Do your bit to help preserve Torres Strait Islander culture!

Torres Strait Islanders have maintained an unbroken cultural relationship with the Torres Strait for millennia through the ocean.  Islanders have an inextricable link to the sea and this is reflected in stories and songs that have been passed from generation to generation. Likewise, Islander artwork features aspects of the sea and islands.

     Most importantly, Islanders and their culture have been sustained by the sea – it provides a valuable protein food source. 

     Recently, to accommodate the changing world, Islanders have drawn their income from the sea by way of pearl diving, line fishing, crayfishing and in the case of Tony Titasey, operating a fishing charter on the FV Madam Dugong.  A fishing charter enables Tony to draw an income from the sea in a modern world and at the same time share aspects of his culture with visitors to the Torres Strait.

     Tony has a seafaring ancestry like all Islanders.  Every male forebear has been a fisherman.  His father (an Indonesian who married into the Mills family) and uncles worked as pearl and trochus shell divers.  His grandfather, in quiet moments between fishing, made pearl shell and shell ornaments which were sold as souvenirs.  The efforts of these men and other men like them have raised generations of Islander children.     
     Tony passes his cultural knowledge onto his children.

     

     Torres Strait Islander culture remains strong as it continues adapting to the fast-changing modern world.

     You can help support Torres Strait Islander culture by buying a copy of My Island Homicide written by Tony’s wife, Catherine. 

     Any income derived by Catherine Titasey from book sales will be applied exclusively to maintaining Torres Strait Islander culture, specifically to enable Tony to continue his relationship with the sea.  In fact, Tony is more than happy to spend all of Catherine’s money on his fishing charter operations such as buying tackle, maintaining the FV Madam Dugong and attempting to convert as many of his clients who are not interested in fishing into keen fisherfolk.

     Do your bit to help a Torres Strait Islander continue fishing and maintain their ancestral connection to the sea. 
     Buy a copy of My Island Homicide!