Survival and revival in the Torres Strait

Climate change is lapping at the shores of Poruma, a tropical island in Australia’s Torres Strait. It is a dot in the Pacific Ocean – just two kilometres long and 300 metres wide – that sits halfway between the northern tip of Australia and the south of Papua New Guinea. This tiny landmass is becoming smaller. King tides are battering its beaches, and coastal erosion is eating the island at both ends.

Moving is not an option for the locals. They have a deep spiritual connection with the land and sea, and, for many, fishing is their source of income. Global warming is not their only threat.

Christianity came to the Torres Strait in the late 1800s and it has been embraced by the Islanders. But when the people of Poruma gained this faith, they lost parts of their culture and language. As former councillor Aunty Nora Pearson explains, ‘Christianity trimmed us’. Today, the island’s native tongue Kulkalgaw Ya is critically endangered, but the belief in God is strong.

ABC producer Siobhan Hegarty journeys to the Torres Strait where the locals are fighting to save their land, their language and their cultural traditions – before it’s too late.