This is a maritime history of the Torres Strait shipping route including the inner passage along the Great Barrier Reef and the outer one through the Coral Sea. With it, for the first time, the full and fascinating story is told of the famous ships' Post Office and Refuge Depot at Booby Island in the Straits.
Many wrecks are recounted, and a few reputations are wrecked as well, while others are enhanced. Some myths are exploded, and a few mysteries revealed.
It is a complete history of Australia's most strategic seaway, from the first discovery to the present day, and told by a mariner who has researched the history of Torres Strait for years and found many previously unpublished ships' logs and documents, plus charts, photos sketches and more.
The author writes in the Preface: 'My first return to Australia was 'via Torres Strati' almost fifty years ago. It sparked my interest in historic and strategic 'Straits', particularly as we ran into a little 'spot of bother' on the way down the Great Barrier Reef. ... Since then I have made quite a few more passages up and down this magnificent waterway and my interest has grown over the years. Retirement from the sea has allowed me to research many of the early voyages through the Straits and a few later ones, including some of the inevitable wrecks, and others which were quite unexpected.
Contents:
Preface
Introduction
Booby Island and Torres Strait - Early Voyages
Early Portuguese Claims
The First Naming of Booby Island
Cook Rediscovers Torres Strait and Names Booby Island
Early Boat Passages through the Straits
First Commercial Passages of Torres Strait
Early Punitive Action Proves Effective
The Voyages of Matthew Flinders
Booby Island Becomes a Place of Refuge
First Recorded American Passage of the Straits
The Blind Leading the Blind
Lieutenant Jeffreys and the Colonial Brig 'Kangaroo' 1815-17
The Facts about 'Lady Elliot'
Discoloured Water, A Mariner's Dilemma
Lieutenant P.P. King's Surveys
The R.N. Hydrographer Neglects Torres Strait
Operation of the Post Office
Pioneers of Eastbound Passages Through the Straits
Captain Fraser's Version
Captain McKenzie's Epic Easterly Passages in the 'Heroine' 1844-46
First Settlement in North Australia
Details of the 'Valetta' Wreck Finally Revealed
A Significant Inner Route Convoy in 1830
The Tragedy of the 'Charles Eaton'
Genuine Mariners Not Guilty
Booby Island Post Office Becomes and Official Refuge Depot
Visits by HMS 'Beagle' in 1839 and 1841
Experience of a Beche-de Mer Party, 1846
The First Concerted Survey
Whaling in the Straits and off the Barrier
Raine Island Beacon and Temporary Refuge
'The Cruise of the 'Midge''
Intelligence from Booby Island Post Office
A Description of Torres Strait in 1848
Native Craft: Nautical Prowess and Canoes of the Torres Strait Islanders
Booby Island Testimonials
The Wreck of the Bark 'Jenny Lind' 1850
'For the Benefit of the Health'
The Cruise of the 'Torch'
A French Mariner's Memories
The Race for Salvage
Steamers in the Straits
First Vice Regal Visit
Port and Settlement of Somerset, Port Albany, Established 1864
Booby Island in the 1870s
Re-Growth of Reef Cays
Pearling in Torres Strait
Queensland Claims the Entire Strait, by the Admiralty in Ambivalent
Telegraphic Communications
Establishment of a Pilot Service
Torres Strait Refuges
Thursday Island
Booby Island Lighthouse
Contributions by Merchant Mariners
What Caused the Major Openings in the Barrier?
A Comparison of Losses on each Route and the cost in Human Lives
Pioneer Yachtsmen Pass Through the Straits
Defence of the Straits in the Colonial Era
World War I
Formation of the RAN Surveying Service
Tropical Cyclones and Weather Reports
Ships in Strife Between the Wars
A Yacht Cruise in the Reef, En Route to Singapore 1932
World War II
A Case Study, HMS ' Bonaventure' 1947
The Advent of Radar
Protection of the Environment
Language, People, Customs and Communications
Epilogue
Appendix 1. Chronological List of Early Passages vis Torres Strait
Appendix 2. Transcript of Notices and Messages Found in the Port Office 'Logbook'
Appendix 3. Copy of Notice Left for Mr Gregory or any Members of the N.A.E.E.
Appendix 4. Passage Times as Recorded at Booby Island Port Office etc.
Appendix 5. Navigable Passages and Openings through the Great Barrier Reef
Appendix 6. Torres Strait Island Names and Alternative, Obsolete of Local Equivalents
Appendix 7. Bibliography
Appendix 8. Abbreviations
Index
