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Teleradio Wireless Aids Torres Strait Beche-de-Mer Fishers

NATIVES of Torres Strait Islands have developed a modern outlook on life.

Under the influence of wireless, their conditions have undergone a radical change.

The islanders sail their luggers to the fishing fields, and spend a week or two catching beche-de-mer or gathering pearl shell. From time to time they land and use the new radio-telephone sets which have just been installed at 14 points in Torres Strait and on Cape York Penin sula. Thursday Island is called up and the state of the market discussed. If they hear that current prices are good, they hurry into port with the catch; otherwise they continue fishing.

So the formerly unsophisticated is landers now govern their operations and watch the Islands produce markets as closely as a farmer with a crop of wheat to sell or a speculative international stock broker.

Mr. F. L. Dawes, engineer of Amalga mated Wireless (A/asia), Ltd., returned to Sydney in August with this story of the routine life of the Torres Strait Islanders transformed by the introduction of radio.

On behalf of A.W.A., Mr. Dawes has in stalled wireless at 14 Government and Mission station's, where missionaries and

officials now talk by word of mouth with Thursday Island.

Hardly had the first station been in stalled than a man fell into a hole and suffered grave injuries. A wireless call was made to Thursday Is. and promptly an aeroplane flew over the intervening 200 miles and carried the man to hospital, five days earlier than could have been the case but for the radio.

The places on Cape York equipped are Aurakun, Weipa, Mapoon, Lockhart River, and St. Paul’s Mission stations and Iron Range goldmine. The Torres Islands served are Badu, Mabuiag, Saibai, Yorke, Darnley, and Murray. The Government patrol ketch “Melbidir”, which travels among the islands, has also been fitted; and at Thursday Island a permanently

operated “mother station” has been in stalled which keeps in touch with the whole of the out-stations.

A distress call from a Mission or Govern ment station does not necessarily entail the despatch of a medical man. In simple cases, Dr. Nimmo, of Thursday Island, discusses a patient’s symptoms and gives instructions for treatment. On one oc casion, five stations were simultaneously “hooked up” with T.I. and five groups of parents talked to the doctor about the whooping cough which afflicted their children.

Mrs. H. F. Ayson, wife of Judge Ay son, Resident Commissioner of the Cook Islands, arrived in Rarotonga by the August “Matua”.