17th June 2026: breakfasted at the Wongai Hotel on muesli fresh fruit and yogurt then Vanessa Seekee picked us up in her van and we collected the other members of the tour, all from Outback spirit. Many of the tour including Nic & I had fathers who fought in WW2 and Vanessa’s first task was to look everyone’s relatives up on some sort of data base she had access to! 

She then took us to King Point where we saw an anti-aircraft gun placement sandbagged area with a place for the aircraft spotters, and an underground plotting room using “the Predictor” to determine where in front of an enemy aircraft’s path a shot shot be aimed. These structures have been archaeologically excavated by a team led by the Seekee’s. We saw areas in the bush where stash’s of aviation fuel were hidden and a restored zigzag slit trench. There were 5000 Australian and American troops on the ground on Horn Island in 1942 from a number of different battalions and regiments including the 880 strong Torres Straight Light Infantry Battalion. 500 Japanese bombs were dropped on Horn Is during 1942 and 1943. 

Out of population of about 3500 TI men , 880 volunteered for Torres Straight Light Infantry Battalion even though they could not vote and received 1/3 the pay of white Aus soldiers! The were known as the Sarpeyes ( Sharpeyes like the sea eagle) because they had great local know of winds and tides and navigation channels.

We then spent more time in the TI Heritage museum full of personal stories of the soldiers who served.

We caught a ferry back to Thursday Island, checked in yo the Grand hotel then went for a walk to the Island Stars cafe for a coffee and I saw a painting that I liked. We went back to the Gab Titui Cultural Centre, to the Sarpeye memorial and in search of a Wongai tree to taste the berries, but they weren’t yet ripe!

We had delicious grilled barramundi at the Grand and then Nic watched State of Origin which Qld won!- a quieter day tomorrow! 

King Point




Slit trench
Story of Vanessa and Liberty Seekee
White Ibis
Time and Tide Inter-Island ferry
Scaley breasted Munia
Olive Backed Sun bird
Memorial to the “Sarpeyes”



Selfies at dinner at the Grand









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