Torres Strait

Neil travels to Horn Island in Australia's extreme north to uncover the role of Australia's only indigenous battalion, a Second World War fighting force of Torres Strait Islanders. On Possession Island Tim Flannery stands where James Cook finally claimed Australia for Great Britain, and discovers the riches that he missed. Xanthe Mallett ventures into the treacherous Adolphus Channel, the scene of Queensland's worst peacetime maritime disaster. Neil Oliver visits Mer Island to tell the story of its most famous son, Eddie Mabo, who spearheaded Australia's land rights' revolution. On Yam and Tudu Islands Tim Flannery is on the trail of fearsome headhunters to unearth the significance of their historic practice. Alice Garner joins an unusual border patrol on Saibai Island, less than four kilometres from Papua New Guinea, and finally Neil Oliver meets the Torres Strait's most prominent musician, who started recording at the age of 70.