'I AM SITTING forward, in nautical terms, looking astern at my awa, who is guiding us through reefs and straits on a moonless night. Above him are stars like phosphorescence in the squid-ink sky. Around his silhouette I see phosphorescence like stars in our small dinghy’s wake. I’m a young man excited to be going night-spearing for kaiyar, the painted crayfish.' (Introduction)
Ngai gar kulai upasian, ngai kuiku mabaigal matha muiya muingu, nga ka thanumun ya i kulai mulie kie. Ngai gar lak upasian kowa kuiku mabiag einabie lugngu thana ka ngulpun wakai waiyak. Ngai mina kaima eso, Awa Waubin.
(Before I speak, I pay my respects in silence, speaking with my ancestors, acknowledging them. I pay my respects to the Rightful Owners of this land who will give us guidance. I express gratitude to Uncle Waubin for teaching me.)
'In this Griffith Review extract Thomas Mayor writes about how his people have a different history of Captain Cook’s ‘discovery’ of the Torres Strait. Now is the time for truths to collide and come together.'
'In this Griffith Review extract Thomas Mayor writes about how his people have a different history of Captain Cook’s ‘discovery’ of the Torres Strait. Now is the time for truths to collide and come together.'