months before the decision. After vandalism to his grave site, he was reburied on Murray Island where the islanders performed a traditional ceremony for the burial of a king.<ref name="queens">{{Cite news |url=http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/06/13/87891_news.html |title=Queenslander |accessdate=4 July 2011 |date=13 June 2009 |publisher=News Limited |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004080459/http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/06/13/87891_news.html |archivedate=4 October 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In the {{CensusAU|2006}} Murray Island had a population of around 485.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}

In the {{CensusAU|2016}}, Murray Island had a population of 453 people.<ref name=Census2016>{{Census 2016 AUS|id=UCL322077|name=Murray Island (UCL)accessdate=20 October 2018|quick=on}}</ref>

==Culture==
]
The people of Mer maintain their traditional culture. Modern influences such as consumer goods, television, travel and radio are having an impact on traditional practices and culture. Despite this, song and dance remains an integral part of island life and is demonstrated through celebrations such as Mabo Day, Coming of the Light, Tombstone openings and other cultural events. In 2007, after two years of negotiations, the skulls of five Islander tribesmen were returned to Australia from a ] museum where they had been archived for more than 100 years.<ref name="misrss">{{Cite news |url=http://www.torresnews.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=524&Itemid=1 |title=Mer Islanders reclaim sacred skulls |accessdate=4 July 2011 |date=3 July 2007 |work=Torres News |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704052442/http://www.torresnews.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=524&Itemid=1 |archivedate=4 July 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The artist Ricardo Idagi was born on Murray Island.<ref name="coaw">{{Cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/carved-out-of-ancestral-whispers/story-e6frg8n6-1225781303773 |title=Carved out of ancestral whispers |author=Rothwell, Nicolas|authorlink=Nicolas Rothwell|accessdate=4 July 2011 |date=1 October 2009 |newspaper=] |publisher=News Limited }}</ref> Idagi won the main prize at the ] in 2009.

==Language==
The people of Murray Island speak ] and ], a member of the ] of ]; its sister languages being Bini, Wipi and Gizrra. Though it is unrelated to ] of the Central and Western Islands of Torres Strait, the two languages share around 40% of their vocabulary. ] is a second language.

==Governance==
Murray Island is governed by the Community Council, which is responsible for roads, water, housing and community events. The Community Council is an integral part of community life. The elders of the community hold a position of respect and also have a major influence on island life.
Queensland’s control was moved from just 3 miles, to a large 60 miles offshore. This brought all of Torres Strait that were within a couple hundred meters of New guineas coast, into Queensland.
The laws rose from requests from the public, who were asking for the lease of islands Queensland’s coast. As before this, all islands that were within three miles of the coast, were under Queensland’s control. Murray island waited unclaimed until 1879. In 1879, Britain annexed the island to Queensland. The reason for annexation was to protect the British and their property, control the Torres Strait and sea lane to India, dominate fishing and pearling industries and to extend authority to some non-British areas.
Britain also gave all control of Torres Strait islands to Queensland, with no negotiating treaties, in order to avert enemy colonial powers claiming the region.

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|Queensland|Islands}} }}
*]
*]
*]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*, and for more information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs

{{Torres Strait Island Region}}
{{Torres Strait}}


] ]

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