Our flag, our story: The Torres Strait Islander flag by Bernard Namok Jnr, Thomas Mayo and Tori-Jay Mordey

Everybody knows the Aboriginal Flag, with its bold trio of colours, and the Torres Strait Islander flag, with its prominent head dress, but while most people will be able to say what the Aboriginal flag means they may not be as knowledgeable about the Torres Strait Islander flag. This book aims to overcome this lack of knowledge, showing along the way the development of the flag in the islands of the Torres Strait north of Australia, looking like a row of stepping stones from Papua New Guinea to Queensland.

The father of the author, Bernard  Namok, was also a Bernard and he came to the understanding that while the Aboriginal flag represents the First Nations of Australia, there was a need for a flag for those people on the islands, a different group of people.

For many years the people of the islands traded with those people from the north and these are represented by the green stripe at the top of the flag, while the green at the bottom of the flag represents those people from the mainland of Australia, with whom they also traded.

The brilliant blue between the greens represents the blue of the sea surrounding the islands, where much of their food comes from.

The Dhari in the centre of the flag represents their culture. The five pointed star represents the ancestors and shows the way the people find their way from island to island. The star also represents the five groups of islands which make up the Torres Streets and importantly the peace which exists between the Torres Straits Islanders, Aboriginal people and the Australians who have come from many places. We are all one big family.

This uniquely presented story of the Torres Strait Islander flag reveals the background of the people of the Torres Strait. Through the story we see how they live, how they harvest the sea, where they live, how they interact with other peoples within their ambit.

Bernard Namok Jnr is a Torres Strait Islander man from Thursday Island. He is the son of the late Bernard Namok, designer of the Torres Strait Islander Flag and has worked on several projects celebrating his father’s legacy.

Thomas Mayo is a Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man. He is a signatory and advocate of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and has written a number of books.

Tori-Jay Mordey is an established illustrator and artist, born on Thursday Island and is known for her range of books. More about these people can be found on the Magabala website.

Themes: Flags, Torres Strait Islander people, Torres Strait, Reconciliation.

Fran Knight