Local pearling declined steadily up to the World War II, partly through competition from a Japanese-based fleet which did not use local resources or personnel.
 In the 1950s plastic buttons imitating pearl supplanted much of the demand for shell.
Before the decline, pearl fishing was taken by the island-based fleet to the Aru Islands in what was then the Dutch East Indies.

During World War II, Thursday Island became the military headquarters for the Torres Strait and was a base for Australian and United States forces.
January 1942 saw the evacuation of civilians from the island.
Residents of Japanese origin or descent were interned.
The residents did not return until after the end of the war and many ethnic Japanese were forcibly repatriated.
The island was spared from bombing in World War II, due, it was thought, to it being the burial place of many Japanese pearl shell divers, or possibly the Japanese thinking there were still Japanese residents on the island.
However, neighboring Horn Island was extensively bombed.
There was an airbase there, used by the Allies to attack parts of New Guinea.
At the end of the war, the island tradition of a no-footwear policy was reinstated in respect for the ancient spirits believed to reside on the island.
After the war, an airline service was set up by Ansett Airlines from Cairns to TI twice a week, using de Havilland Dragon Rapides and later DC3s.
Passengers disembarked on Horn Island and caught a ferry-boat over to TI, as they still do.
The island was also served by a ship, the Elsana, which made the journey once a month.
For a short period after the war Okinawan divers were used on the luggers but this was not a great success.

In the 1950s, the CSIRO attempted to establish cultured pearl farms, but many were devastated by disease in the 1970s.
The trigger is considered by some to be the use of dispersants on the 1970 oil spill from the tanker Oceanic Grandeur.
  This industry still exists around the island today.
In the 1970s, there was also an attempt to farm green turtles.

The Melanesian background of the Thursday Islanders became an issue in the 1970s, when Papua New Guinea sought to include some of the Torres Strait Islands within its borders.
The Torres Strait Islanders insisted that they were Australians, however, and after considerable diplomatic discussion and political disputation between the Queensland and the Federal Governments, all of the Torres Strait islands, including Thursday Island, remained part of Australia.

From 1900 to 1996 the Quetta Memorial Church on the island was the cathedral church of the large Diocese of Carpentaria which included North Queensland, the Islands of the Torres Strait and, to 1968, Northern Territory.
Local pearling declined steadily up to the World War II, partly through competition from a Japanese-based fleet which did not use local resources or personnel.  In the 1950s plastic buttons imitating pearl supplanted much of the demand for shell. Before the decline, pearl fishing was taken by the island-based fleet to the Aru Islands in what was then the Dutch East Indies.
During World War II, Thursday Island became the military headquarters for the Torres Strait and was a base for Australian and United States forces. January 1942 saw the evacuation of civilians from the island. Residents of Japanese origin or descent were interned. The residents did not return until after the end of the war and many ethnic Japanese were forcibly repatriated. The island was spared from bombing in World War II, due, it was thought, to it being the burial place of many Japanese pearl shell divers, or possibly the Japanese thinking there were still Japanese residents on the island. However, neighboring Horn Island was extensively bombed. There was an airbase there, used by the Allies to attack parts of New Guinea. At the end of the war, the island tradition of a no-footwear policy was reinstated in respect for the ancient spirits believed to reside on the island. After the war, an airline service was set up by Ansett Airlines from Cairns to TI twice a week, using de Havilland Dragon Rapides and later DC3s. Passengers disembarked on Horn Island and caught a ferry-boat over to TI, as they still do. The island was also served by a ship, the Elsana, which made the journey once a month. For a short period after the war Okinawan divers were used on the luggers but this was not a great success.
In the 1950s, the CSIRO attempted to establish cultured pearl farms, but many were devastated by disease in the 1970s. The trigger is considered by some to be the use of dispersants on the 1970 oil spill from the tanker Oceanic Grandeur.   This industry still exists around the island today. In the 1970s, there was also an attempt to farm green turtles.
The Melanesian background of the Thursday Islanders became an issue in the 1970s, when Papua New Guinea sought to include some of the Torres Strait Islands within its borders. The Torres Strait Islanders insisted that they were Australians, however, and after considerable diplomatic discussion and political disputation between the Queensland and the Federal Governments, all of the Torres Strait islands, including Thursday Island, remained part of Australia.
From 1900 to 1996 the Quetta Memorial Church on the island was the cathedral church of the large Diocese of Carpentaria which included North Queensland, the Islands of the Torres Strait and, to 1968, Northern Territory.
Thursday Island