Drums of Mer

As an authentic picture of life among the head-hunting warriors of the Torres Strait Islands it is probably unsurpassed.

There are some who may think that Mr Idriess is giving us simply an imaginative picture, but the author has travelled the Strait with the discerning eye and contemplative soul of the artist who is satisfied only with first-hand colour, and who, while blending history and romance with subtle skill, at the same time keeps within the region of fact. The records and documents placed at his disposal by those who have patiently collected them in the interests of history, of ethnological and scientific research, and (if one may be allowed to say so) even of missionary theological science also, provide the rich store upon which he has drawn for the thrilling story he has woven round the people of Mer and the other islands of Torres Strait.

- from the Foreword by William Macfarlane, Mission Priest, Torres Strait 1933

Idriess brings into being named and known heroes who engage in everyday practices in a named and known landscape and seascape. This spatial, temporal and emotional anchoring of the novel’s characters, black and white, authenticates the tale.

- Maureen Fuary, James Cook University