image: Group of Australian South Sea Islander women labourers on a sugar cane plantation near Cairns, Queensland, ca. 1895. Courtesy of the State Library of Queensland.

Learn about the descendants of Australia’s Pacific Blackbird trade known today as Australian South Sea Islanders.

Join us for a special screening of this film documenting the history of Australia’s sugar slaves as part of our Australian South Sea Islander National Recognition Day program.

Australia’s Blackbird trade is an untold story. Few people know that the Australian sugar industry was founded on the forced labour of Melanesian men, women and children kidnapped from the 80 islands of Vanuatu and Solomons.

Sugar Slaves tells the history of Australian South Sea Islander families stories and reconnections with their Vanuatu homelands. Between 1863 and 1904 some 60,000 Pacific Islanders were transported to Queensland, where they slaved across sugar, maritime, fishing, pastoral and railway industries in establishing Australia’s rich economy.

Australian South Sea Islanders are descendants of the Pacific Islands Blackbird trade.

Australian South Sea Islander National Recognition Day marks the date in 1994 when the Commonwealth Government officially recognised the Australian South Sea Islanders as a distinct cultural group.

Bookings are essential for this free event.

We aim to deliver inclusive and accessible events. If you have any particular access or communication needs, please contact Tim Windsor, City of Sydney area manager youth and community on 02 9265 9333.

Covid safety information

The health and safety of our everyone at our City of Sydney venues is our top priority. If you plan to visit, you must be familiar with the processes and measures in place and follow Covid-safe rules during your visit. See our website for the most up-to-date entry requirements and what to expect when visiting.