The Pearl of Tagai Town

by Lenora Thaker

A sweeping, heart-warming and ultimately triumphant story of the life of a young Torres Strait Islander woman from Tagai Town, a shantytown on the northeastern coast of Australia, in the decades before, during and after World War II.

Growing up in the 1930s, Pearl strives for a place in the wider world, battling deep-seated prejudices. When she rescues a white shopkeeper trapped under a fallen beam, a bond forms between the two women, and Pearl becomes the first Ailan woman, Islander woman, to work front-of-shop in the nearby white town. Not everyone is happy, of course, least of all the affronted white customers. But Pearl is quietly determined. Her budding romance with the bank manager’s son, though, must always be kept secret for her to retain her position and for the security of Tagai Town. Like Ama Rose says, ‘We leave them koles, white people, alone and they leave us alone!’

When war arrives and Teddy suddenly enlists in the army, Pearl faces a cruel punishment. But her quest to recover the child she had with Teddy reveals much more than she’d bargained for.

Lenora Thaker’s debut novel, The Pearl of Tagai Town, brings a fresh angle to Australian historical fiction with a First Nations wartime love story.

Lenora Thaker is a proud Meriam and Wagedagam woman born and raised on Gimuy-Walubarra Yidinji country in Far North Queensland. She is a descendant of the Torres Strait Islanders of Cairns Malaytown (a swampland shantytown that existed from the late 1800s to the early 1950s), who are the inspiration for this story. Lenora Thaker received the Indigenous Writers Mentorship for The Pearl of Tagai Town.

‘An evocative and gutsy new voice.’ Tara June Winch

‘A cultural perspective and rich language unique in Australian literature. I love Lenora Thaker’s wonderful novel.’ Julie Janson

‘So vivid and authentic you can almost taste the semur chicken, hear the rain on tin roofs and feel the laughter and love in the air.’ Rachael Maza

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

349 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2025

About the author

Lenora Thaker descends from Erub and Mabuyag Islands and lives on Gimuy Walubara Yidinji country. She is a published writer and was awarded the 2021 Boundless Indigenous Writ- ers Prize for her forthcoming historical novel about a family of Torres Strait Islanders living on a mainland shantytown around World War II.

Reviews

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful debut novel! I loved the use of Ailan language words throughout.

’This story is a work of fiction, as are its characters. It is inspired by my family’s journey—being the earliest Torres Strait Islanders to defy living under the Queensland Act of 1897—to permanently settle on mainland Australia in the early twentieth century. I have stuck as close as possible to true historical events and timelines, particularly those of World War II. The Ailan, Islander, language words used in the story are Kala Lagaw Ya (KLY) from Western Torres Strait, Meriam Mir (MM) from Eastern Torres Strait and Yumplatok (YT), a form of Creole spoken throughout the Torres Strait. There’s a glossary at the back. The main character, Pearl, is descended from Eastern Torres Strait (father’s side) and Western Torres Strait (mother’s side) and therefore uses both eastern and western Ailan languages. KLY, MM and YT are used throughout the third-person narrative.’

[Text Publishing]

The following reviews have been shared by Text Publishing, publisher of The Pearl of Tagai Town.

‘Moving, sobering and inspiring, this beautifully written story captured my heart.’
Suzanne Leal

‘Pearl’s epic story of resilience is one that all Australians should read. Just too deadly.’
Sam Faulkner

‘A cultural perspective and rich language unique in Australian literature. I love Lenora Thaker’s wonderful novel.’
Julie Janson

‘So vivid and authentic you can almost taste the semur chicken, hear the rain on tin roofs and feel the laughter and love in the air.’
Rachael Maza

‘Readers of Kate Grenville and Anita Heiss and those drawn to lesser-told stories will find much to admire in this striking debut.’
Books+Publishing

‘This is the kind of book you’ll want to read again immediately, and will appeal to fans of Kate Grenville, Pip Williams and Anita Heiss.’
Readings Monthly

‘The Pearl of Tagai Town reclaims history through storytelling.’
National Indigenous Times

‘Pearl’s epic story of resilience is one that all Australians should read.’
Conscious Living Magazine

‘It is a thoroughly absorbing story, and a welcome insight into a view of history that has been neglected until now.’
Read Plus

‘powerful and beautiful’
Readings

[Mary Polzella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in the 1930s, Pearl strives for a place in the wider world, battling deep-seated prejudices. When she rescues a white shopkeeper trapped under a fallen beam, a bond forms between the two women, and Pearl becomes the first Ailan woman, Islander woman, to work front-of-shop in the nearby white town. Not everyone is happy, least of all the affronted white customers. But Pearl is quietly determined. Her budding romance with the bank manager’s son, though, must always be kept secret for her to retain her position and for the security of Tagai Town. Like Ama Rose says, ‘We leave them koles, white people, alone and they leave us alone!’. When war arrives and Teddy suddenly enlists in the army, Pearl faces a cruel punishment. But her quest to recover the child she had with Teddy reveals much more than she’d bargained for.

MY THOUGHTS - I loved it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love discovering new local authors and this debut was a fantastic read. I immediately wanted to rate it 5⭐s, as I loved it and here's why!

I love reading historical fiction that incorporates historically accurate themes. This book read authentically, and the author acknowledges her references, both written and human, in helping her write a fictional story about her ancestors' journeys.

The story had multiple layers to it - treatment of indigenous people in Australia, WWII and its effect on those living in northern Australia, an incredibly heartbreaking family saga. Importantly, it features a strong female protagonist who wouldn't let life wear her down despite the obstacles she faced.

I hope you read more from this writer soon and highly recommend this read.

[Anabela · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely stunning debut.

This beautifully crafted story follows Pearl, a Torres Strait Island girl growing up in the 30s and 40s, in northern Australia, and from the very first page I was completely swept into her world. Lenora Thaker captures the setting, history, and culture with such vivid, sensory detail that the entire novel feels alive — from the food and language to the deep-rooted traditions and community bonds.

Pearl herself is a force of nature. Strong, determined, and endlessly resilient, she strives for a better life despite the
barriers placed before her. When she falls for the son of the local white bank manager, the challenges intensify — not
just from the white community’s prejudice, but from the expectations and pressures within her own family and culture.

This is a powerful story of coming of age, courage, and forbidden love set against a backdrop of systemic racism and social injustice. The characters are wonderfully complex, the writing is immersive and lyrical, and the cultural perspective is one we don’t often get to see in historical fiction — which makes it all the more special.

Pearl completely captured my heart, and I’m already eagerly waiting to see what Lenora Thaker writes next.

A huge thank you to @textpublishing for the #gifted copy.

[Rozanna Lilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut novel by Lenora Thaker tells an important story. Thaker uses her own family's experience to construct a fictional shanty town on the outskirts of Darwin. The principal characters are Torres Strait Islanders who have moved to the Australian mainland searching for a better life. They live in a strictly colour segregated world, undertaking menial jobs for whites or working at hard manual labor tasks along with their neighbours, Japanese pearlers. The heroine, Pearl, experiences many hardships, including being sent away to a mission when falsely arrested. The novel does a great job of revealing the cruelties and injustice of the Aboriginal Protection system, including incarceration and sexual abuse, and also paints a vivid picture of everyday racism in Australia's North. In this respect, it reminded me of Tony Birch's wonderful novel The White Girl, with strong female characters finding ways to survive and to stand up to systemic racism. Thaker also documents friendships that cut across parochial identifications, using a romance with a Black American soldier to underline the ways in which racial inequalities impacted differently situated actors across a global stage. Sometimes the book is a bit corny but it is always big hearted. Recommended.

[Lisa]

Uh, no.
I'm not squeamish but my stomach churned when I read the grotesque episode where jealousy of one girl at a wedding resulted in the central character being forced to exchange her bridesmaid's frock for an excrement-smeared dress.
It wouldn't have been any less revolting to read, but it wasn't a case of racism; it was two girls from the same extended family of Torres Straits Islanders.

I don't rate books I don't finish.

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - the historical story the language which added to the story (it was awesome there was a glossary at the back but the way it was written any words or sayings were explained as they went or you could work out their meaning from the context). I hope this book gets made into an audiobook (or even a movie/miniseries) to bring the language to life and would totally listen to it. I hope she writes more.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, loved the story and how it was told. The central character is Pearl from a Torres Straits family and follows her through later childhood in to being an adult. Her love Teddy who it always seems she may finally make it together with him and then something impedes it. In the end he goes off to war and is thought lost but was not and the story ends with them as husband, wife and child.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvellous read. Pearl was a fabulous character, trying to make her way in a system stacked against her. I enjoyed the depiction of family ties and friendship, and admired the way various sorts of racism was brought about.

[Linda Pope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was well worth reading! Authentic and moving and full of surprises. I enjoyed learning about Torres Strait Islander culture living in a shantytown Northeast QLD back in the 1930s, their close community, their passion, hardships and resilience.

[Ariella Katz]

Cool historical fiction about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia at the time of WWII