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This paper compares the socio-spatial characteristics of two missions dating from different periods in Torres Strait, northeastern Australia. It builds upon previous archaeological research which correlates settlement-subsistence systems with the seascape cosmologies of marine specialists. Against the backdrop of profound changes in colonial governance and religious commitment (from mission to church) from the late nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries, we map the changing structure of two Torres Strait missions, and reflect upon these changes relative to lived sea-space. We use this approach in the belief that "local" histories provide meaningful context to broader colonial narratives.

Radiocarbon dates on corals taken from the upper landward and seaward surfaces of fringing reefs on the north coast of Viti Levu, Fiji (18°S, 178°E), indicate the probable course of Holocene sea-level change. Sea level apparently rose to c. 0.45 m above present level by 5300 years B .P. and has since declined at a constant rate. These observations are consistent with other data from Viti Levu.