Blackbirding In Australia

Blackbirding is the practice of enslaving people onto ships, usually through the use of deception and bribery, especially the inhabitants from the South Pacific Islands, and then transporting them to the sugar cane and cotton plantations, particularly in Queensland, Australia, to work as labourers. This practice was not limited to the blackbirding in Queensland, Australia, and had already occurred on the Chincha Islands in Peru. This dreadful practice occurred predominantly between the 1860’s and 1904.

The term “Blackbirding” may have been established directly as a contraction of the phrase “Blackbird Catching”; the word “Blackbird” was an informal word for the local indigenous people. It might have also derived from a previous term, “Blackbird

The White Australia Policy was a law which limited immigration to white settlers only, generally British migrants. It was introduced due to politicians longing for Australia to represent a single British identity.

The White Australia Policy was uncompromising in allowing non-white people to enter Australia. It wasn’t until after World War II that the White Australia Policy was a little bit relaxed, allowing refugees from Europe such as Greeks and Italians to enter Australia. Though the White Australia Policy at the time was still firm on only allowing “white looking” refugees to settle in Australia.

During World War II, Australia was threatened by attacks from the Empire of Japan. Australian cities were destroyed as a result of the deployment of bombs from the Japanese Airforce. Australia could barely do anything to halt the perilous attacks due to the limited amount of soldiers, so it was decided that Australia must “populate or perish”, only then that people started realising that multiculturalism may be key to survival. Even though the White Australia Policy was significantly relaxed, it wasn’t until 1973 that the White Australia Policy, was permanently abolished by the Whitlam Labor