'As a Torres Strait Islander and a member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, I am honoured to be the guest editor of this issue.

'1998 is the centenary year of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to the Torres Strait and this issue of the journal contributes to the celebration of the anniversary. The anniversary has also been marked by an international conference at Cambridge University, by a series of seminars at this Institute, through the production of a film on the Torres Strait by a British documentary team, and by visits to Cambridge University Museum by Islanders to view cultural materials collected in the Torres Strait by members of the expedition. That this expedition is remembered and celebrated 100 years later, both in England and Australia, bears witness to its significance in the anthropological world. The significance lies not just in the fact that it was one of the earliest organised anthropological expeditions, nor that it was associated with Cambridge University, but also in the breadth and scope of the study and in its contribution to the developing science of anthropology.'  (Editorial introduction)