One Sweet day in Thursday Island

Heading out to Thursday Islands again is something I haven't done before. I've always been focused on reaching the sign and not going any further. So, being able to go somewhere a little bit further and broaden my horizons was great. Today, we have the team from Petals Fairies with us, who will give us a good tour. It's time to catch up with them. I've been to Cape York several times, but I've never been to Thursday Island. I don't know why it hasn't worked out before. Having Christine with us, a passionate local who knows the island and even speaks the local lingo, is a great opportunity to learn about the place and its history. It's definitely worth the trip. It showed me a different side to Cape York, revealing some interesting Australian history in the Green Hill area. It's bizarre when you hear the story. It was a setup in case the Russians came in the 1800s, so they set up gun placements and defenses to protect Australia, as it is the main shipping channel and an international shipping channel. Green Hills also houses an underground museum with relics from the pearl diving era and artifacts from the traditional people of the island. If you're ever up here, I highly recommend exploring these bunkers. It provides a great insight into the history of this island, which I didn't realize Thursday Island had. It made me realize there is so much more to explore. From Thursday Island, we took the ferry to Horn Island. It was a nice little drive on the water, very relaxing. When we arrived, Vanessa, our host for the day, picked us up. She was full of life and clearly had a passion for the area and its history. We knew we were in for a great experience. Horn Island offers a blend of modern history, especially from the World War II period, and the traditional history of the Torres Strait Islanders who inhabited the area before the arrival of white settlers. Seeing the two histories together gives you an idea of what life was like when they started to blend. These people had rich traditions and suddenly had another culture moving in with them. It's impressive to see how they worked together and developed a culture where they could coexist in harmony. There is a lot of mutual respect between both sides. In Horn Island with Vanessa from Torres Strait Heritage, we are doing a tour that focuses on the World War II sites on the island. The one we are currently at, King Point, used to be a 34th factory. Horn Island is like a time capsule from that era. As we walk around, you can find remnants of that time everywhere. My husband and I are working on conserving as many examples as we can. This particular site is the most conserved World War II site in the region. This 10-ton gun is a three-point-seven-inch anti-aircraft gun with a range of 30,000 feet. There were four of them at King Point and four at Horn Island Wharf. The soldiers who manned these guns came from Victoria and had an average age of 19 to 20. They spent two years here, starting by digging holes with pickaxes and shovels and then moving the guns using ropes and pulleys. It took them hours despite having all the necessary equipment. World War II history wasn't something I paid much attention to in school. It wasn't until later, when I got older, that I found out my grandfather had served in the war. He was quite secretive about some of his experiences, but being able to connect a family member to that era is special and makes it more personal.