February 18, 2018 – Thursday Island, Australia

Just off the northernmost tip of Australia’s Cape York in the Torres Strait, picturesque Thursday Island was once home to a thriving pearl fishing industry. From the late 19th century, divers came from Japan, Malaysia and India to harvest the precious stone of the gold-lipped oyster. The diving has declined, but hints of Asia’s rich cultures remain. The island’s Green Hill Fort was built in the 1890s as concerns about a Russian invasion grew. It was shut down just 30 years later and reactivated during World War II as a wireless station. Many island residents still today live by a no-footwear policy out of respect for the spirits believed to live on the island. 

This is a beautiful island, but it is very, very hot. Temperature was in the high 90s and the weather said it felt like 109. And, it was very humid. As we got off of the tender, there was a small part there with turtle statues and the history of the island. Instead of me repeating it, here it is from the part.

We were then met by one of the Kaurareg people us and led us to where one of the tribesman spoke to us about this chain of islands. There are 42 islands and the Kaurareg are the aborigines who first settled them. He mentioned that the Kaurareg have suffered a history of injustice. They have been slaughtered and moved to other islands by the European invaders. By the early 1900s there were very few left, but they were able to survive.

We then went off exploring. We were aiming for Green Hill Fort, up in the hills. Green Hill Fort on Thursday Island was built between 1891-1893 as part of Australia's defense against a possible Russian invasion. It was eventually decommissioned some time in 1927 and the buildings were demolished and the guns were spiked. Green Hill is a small grassy hill about 58 meters above sea level at the western end of Thursday Island.

There are five rooms with 600mm thick concrete walls used for ammunition storage. The initial buildings on site were the general storeroom, shell store, cordite room, lamp room and artillery store. A timber and corrugated iron guardhouse (25' x 15') was also built over a 20,000 gallon underground well. A cooling plant machine room and a powder room were added in 1912. "Air conditioning ducts were installed from the cooling plant machine room to the cordite store.

It was reactivated during WWII and was used as a Signals and Wireless Station. The main change to the fort was the filling of the doorway to the Artillery Store by the Royal Australian Engineers with reinforced concrete in 1942. There is evidence of some small Seaward defense emplacements on the grassy slopes for machine gun emplacements.

From 1954 to 1993 the land at Green Hill Fort was used for a weather station by the Bureau of Meteorology. Today the guns are still there and the ammunition storage is a museum. However, by the time we go there it was closed. It was a long walk up a steep hill to get there, and half way up someone gave us a ride to the top. That was much appreciated.

And the views from up there were worth the trip up.

The town, 3,000 people, was also very beautiful.

And then it was back to the tender and our ride to the ship. It took us only about 3 hours, but we were tired and hot.

We now have two sea days before we are in Darwin, Australia.