Yorke Island (Queensland)

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Yorke Island (Masig Island) is situated in the eastern section of Torres Strait, near the Great Barrier Reef and just North of Coconut/Poruma Island and West of Murray/Mer Island.

This island is one of the Torres Strait Islands

Yorke Island, traditionally known as Masig, is a coral cay, about 2.7 km long and 800 m at its widest point in the west-central Torres Strait. The inhabitants, skilled navigators with a detailed knowledge of the reefs, have always occupied a central position in the Straits trading networks.

In 1845, Masig people could be found trading from the west of the Straits to the east. Before the arrival of teachers from the London Missionary Society in the 1870s, Masig was attracting a diverse community of immigrants, some brought by the pearl and trochus shell industry.

The Queensland Government moved the people of Aureed to Masig after it was declared a government reserve. Luggers owned by Masig families continued to operate until the shell industry collapsed in the 1960s. The people then shifted successfully into commercial mackerel fishing, prawning and crayfishing. A highly profitable fish factory has operated on the island since the late 1970s, freezing the catch and airfreighting it to southern markets[1].