90 years ago, Torres Strait Islander workers in the pearl shell industry were angry.
Subjected for years to racist and restrictive conditions by government officials, by January 1936 the workers could contain their righteous fury no longer, leading to their historic strike.
The collective industrial action was the first by Indigenous maritime workers in Australia.
Their actions, and the seismic changes they effected in labour relations in the industry, are being celebrated in a week-long commemoration beginning in the Torres Strait on Monday.
Ned David is the chair of Gur A Baradharaw Kod Torres Strait Sea and Land Council (GBK), which is staging the celebration.
“Torres Strait Islander men stood together on the shores of our islands and said ‘enough’,” the Kulkalgal and Meriam man said.
“The 1936 Maritime Strike was the first organised Indigenous maritime strike in the country.
“It is time we tell this story, and reflect on how it has shaped modern Australia.”
Throughout the week, attendees can look forward to a variety of events, including seminars, cultural exhibitions, and a special visit from Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
The festivities are set to continue until January 16, offering a full week of engaging activities and celebrations.
Torres Strait Islanders’ skills as divers go back millennia, born of a sacred relationship with the waters of their homeland.
After colonisation, those skills were exploited for the pearl-shell industry, with scarce recompense for the dangerous work.
By the 1930s, Torres Strait Islanders laboured under the auspices of the (inappropriately named) ‘protector’, who limited their movements and spending, and dictated the crewing of ships.
In January 1936, JD McLean was the local protector, and had imposed even more restrictive nighttime curfews.
While McLean was on a tour of the islands to recruit people to the so-called ‘company ships’, Torres Strait pearlers, finished with the racism and repression, led the country’s first Indigenous maritime workers’ strike.
Over months, there were arrests, and some concessions from government, including increased wages.
But the collective action held firm until, by September, real changes had been implemented: abolishing the curfew, self-determination in crewing boats and the departure of the loathed McLean.
The famous Masig Conference of the following year, a pivotal event in the Torres Strait’s fight for self-determination, in no small part was inspired by the events of 1936.
“For many years, public focus has been placed on the 1937 Masig Conference,” said GBK Chair Mr David.
“But the spark that lit the fire of change came one year earlier.”
The celebration will run all week, until January 16.
