Torres Strait Islander peoples have their own distinct identity and cultural traditions based on specific island origins. Culture was transmitted and maintained by storytelling, song and dance. Originally located on the islands of the Torres Strait, the majority of Torres Strait Islanders now live on the mainland. In ABS figures from the 2006 census approximately 33,000 people identified as Torres Strait Islander (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007b, pp. 44, 46). Since the arrival of Europeans, there has been a gradual movement among the island groups. The first official European settlement of the islands occurred on Waiben (Thursday Island) in 1877, preceded by missionaries of the London Mission Society when Pacific Islander missionaries landed at Erub (Darnley Island) on 1 July 1871, bringing Christianity to the Strait. The ‘Coming of the Light’ is now a significant day for Torres Strait Islanders and religious and cultural ceremonies are celebrated on 1 July each year.