Aspects of early local administration, education, health and population on Mabuyag.

This paper surveys changes in administration, education, health and demography on Mabuyag within their socio-political context. Traditional clan governance was adopted (with modifications) by the colonial administration, when in the late 1870s it appointed a head man (mamoose) to ensure social order and administer justice, assisted by local police and courts; he was replaced in 1906 by an elected local council. These administrative arrangements were unique to Torres Strait in nineteenth century Indigenous Australia and encouraged by the London Missionary Society, which began schooling on Mabuyag in 1873. A government school was opened in 1900, a post-primary Training College for teachers and clerks in 1934. Improved health and sanitation measures and immunity from introduced diseases brought population stability and from the 1930s a slow increase. However, Mabuyag, like other islands, lost population in the postwar outflow to mainland Australia, not recovering until the mid-1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]