The Marine Realm and a Sense of Place Among the Papua New Guinean Communities of the Torres Strait

Abstract

Using the geographical concept of place this dissertation examines the subjective understandings and emotional attachments the inhabitants of the northern coast of the Torres Strait possess with regard to the marine realm. For the communities under study a sense of place is grounded in a broad range of socio-historical developments. Of fundamental importance are shared notions about the origins of distant ancestors and their deeds. Oral histories, songs and place names preserve and celebrate the memory of these revered forebears. In addition, ceremonies and rituals as well as everyday practices such as the exploitation of resources for subsistence and trade have had the reciprocal effect of enhancing and reinforcing local inhabitants' feelings of connectedness to the marine sphere. A sense of place is also derived from a long involvement in the commercial fisheries of the Torres Strait. For more than a century local residents have been engaged in commercial fishing, both as wage laborers and independent producers, and the act of earning a livelihood in the marine industry is regarded today as an integral part of their heritage. Close social bonds continue to exist among the various groups that comprise the traditional inhabitants of the Torres Strait, but there exits fundamental differences in the ways groups relate to the marine environment. Recent economic and political events in the region, most notably the imposition of the maritime border between Australia and Papua New Guinea, have accentuated these differences. A marine resource management program in the Torres Strait that endeavors to provide for the full and direct participation of local communities can only succeed if opportunities are created for communities to communicate to each other their different values, goals and aspirations with respect to the Torres Strait and its resources.