Our Flag, Our Story

Bernard Namok Jnr is a Torres Strait Islander man from Thursday Island. He is the son of the late Bernard Namok, designer of the Torres Strait Islander Flag. He co-wrote and co-produced the Screen Australia documentary Carry the Flag (2017) which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the flag’s creation. He also worked on a radio documentary for the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia called Let it Fly: The Namok’s Legacy (2019), that explores the copyright issues surrounding the flag.

Thomas Mayo is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man who was born and raised in Darwin. He was a wharf labourer before becoming an elected official of the Maritime Union of Australia. Thomas is the author of many published books, articles and essays including works by Hardie Grant Books: Dear Son - Letters and Reflections from First Nations Fathers and Sons (2021) and Finding Our Heart (2020).

Tori-Jay Mordey is an established illustrator and artist based in Meanjin/Brisbane. Born on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, she is descended from the Meriam and Maluyigal clans. Her published works include Bakir & Bi co-written with Jillian Boyd (2013), and In the City I see (2018). Her other works include illustrating the portrait of Cathy Freeman in Shout Out to the Girls (2018) and the Children’s Picture Book A Blue Kind of Day (2022, Kokila).