Although some of the Torres Strait islands are just off the coast of New Guinea, they were taken over in 1879 by Queensland, then a British colony. In 1978 an agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea worked out the correct position of the maritime border in the Torres Strait. The Torres Strait also has its own flag. It was designed by Bernard Namok from Thursday Island. It has a background of five stripes, green for the land, blue for the sea, and black for the people. It has a big white Dari, or headress, and a five pointed star for the five main island groups. In 1995 is was officially made a flag of Australia.