THE PROJECT
As many Islanders know, most Torres Strait Islanders live on the mainland, not in Torres Strait! After talking about the history of Islanders migrating to the mainland, in 2005 we came up with the idea of of writing a book about the subject. Partly because of the economic impact, we decided to focus on the history of torres Strait Islanders who came in the 1960s and 1970s to work in the railways. In writing this story, we are interested to know how that experience transformed their lives, how they found work in the railways. We also want to write about how Islanders were treated when they arrived, what the working conditions were like, and how they coped with working so far from their island homes. In 2006 we received a grant from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies to do the research and in 2007 we began work on the project.
PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTIONS
Along with interviews, photographs can tell us important information about the work and living conditions of railways workers and their families. The National Library in Canberra has some photos that we have been showing to those we interview to see if they can identify the people.
We have also received copies of photographs from many people and hope we might one day be able to tell this important history in a photographic exhibition. We have many photos and want to be able to label them accurately as one of the outcomes of our project.
Thank you to the people we have interviewed so far. Your stories have made an exciting start to this project. We are working our way though our growing list of railways workers and their families.
Esso and yawo for now, Leah and Shino
CONTACT US
We would still love to hear from more Islanders who worked in the railways so we can include your stories. So please get in touch with us if you would like to be involved in the project, or know someone who does. Feel free to contact us even if you some questions about our project.