Mer Island
- Local Government Area
- Torres Strait Island
- Postcode
- 4875
- Population
- 406
- Area
- 4.07 km²
- Coordinates
- -9.9167, 144.0514
- Data
- Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics ASGS boundaries, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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About Mer Island
Mer Island (also known as Murray Island or Maer Island) is an island in the Murray Island Group of the Torres Strait, Queensland, and the traditional home of the Meriam people. It is best known as the birthplace of Eddie Koiki Mabo, whose long campaign for land rights led to the High Court's landmark 1992 Mabo decision overturning the doctrine of terra nullius. The Meriam are a fishing and trading people, and the island's culture was recorded by British anthropologist Alfred Cort Haddon, who visited in 1888-89 and returned with the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition in 1898. The island's town sits on its north-west coast.
Nearby localities
- Waua Islet 4 km
- Dowar Islet 4 km
- Erub Island 48 km
- Ugar Island 72 km
- Masig Island 73 km