11 August 2025

Torres Strait scholars set prestigious course for Oxford

| By Chisa Hasegawa
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Bhosten Savage and Isobel Loban Yorkston

Torres Strait Islander scholars Bhosten Savage and Isobel Loban Yorkston are packing their bags for the University of Oxford after being awarded a highly competitive scholarship. Photo: Supplied.

Two Torres Strait Islander academics are bringing pride to their communities as they prepare to head to the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom later this year.

Aurora Education Foundation announced the recipients of its 2025 international scholarships, with five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars set to study at some of the world’s top universities.

In a historic first, two Torres Strait Islander scholars have been awarded the competitive Charlie Perkins Chevening Scholarship after being accepted into the University of Oxford.

Isobel Loban Yorkston, who spent her childhood on Thursday Island before moving to Cairns, will be pursuing a Master of Science (International Health and Tropical Medicine) from October.

“I’ve always had very fond memories of living up there and going to Tagai State School,” she said.

“My mum and dad have always been very supportive of education, so I think moving, they also had the intention of making sure that I had access to a good education.”

She said that studying internationally at a well-known university like Oxford had not necessarily been a life-long dream of hers, but it became a goal when she studied at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

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“I actually got sick in high school, so I wasn’t able to finish high school, and I went through a phase of, will I get into university, and I ended up doing a bridging course,” she said.

“It wasn’t even really on the cards for me until I got into university, and I came across the opportunity in my final year, but when I heard of it, I was like, I want it.”

Ms Yorkston said the experience of falling ill in her teenage years inspired her passion for health in remote communities.

“My intention is to go back and work on the ground and, if not, most certainly research with my community,” she said.

“The whole degree is basically about learning how to address and examine complex health challenges in resource-limited contexts.

“Our health is our wealth, in a way, and we are the future generation, and we need to be okay and good and well to be able to pass on our culture, our traditions, and be able to grow those future generations to carry on our legacies.”

Bhosten Savage, who also spent his formative years on Thursday Island, said his family had moved around Queensland quite a bit in chase of economic and educational opportunities.

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“My grandparents moved from the Torres Strait to the mainland to make sure that their kids and my dad had opportunities, whereas, if they stayed on the islands, their life might not have improved back then, so they made that sacrifice,” he said.

“I guess it’s a bit of responsibility to make sure that everyone that’s sacrificed for me to be in the position that I am, I honour them properly, and make sure that I’m not just saying stuff, but doing stuff that affects the community that my people belong to.”

Mr Savage will be commencing a Master of Business Administration in September, with a goal to bring essential connectivity improvements to regional and remote communities, enhancing access to education and employment opportunities.

“Families shouldn’t be expected to uproot themselves just to get a good job or get a good education, just because they live where they always have lived,” he said.

With a background in construction and engineering, Mr Savage found himself wanting to be in the room of the decision-makers who affected the outcomes of his community.

One of his turning points was working on the Archer River bridge in 2022.

“You sort of realise that the people that are making the decisions, even though the bridge is being built up in Archer River, those people are making decisions from Cairns or Melbourne, and the engineers are flown from Melbourne, because there’s not enough engineers that are local to the Cape,” he said.

“I want to make sure that kids can get an education from where they grew up, and then they can work where they grew up; it’s one of the driving things in making sure that things happen long term.”

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