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4-8 The people of the Torres Strait Islands in far north Queensland do not consider themselves as Aborigines, but rather, as a distinct group. Their culture is a mixture of Aboriginal from mainland Australia and that of Papua New Guinea, to their immediate north. In earlier times, this land formed part of the land mass linking Papua New Guinea to mainland Australia. People today live across the full spectrum of change from traditional Aboriginal culture to European culture. At one end are family groups living in remote areas away from larger Aboriginal communities, trying to maintain traditional 4-9 hunting, food gathering and ceremonial life. But even at this level, people now wear clothes, may own a car or four wheel drive vehicle, and the men will hunt with rifles as well as spears. In the middle are people living on larger Aboriginal communities, buying most of their food and other needs from the local store, occasionally carrying out traditional hunting and food gathering, and trying to maintain traditional ceremonies and rituals. At the other end of the spectrum are urban Aborigines living European life styles. 4-9 Modern transport, communication and life styles, with subsequent loss of craft skills and tribal knowledge are inevitable changes. It is the spirituality and the heritage, the sense of belonging to the land, some arts and crafts, and the importance of family and ancestry, which continue as the modern essentials of Aboriginal culture. Rainbow Serpent: A common motif in the art and mythology of Aboriginal Australia. It is named for the snake-like meandering of water across a landscape and the colour spectrum caused when sunlight strikes water at an appropriate angle relative to the observer. The Rainbow Serpent is seen as the inhabitant of permanent waterholes and is in control of life’s most precious resource, oils and waters. He replenishes the stores of water, forming gullies and deep channels as he slithered across the lands