Coconut Island (Queensland)

Coconut Island
Native name: <span class="nickname" ">Poruma

Satellite image of Coconut Island

A map of the Torres Strait Islands with the Coconut Island labelled as Poruma

Geography
Location Northern Australia
Adjacent bodies of water Great North East Channel, Torres Strait
Administration
State Queensland

Coconut Island, Poruma Island, or Puruma in the local language, is an island in the Great North East Channel near Cumberland Passage, Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. One of the Torres Strait Islands, Coconut Island is 130 kilometres (81 mi) northeast of Thursday Island. Administratively, Coconut Island is within the Shire of Torres.[1][2][3] In the 2011 census, Poruma Island had a population of 149 people.[4]

The ancestors of Coconut Island built their houses out of grass, coconut leaves and trees that floated down from the Fly River jungles of Papua New Guinea.

The islands have sea turtle hatcheries, bird life, giant clam ground, huge palms, World War II relics and massive sand flats.

Language

The language of Poruma (locally known as Puruma) is the Kulkalgau Ya dialect of Kalau Lagau Ya.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Coconut Island (island) (entry 7650)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Torres Strait: the region and its people Torres Strait
  3. ↑ Poruma (Coconut Island) Torres Strait Island Regional Council
  4. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Poruma Island (SSC)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 February 2015.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.