South Sea Islanders

The Australian label South Sea Islanders refers to the Australian descendants of people from the more than 80 islands in the Western Pacific –including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) in Melanesia and the Loyalty Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Rotuma and Tuvalu in Polynesia and Micronesia –who were recruited between the mid to late 19th century as labour in the sugarcane fields of Queensland. Some were kidnapped or "blackbirded" into long-term indentured service. At its height, the recruiting accounted for over half the adult male population of some islands.