No one remembers her name, but the young woman from Dauan was dragged from the boat of the London Missionary Society (LMS) and presented to the warriors of Boigu to allow passage of the missionaries onto the island.

"My heart dropped when I saw that girl," said one; "I felt a big sadness," said another.

Although the name of the woman was never recorded, according to Bab Mebai Warusam, a Dhoeybaw Clan elder from Saibai Island, this young lady was one of three daughters of Abai of Dauan descendents of the same Dhoeybaw Clan.

In line with the public apology from Prime Minister Rudd to the Stolen Generations on February 13, 2008, the church took action to follow suit and begin the healing of their own communities by making an apology on behalf of the early evangelists and the men of Boigu.

The long-buried history surrounding this event is that missionaries from the LMS came to Boigu knowing the fierce warriors would not allow foreigners onto the island.

The warriors took the girl and repeatedly raped her. This deed allowed the missionaries to stay on Boigu without harm.

Although the LMS brought the light of Christianity to the Torres Strait, the institution that delivered those teachings also brought unwanted and unacceptable practices which needed to be acknowledged to allow the Torres Strait community the freedom to move forward towards spiritual and social enrichment.

"I gladly and most humbly say Sorry to the descendents of Abai for the life and misfortune of the unknown sacrifice, in the form of her daughter, a young Torres Strait Islander woman offered for the sake of evangelising and colonising this community and region.

"I say sorry, for the human error displayed by the evangelists in emotionally and spiritually destroying this life. For those that have committed this sin, I am truly, truly sorry.

"I say sorry for the ignorance displayed and the pretence the Church stood on in 137 years of inaction to right this wrong.

"I say sorry to the community of Boigu for this history and now seek reconciliation in our history and the opportunity to amend the legacy of the unknown sacrifice."

The re-enactment, healing service and evening candle ceremony were accompanied by workshops in which participants examined the history and effect of occupation, where admission by the Church of the sins committed in its name gave others the permission to reveal their own personal sorrows and to begin to walk their own path of healing.

Inspired by the words of the CTS, who, aware of divisions within the church, are keen to override inharmonious practices, people talked of putting away differences, accepting diverse points of view and of moving forward as a united community in love and harmony.

The workshops, building on those held on Saibai in April, 2008, identified the need for churches, communities and individuals to reconcile before it is possible for the people of the Torres Strait to move forward, as a united people, towards spiritual, social, cultural, emotional and economic reform.

The actions of the Church at the recent events on Boigu loudly echoed these words, the people of Boigu embodied them by their deeds and the challenge now is to build on this strong foundation to ensure the universal healing and reconciliation of the wider community to make provision for a strong and united future.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Traditional Owners and Elders of Boigu, to Father Stanley Marama, to the Boigu community who made me to feel so welcome and accepted, to the wonderful young people of Boigu who prepared sumptuous community meals for visitors and local residents and who gave me an informative island tour, to Mr Charles Passi for assistance with writing this article and to my employer, Jim Turner MP, Federal Member for Leichhardt, on whose behalf I travelled to Boigu to witness this unprecedented and ground-breaking event.