Mer Island, Queensland
Mer Island | |||||||||||||
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Mer Island | |||||||||||||
Interactive map of Mer Island | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates: 9°55′02″S 144°03′06″E / 9.9172°S 144.0516°E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Queensland | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
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| Government | |||||||||||||
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| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 4.1 km2 (1.6 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 406 (2021 census) | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 99.0/km2 (256/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+10:00 (AEST) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 4875 | ||||||||||||
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Mer Island (also known as Murray Island or Maer Island) is a locality and island in Murray Island Group of the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Mer Island had a population of 406 people.
The town is on the island's northwest coast. The island is of volcanic origin, the most easterly inhabited island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, just north of the Great Barrier Reef. The name Meer/Mer/Maer comes from the native Meriam language. The island is populated by the Melanesian Meriam people. There are eight tribes on Mer: Komet, Zagareb, Meuram, Magaram, Geuram, Peibri, Meriam-Samsep, Piadram/Dauer. The island's organisation is based on traditional laws of boundary and ownership.