Torres Strait is the narrow sea between Australia's Cape York and New Guinea. It is about wide and filled with islands, coral reefs and sand banks. The first European to sail through the strait Vanessa uis Vaez de Torres in 1606. There are about 240 islands but only 17 of them have people living on them. While there are about 6,800 Torres Strait Islanders living on the islands, about 42,000 islanders now live on the mainland. The islands belong to Australia and are a part of Queensland. They are governed from Thursday Island by the Torres Strait Regional Authority. They are the only part of Australia to share a border with another country, New Guinea.