Moa Island, Queensland

Moa Island (Banks Island) is an island 90 km north of Thursday Island Queensland, Australia in the Banks Channel Torres Strait.This island is one of the Torres Strait Islands and is the largest of all Torres Strait islands and has 2 settlements connected by a gravel road.

Kubin, Queensland is a community largely made up of people moved from Prince of Wales Island, Torres Strait Muralag (Prince of Wales Island) and other nearby Torres Strait Islands in the early 1870s, along with survivors from Hammond Island who were moved to Poid, on the southwestern corner of Moa Island in 1921. Poid was abandoned after the World War II; one group moving back to their Narupai (Horn Island) homeland and the remainder moved east to Kubin under the leadership of Wees Nawia. Kubin residents retained their links with the Thursday Island, Bamaga and Cowal Creek (Injinoo) communities and with their help established a number of business enterprises.

St Pauls is the other settlement on Moa. After the forced repatriation of Pacific Islander labourers, following the federal government's introduction of a restrictive immigration policy in 1904, the Queensland government set aside a reserve on Moa's eastern shore for those who managed to remain in Queensland, many of whom had married Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people. In 1908 the Anglican Church began developing St Pauls Mission. They also established the St Pauls Native Training College. A community council was established under the Torres Strait Islander Act 1939, and in 1985, the St Pauls community gained ownership of their land through a Deed of Grant in Trust.

ignificant Case Law

[http://www.atns.net.au/biogs/A000181b.htm Mualgal People v State of Queensland (1999) FCA 157 (12 February 1999)]

Aerial photos & maps

ee also

[http://tsieducation.eq.edu.au/modules/page/?artid=7 Kubin State School]