Head of Campus: David Grant
Phone: (07) 4214 8555 | Fax: (07) 4069 4075
Email: principal@yorkislass.eq.edu.au
Campus enrolment: 55 Students
Year Levels: Kindy to Year 6
Population: 270*
Cluster: Central Islands
English Name: Yorke Island
Traditional Name: Masig
Masig is a coral cay about 2.7kms long and 800m wide at its widest point. It is located in the west-central Torres Strait.
The dialect spoken on Masig is Kulkalgaw Ya which is a part of the Kala Lagaw Ya traditional language.
The Masig people are renowned as skilled navigators with a detailed knowledge of the reefs and have always occupied a central position in the Straits trading network. In 1845, Masig people could be found trading from the west of the Straits to the east. Before the arrival of teachers from the London Missionary Society in the 1870’s, Masig was attracting a diverse community of immigrants, some brought by the pearl and trochus shell industry. The Queensland Government moved the people of Aureed to Masig after it was declared a government reserve. Luggers owned by Masig families continued to operate until the shell industry collapsed in the 1960’s. The people then shifted successfully into commercial mackerel fishing, prawning and crayfishing. A highly profitable fish factory has operated on the island since the late 1970’s, freezing the catch and air-freighting it to southern markets.
*Source: 2016 Census