Which strait lies between Australia and the island of New Guinea?

The strait between Australia and the island of New Guinea is the Torres Strait.

The passage separates Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost part of mainland Australia, from the southern coast of Papua New Guinea. It is dotted with hundreds of islands, including many inhabited Torres Strait Islands, and forms an important maritime boundary between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

The strait was named after Luís Vaz de Torres, a Portuguese navigator who sailed through it in 1606. Indigenous peoples have lived on its islands for at least 2,500 years, and many island communities maintain distinct languages, traditions, and connections to the surrounding sea.

Torres Strait is relatively shallow and difficult to navigate in places because of reefs, strong currents, and numerous islands. It is often confused with Bass Strait, which separates mainland Australia from Tasmania. Cook Strait, another common distractor, lies between New Zealand's North and South Islands, while Lombok Strait is in Indonesia.