Sometimes business ideas aren't born but demanded by necessity, which was the case for Time and Tide, a bus and ferry transport company servicing Ngurapai/ (Horn Island) and Waibene (Thursday Island).

Ngurapai is in the centre of the Torres Strait and hosts the region's airport, and Waibene is where most of the services are located along with the main population.

Time and Tide is a 51 percent Aboriginal owned business supported into operation by an altruistic, non-Indigenous investor who, by chance, met Thursday Island Elder, Willie Wigness via a competitor ferry service.

"Meeting our business partner Stewart Moreland came out of left field, totally by chance, I say it's a God's send," says Mr Wigness.

"You see, for decades, the islands were serviced by two ferry companies, and then one stopped, and the other ferry company became very expensive for the locals.

"I had many people coming to me as the Elder of Thursday Island asking me to start a ferry company, so I sat down with some of the Elders from other islands and from Cape York, and then we met with the Torres Strait Regional Authority for funding support."

Thursday Island residents are reliant on ferries to travel between islands, to the airport, to reach the hospital and schools, and to Cape York.

Mr Moreland, who has business interests in Brisbane, was looking to help the locals of Thursday Island, and after an unfruitful meeting with the only ferry operator at that time, was introduced to the Island's Elder, Willie Wigness.

"Oh, we are connected at the hip now, we have become great friends. He took me to Brisbane to show me how the ferries there work and showed me some of his projects that he works on, it really opened my eyes up, it's a different world," Mr Wigness says.

"I said to him that five, ten and twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money to us, but compared to the projects he works on, it's like a dollar.

"He is very good and gives me lots of good advice on business and how to deal with negativity and challenges."

Time and Tide has faced some negativity and challenges from its competitors since it commenced ferry services at the end of February.

The business motto of Time and Tide is 'Putting families first', a motto that's become a way of life.

Sales, Marketing and Tourism Manager Sabrina Akee, also the daughter-in-law of Mr Wigness, says family is everyone.

"Family is everyone on the islands, and our business is for everyone, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, customer service is everything," Ms Akee says.

"We help people with their luggage getting on and off the bus and take their luggage from the bus onto the ferry, and off the ferry and onto the bus to the airport.

"We also have a courtesy bus, we check with people on the ferry if they need a lift when they arrive on Thursday Island, and then our bus will take them there. When they are ready to go, they can call and give us their address to be picked up.

"If we see passengers from the other ferry waiting for a lift, we ask them if we can drop them off somewhere in our courtesy bus, it's 'passin' which means good manners, respect."

Time and Tide has a team of twelve that includes skippers, bus drivers, deck hands, ticketing and sales and marketing. It runs two vessels, both named after Indigenous Elders; Marine Vehicle (MV) Baba Wiggy and MV Baba Zorro.

"It wasn't an easy road to get here – the other ferry service has been around for a while and they see us as a threat and competition, and for me, I see it as good to have competition, but they have put up lot of resistance," Ms Akee says.

"We don't let that stop us though because we're providing a service that people want and people need, and when I see happy customers, oh, it lights me up inside, I just smile.

"I love my work. I never thought I'd be working for a business run by my family, this business a reason why I'm here," says the mother of two.

"I know I can help families, that makes me happy, serving the community and families, living the motto of our company."

Mr Wigness says that the business has been organised into phases, and that they are close to reaching phase two, 75 percent capacity.

"Our philosophy is not to rush things, take it step by step, we are reaching our profit margin, but we are not at full capacity yet. We hope to reach phase three, full capacity, early next year," the Elder says.

"We have a ten-year plan that includes more ferry services, charters, tourism cruises, and giving back to the community, we want to make our service like the ones Cairns, Townsville and Brisbane has, but in a remote community – the last front line – that's the goal."

When the time is right, when Time and Tide is a stable and sustainable business, there is a plan to transition ownership for it to become 100 per cent Indigenous.