Ipswich City Council

South Sea Islander 150 Project

The Australian South Sea Islander (ASSI) 150 Project is a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the first arrival of South Sea Islanders transported to Queensland along with later arrivals and the impact that had on them and Queensland.

Commemoration events and activities will take place throughout South East Queensland in 2013.

Seeking Photographs and Information

Ipswich residents are invited to provide copies of photographs and information about South Sea Islanders in Ipswich between 1863 and 1904 for the ASSI 150 Project.

The Council will scan the image and keep a digital copy which will become part of our digital library collection. Selected images will become part of the Picture Ipswich online photo database.

Arrival of South Sea Islanders in Queensland

Information on the arrival of South Sea Islanders in Queensland in the following pdf are extracts from the Trove website.

Arrival of South Sea Islanders in Queensland (PDF, 226 kb)

Australian South Sea Islanders (ASSI) in Ipswich

The Brisbane Courier of 5 September 1868 included a report on Polynesian labourers in Queensland. The census showed that a total of 53 polynesians were working for nine employers in the Ipswich District. Seven were employed in pastoral work and forty-six in agricultural work.

South Sea Islanders were employed at the following places in Ipswich:

Bell's Cotton Plantation on the Bundamba Creek (1867).
Bremer Mills at Bundamba for James Ivory.
Ipswich Agricultural Reserve picking cotton for John Smith (1868).
Mr Lindsay's (1874).
Ryland's property.
George Challinor's Cotton Plantation (PDF, 76 kb)
J&G Harris' store in Ipswich (PDF, 374 kb)
William Dance's farm at Marburg (PDF, 56 kb)
Woodlands at Marburg (PDF, 1.3 mb)

A number of Australian South Sea Islanders who worked in Ipswich have been identified through the James Ivory Diaries and through online newspapers on the Trove Website.

ASSI employed in Ipswich (PDF, 64 kb)

Tarra Gindi Tasserone (PDF, 1.1 mb)

The Indentured Labour (Slave Labour) Debate

Numerous articles appear in historic newspapers about the importation of South Sea Islanders to Queensland. A number of these articles have been transcribed and they provide a valuable insight into the debate that took place from the 1860s to the early 1900s.

Researchers who would like additional information should visit the Trove website and search the online newspapers.

Indentured Labour in Queensland (PDF, 157 kb)

Newsletters

ASSI 150 Project Newsletter No. 2 - December 2011 (PDF, 5.4 mb)
ASSI 150 Project Newsletter No. 1 - June 2011 (PDF, 2.4 mb)

For further information please contact Counci's Cultural Heritage Coordinator:
Phone (07) 3810 6256

Last Updated 30 Mar 2012 |