Moa Island (Queensland) in the context of Thursday Island, Queensland


Moa Island (Queensland) in the context of Thursday Island, Queensland

⭐ Core Definition: Moa Island (Queensland)

Moa Island, also called Banks Island, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago that is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Thursday Island in the Banks Channel of Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is also a locality within the Torres Strait Island Region local government area. This island is the largest within the "Near Western" group. It has two towns, Kubin on the south-west coast and St Pauls on the east coast, which are connected by bitumen and a gravel road. In the 2021 census, Moa Island had a population of 432 people.

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Moa Island (Queensland) in the context of Kalaw Lagaw Ya

Kalau Lagau Ya, Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kala Lagaw Ya ([kala(u) laɡau ja]), or the Western Torres Strait language (also several other names, see below) is the language indigenous to the central and western Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia. On some islands, it has now largely been replaced by Torres Strait Creole.

Before colonization in the 1870s–1880s, the language was the major lingua franca of the Torres Strait cultural area of Northern Cape York Australia, Torres Strait and along the coast of the Western Province/Papua New Guinea. It is still fairly widely spoken by neighbouring Papuans and by some Aboriginal Australians. How many non-first language speakers it has is unknown. It also has a 'light' (simplified/foreigner) form, as well as a pidginised form. The simplified form is fairly prevalent on Badu and neighbouring Moa.

View the full Wikipedia page for Kalaw Lagaw Ya
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