2 minute read
Mabo Day
Coming of the Light
On 1 July 2021 Torres Strait Island communities gathered on Erub to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Coming of the Light or ‘Keriba Lagaw Buiya’. Coming of the Light is an important event of regional and national significance and is celebrated on 1 July each year. This event recognises the introduction and adoption of Christianity throughout the Torres Strait. Council was honoured to support the week-long celebration of this historical event.
On 1 July 1871 Reverend Samuel MacFarlane of the London Missionary Society and Reverend Archibald W Murray, along with South Sea Islander evangelists and teachers, landed at Kemus Cove on Erub on the boat Surprise. Their arrival introduced the Bible and Christianity to the Torres Strait. They were met by Dabad, an Erubian warrior chief who turned his back on tribal ways by welcoming them, leading to a shift in the path of Torres Strait Islanders’ spiritual beliefs. A prominent Erub monument bears the inscription, In loving memory of Dabad. A Clan Elder who defied his Tribal Law and accepted the Words of God from the London Missionary Society on 1st July 1871 at Erub. The week-long celebrations included a procession and church services at the Kemus Monument and Dabad Medigee Village, conducted by the Anglican Bishop of North Queensland, the Right Reverend Keith Joseph and Deacons and Priests from across Torres Strait Island Communities. Federal Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch also attended the celebrations.
Traditional spear-making, weaving and tie-dyeing activities were held at Beulah Muud. Model sailing boats were raced on the beach and traditional feasting, singing and colourful island warrior dancing completed the festivities. The occasion was also marked by the opening of an exhibition at Erub Arts and the launch of its publication, Erub Commemorating the Light 150th Anniversary, 1871 – 2021, the result of several years of research, expanding on the Erub history and the significance of the first landing of missionaries at Kemus Bay. The heritage-listed All Saints Church on Erub, constructed in 1898, plays a central role in the annual celebrations and was repainted in preparation for the anniversary. Christianity remains strong in Torres Strait Island Communities today, while Communities also continue to uphold their age-old connection to land, sea and sky, practising their traditional customs, and cultural identity referred to as ‘Ailan Kastom’.
Families and dignitaries at the Kemus Beach service
Bishop and community priest at the Dabad Memorial service
