Muralag (Prince of Wales Island)
To the southwest of Thursday Island, the largest island in the Torres Strait, the 204.6 square kilometre Prince of Wales Island (Kaurareg: Muralag) lies on the northern side of the Endeavour Strait between Thursday Island and the mainland settlements around Bamaga.
The rugged and wooded island rises to a height of 232 metres, but with little arable land, no permanent fresh water and no suitable landing places for ships, it is mainly uninhabited. A few Kaurareg people — the traditional owners — live in a settlement called Muralug on the island's northeastern tip. The 820-metre Normanby Sound separates the island's northeastern corner (Kiwain Point) from Thursday Island.
Luís Vaez de Torres made the first recorded European sighting of the island on 3 October 1606. However, the island takes its name from James Cook, who named it after the then Prince of Wales (George Augustus Frederick of Hanover, later George IV) on 23 August 1770.
