Hi All,
Thing to watch (as Tim already noticed) is the scientific name, not the common name. The wood expert narrowed it to either Ligustrum or something similar to it in the Oleaceae (the olive family).
I'm being annoying in pointing out that I'm not seeing evidence of a tropical privet. Northern Australia is tropical, and Torres Islands are further north (e.g. closer to the equator) than mainland Australia. The fact that the Privet hawk moth is all through the Pacific isn't good evidence, because it eats things other than privet.
Now, I don't have university access right now, so I can't easily find out if there's a close tropical relative of Ligustrum hanging out in the Torres Strait area. If the wood is privet (e.g. Ligustrum species), it strongly suggests that the club was made in a subtropical or temperate setting, somewhere where privet grows.
Best,
F
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