Malay Town Explained

Malay Town was the unofficial name for a shanty town area of Cairns in Australia during the first half of the 20th century.

History

Malay Town was built around Alligator Creek by Malay workers in the early 1900s, but by the 1920s was mainly populated by Torres Strait Islanders, with many immigrant communities also represented.[1] Malay Town remained its unofficial name for some time.[2]

The town itself was surrounded by swamp and mangroves and bordered the city dump.[3] It was described in the following terms:[2]

There were, however, also some post-World War I German migrants, and many living in the town learned multiple languages from their neighbours.[4]

Many of the town's Torres Strait Islander inhabitants were members of three large families who had moved to mainland Australia without permission (their movement restricted by the government until 1947). The Pitt, Sailor and Walters families were among the largest single group of Malay Town inhabitants.[5]

In media

"Malaytown", an episode in the 2013 television series Desperate Measures, featured interviews with the last surviving inhabitants of Malay Town.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Law . L. . The ghosts of White Australia: Excavating the past(s) of Rusty's Market in tropical Cairns . 10.1080/10304312.2011.605519 . Continuum . 25 . 5 . 669–681 . 2011 .
  2. Web site: Greater autonomy for Torres Strait Islanders . . House Of Representatives Standing Committee On Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Affairs . 25 October 1996 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110607235645/http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/commttee/r1190150.pdf . 7 June 2011 . 14 March 2013 .
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=vmFPySRrqBgC& Fairweather
  4. http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2013/03/30/240637_lifestyle.html Historical highlights
  5. http://www.multiculturalaustralia.edu.au/doc/shnukal_torres_strait.pdf Torres Strait Islanders
  6. Web site: Malaytown (2013) - The Screen Guide . Screen Australia . 16 March 2018 . 8 February 2023.