21 Jun 2018

Blackbirding: Vanuatu's Aboriginal Australian descendants

From , 5:03 am on 21 June 2018

A historian says its plausible that Aboriginal Australian orphans were brought home by blackbirded ni-Vanuatu in the early 20th century.

As many as 4000 descendants of Aboriginal Australians could live in Vanuatu, some of whom are trying to trace their heritage.

About 60,000 Pacific Islanders were blackbirded to Australia in the late 1800s to work on plantations.

Their descendants in Australia are known as South Sea Islanders.

Emeritus Professor Clive Moore says he's aware of Aboriginal wives brought home by blackbirded Solomon Islanders.

About 60,000 Pacific Islanders were taken from their mainly Melanesian homelands to Australia in the 1800s to work on plantations.

About 60,000 Pacific Islanders were taken from their mainly Melanesian homelands to Australia in the 1800s to work on plantations. Photo: State Library of Queensland