Horn Island, Queensland
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Horn Island (Narupai Island) () is an island in the Torres Strait, in Queensland's north between the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea.
Church Influence: London Missionary Society up until 1915 when the Anglican Church assumed responsibility.
Horn Island is known as Nurapai / Nguruapai to the Muralag/Kaurareg people and was given its English name by Matthew Flinders in 1802. After the 1871 massacre on the Prince of Wales Islands (Muralag) remnants of the people settled here for a short while, until the government relocated the Muralag people to Hammond Island (Keriri) where they remained until 1922.
A community flourished here from the pearling era but was abandoned when non-islander residents were evacuated to southern towns of Queensland during WWII. Gold was mined here in the 1890s and again in the late 1980s. During World War II it was occupied by the military.
In 1946, after World War 2, some of the Muralag people moved back from Moa Island (Kubin) to Horn and settled here in present-day Wasaga Village at the western end of the island. In the late 1980s, Horn saw the rapid expansion of population and building activity as land on neighbouring Thursday Island became scarce.
Horn Island is the site of Torres Strait Islands Thursday Island's airport, which makes it a gateway for travellers to the mainland and outer islands. The present day population consists of islanders drawn from all islands of the Torres Strait, as well as non-Islanders. Residents travel daily by ferry across the Ellis Channel to Thursday Island for work and school. Torres Shire is the local government authority, providing the island community's municipal services.
The island has a population of approximately 650 and is 53 km² in area.
[edit] Aerial photos & maps
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- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
