Leslie Massey
Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, approximately 62,000 Pacific Islanders were transported to Australia as a cheap source of labour. The practice of deceiving or kidnapping them into forced labour was called blackbirding. Blackbirded and recruited islanders were generally referred to as Kanakas, a term now considered offensive. Pacific Islanders were subjected to inhumane treatment, with many being treated as slaves. In 1901, the Australian government passed the Pacific Island Labourers Act, which called for the deportation of most South Sea Islanders. Today, the descendants of those who remained are officially referred to as South Sea Islanders and recognised as a distinct ethnic and cultural Australian group.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Pacific Islanders transported to Australia | 62,000 |
| Time period | Late 1800s to early 1900s |
| Islands they came from | Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Niue, Easter Island, Tuvalu, and more |
| Industries they worked in | Cotton, sugar, pastoral, pearling, fishing, maritime |
| Terms they were referred to as | Kanakas, South Sea Islanders |
| Treatment | Deceived, kidnapped, treated like slaves, low wages, mass unmarked graves |
| Legislative action | Pacific Islanders Protection Act (1872), Pacific Island Labourers Act (1901) |
| Deportations | Started in 1906, around 7,500 Pacific Islanders deported |
| Resistance | Petitions sent to Prime Minister, Governor-General, and King; Pacific Islanders' Association formed |
| Recognition | Recognized as a distinct cultural group by the Commonwealth Government in 1994 and Queensland Government in 2000 |
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What You'll Learn
- Blackbirding: the trade in indentured Pacific Islander labourers in the 19th and 20th centuries
- The Pacific Island Labourers Act of 1901: the mass deportation of Pacific Islanders from Australia
- The White Australia Policy: a package of reforms that led to the Pacific Island Labourers Act
- Treatment of labourers: the inhumane treatment of South Sea Islanders, including insufficient food, regular beatings, and sexual slavery
- Resistance and recognition: the resistance to the Pacific Island Labourers Act and the fight for recognition of the Australian South Sea Islander community
Blackbirding: the trade in indentured Pacific Islander labourers in the 19th and 20th centuries
Blackbirding was the trade in indentured Pacific Islander labourers in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is often described as a form of slavery, despite the British Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 banning slavery throughout the British Empire, including Australia. Blackbirded people, known as Kanakas or South Sea Islanders, were taken from islands such as Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Niue, and many others. The owners, captains, and crews of the ships involved in the acquisition of these labourers were called blackbirders.
The trade frequently relied on coercion, deception, and kidnapping to transport tens of thousands of indigenous people from islands in the Pacific Ocean to Australia and other European colonies. Between 1863 and 1904, over 62,000 men, women, and children were brought by plantation and ship owners to work in the sugar, pastoral, and maritime industries in Queensland. Most were employed on sugar and cotton plantations, while others worked on sheep and cattle farms and in the pearling and fishing industries.
Many blackbirded Pacific Islanders were treated as slaves. They were given insufficient food, subjected to regular beatings, and sold to other colonists. They were imprisoned or sentenced to heavy labour if they rebelled. Young girls were bartered for and sold into sexual slavery. Many workers were not paid, and those who survived and returned to their home islands were considered lucky. The British annexed Fiji in 1874, and the labour trade in Pacific Islanders continued, with appalling conditions on the Fijian plantations.
In 1872, the British government passed the Pacific Islanders Protection Act, which was meant to improve the conditions for the Islanders. However, it legitimised the labour trade, and the treatment of blackbirded Islanders remained poor. In 1891, the Queensland Liberal government imposed a ban on recruiting indentured South Sea Island workers, but the ban was postponed for 10 years when the sugar industry was affected by a global economic depression.
In 1901, the federal government passed the Pacific Island Labourers Act, which called for the deportation of most South Sea Islanders. About 10,000 Pacific Islanders lived in Australia when the Act was passed, and they mounted a campaign to oppose it, even sending a petition to the King. The deportations began in late 1906 and continued until 1908. More than 7,500 South Sea Islanders were returned to their country of origin, while about 2,500 remained in Australia.
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The Pacific Island Labourers Act of 1901: the mass deportation of Pacific Islanders from Australia
The Pacific Island Labourers Act of 1901 was a law enacted in Australia to deport most of the Pacific Islanders living in the country. The Act was passed soon after the Commonwealth of Australia was established in 1901 and was part of the White Australia Policy, which aimed to restrict non-white immigration into the country. At the time, around 10,000 Pacific Islanders lived and worked in Queensland and northern New South Wales, with the majority employed as indentured labourers in the sugar cane industry.
The Act was designed to facilitate the mass deportation of Pacific Islanders, also known as "Kanakas", from Australia, specifically targeting those working in the Queensland sugar industry. It was enacted on December 17, 1901, by the Governor-General, and it provided the legal framework for the deportation of Pacific Islanders from the country. The Act rendered all labour agreements with Pacific Islanders invalid after December 31, 1906, and any Islander remaining in Australia after that date was subject to immediate deportation.
The Pacific Island Labourers Act was a response to the growing White Australia movement, which opposed the importation of 'coloured' labour and feared that non-white workers were taking jobs away from white Australians. The Act was also driven by economic factors, as advances in technology reduced the demand for Islander workers in labour-intensive industries such as farming and sugar cane production.
The Act resulted in the deportation of approximately 7,500 Pacific Islanders between 1906 and 1908. However, it is estimated that around 2,500 Pacific Islanders remained in Australia, either due to exemptions or by avoiding the deportation process. The deportations had a significant impact on the Pacific Islander community, many of whom had made Australia their home and had to suddenly leave behind their lives and families.
The Pacific Island Labourers Act was met with opposition from the Pacific Islander community, who mounted a political campaign to oppose the legislation. They sent petitions to the King, the Governor of Queensland, the Governor-General, and the Prime Minister, but their efforts only resulted in minor amendments to the exemption categories. The Act represented a new injustice for the Pacific Islanders, who had already endured inhumane treatment and exploitation during their recruitment and employment in Australia.
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The White Australia Policy: a package of reforms that led to the Pacific Island Labourers Act
The White Australia Policy was a set of legislative reforms that aimed to restrict non-white immigration into Australia and encourage a well-paid, male, white, and skilled labour force. This policy was driven by the belief that non-whites were inferior and posed a threat to the stability of the white population by stealing employment opportunities. As a result, the Australian government passed the Pacific Island Labourers Act in 1901, which had a significant impact on the Pacific Islander community in the country.
The Pacific Island Labourers Act was a direct response to the concerns about the importation of cheap labour from the Pacific Islands, particularly in Queensland, where they worked in the cotton and sugar industries. Between 1863 and 1904, over 62,000 Pacific Islanders, including men, women, and children, were brought to Australia, mainly from Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Many of them were subjected to "blackbirding", a form of deception or kidnapping to obtain labourers. Despite some attempts to regulate and improve the conditions for these labourers, they were often treated as slaves, facing abuse, insufficient food, regular beatings, and harsh punishments.
The Act was intended as an instrument of mass deportation, targeting the majority of Pacific Islanders living in Australia, estimated at around 10,000 people at the time. It called for the deportation of most Pacific Islanders after 1906, with only 700 individuals exempt from the provisions. The deportations began in late 1906 and continued until 1908, resulting in the return of more than 7,500 South Sea Islanders to their countries of origin. The Act also made forced recruitment techniques illegal and imposed minimum living standards onboard ships, although enforcement of these standards was sometimes lacking due to bribery and incompetence.
The Pacific Island Labourers Act was part of a broader set of reforms under the White Australia Policy, which included the Immigration Restriction Act and the Post and Telegraph Act 1901. These acts worked together to limit non-white migration to Australia and promote the employment of white workers. The White Australia Policy had a significant impact on the country's demographics, with only 2.7% of the population born outside Australia, Ireland, or the United Kingdom by 1947.
Overall, the White Australia Policy and the subsequent Pacific Island Labourers Act had far-reaching consequences for Pacific Islanders in Australia, disrupting their lives and uprooting those who had made the country their home. The acts reflected the discriminatory attitudes and fears of the time, contributing to the marginalization and exploitation of non-white communities in Australia.
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Treatment of labourers: the inhumane treatment of South Sea Islanders, including insufficient food, regular beatings, and sexual slavery
From the 1860s to the early 1900s, tens of thousands of Pacific Islanders were transported to Australia as cheap labour. They were primarily employed in labour-intensive industries, including the cotton and sugar industries, as well as in the pearling industry and as domestic servants. The majority of these labourers were from Vanuatu (then called the New Hebrides) and the Solomon Islands, but they also came from approximately 80 islands across the Pacific.
The process of recruiting these labourers, known as "blackbirding", involved coercion, deception, and kidnapping. Many of the recruiters were white men who worked for plantation owners. Some Islanders were offered a “pleasure cruise” or lured onto ships bound for Queensland under false pretences, while others were simply seized from their villages. Once in Australia, they were treated as slaves, despite the fact that they had signed three-year contracts as indentured labourers.
The inhumane treatment of South Sea Islanders included insufficient food, regular beatings, and sexual slavery. Young girls were bartered for and sold into sexual slavery. Labourers who rebelled were imprisoned or sentenced to heavy labour. Many were not paid for their work, and those who survived and returned to their home islands were considered lucky. The mortality rate among these labourers was extremely high, with 540 out of every 1,000 dying from measles alone in 1875.
In the 1890s, the demand for Islander workers declined due to technological advancements in farming. Soon after the Commonwealth of Australia was established in 1901, the government passed the Pacific Island Labourers Act, which ended the recruitment of South Sea Islanders and called for their deportation. This law was part of the White Australia Policy, which aimed to reduce the number of 'coloured' labourers in the country. About 10,000 Islanders lived in Australia when the Act was passed, and they united to fight against it, forming the Pacific Islanders' Association and delivering petitions to the government. Despite their efforts, the deportations began in late 1906 and continued until 1908, with more than 7,500 South Sea Islanders returned to their countries of origin.
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Resistance and recognition: the resistance to the Pacific Island Labourers Act and the fight for recognition of the Australian South Sea Islander community
Pacific Islanders were transported to Australia as a cheap source of labour in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were employed mainly on cotton or sugar plantations in Queensland, and some worked on cattle stations, in the pearling industry, or as domestic servants. The descendants of these workers are now recognised as Australian South Sea Islanders (ASSIs), a distinct cultural group with a unique history and position in Australian society.
The Pacific Island Labourers Act 1901 was passed by the Australian federal parliament to deport the majority of Pacific Islanders living in Australia. The Act was part of the White Australia Policy, which aimed to end the recruitment of South Sea Islander workers and deport all South Sea Islanders. At the time, around 10,000 Pacific Islanders lived and worked in Queensland and northern New South Wales, most of them under indentured labour agreements. The Act imposed progressive limits on Pacific Islander immigration, with the number admitted dropping by half between 1902 and 1903. It also provided that any labour agreements with Pacific Islanders would become invalid after 31 December 1906, and that any Pacific Islander found in Australia after this date would be deported immediately.
Pacific Islanders resisted the Pacific Island Labourers Act by uniting and forming the Pacific Islanders' Association. They sent petitions to the King, the Governor of Queensland, the Governor-General, and the Prime Minister. As a result of their efforts, an amendment was made to the Act in late 1906, liberalising the exemption categories. Despite this, the Act ultimately resulted in the deportation of approximately 7,500 Pacific Islanders.
The fight for recognition of the Australian South Sea Islander community has been a long-standing one. In 1992, a report called 'The Call for Recognition: A Report on the Situation of Australian South Sea Islanders' was released by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. This led to the community being recognised by the Commonwealth Government as a unique minority group in 1994. The following year, the NSW Premier acknowledged the ASSI community, and in 2000, the Queensland Government adopted a formal Recognition Statement. This statement highlights the Queensland Government's commitment to ensuring that present and future generations of Australian South Sea Islanders have equal opportunities to participate in and contribute to the state's economic, social, political, and cultural life. Today, the Bundaberg region is home to one of the largest communities of Australian South Sea Islanders, and the ASSI flag has been raised across the nation by government agencies to recognise the community's history and contributions to Australia.
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Frequently asked questions
Blackbirding was the trade in indentured labourers from the Pacific in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Blackbirded people, known as Kanakas or South Sea Islanders, were taken from places such as Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Easter Island, among others. The term Kanakas is now considered offensive.
Pacific Islanders were treated poorly in Australia. They were generally abused and treated like slaves. They were given insufficient food, subjected to regular beatings, and sold to other colonists. They were also paid well below what European workers earned. Young girls were sold into sexual slavery.
The Pacific Island Labourers Act of 1901 was a piece of legislation related to the White Australia policy. It ordered the mass deportation of most of the 10,000 or so indentured labourers in the country. The legislation faced resistance and controversy.
