Blackbirding - History of Slavery in Queensland, Australia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbirding
http://www.smh.com.au/national/blackbirding-shame-yet-to-be-acknowledged-in-australia-20150603-ghfn9c.html
http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/showcase/ASSI
During the period 1863 to 1904, some 62,000 people from the South Sea islands of Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea were brought, often by force, to work and establish sugar cane fields in Queensland. Many South Sea Islanders were forcibly 'recruited' - that is, they were they were kidnapped and stolen to be slaves to work on Queensland plantations. This terrible practice was known as 'blackbirding'.

The terms ‘South Sea Islander’ or ‘Kanaka’ were used to describe the labour "recruits" who came from islands within present-day Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Loyalty Islands (New Caledonia), Fiji, Kiribati and Tuvalu. The vast majority came from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

Soon after Australia became a federation, it passed the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901. The passage of this bill is considered the commencement of the White Australia Policy and under this policy the forced deportation of Kanaks began in late 1906 and continued until mid-1908.

For a long time the history of South Sea Islander was not taught in schools. This was a cruel, heartless process and one of shame to all Australians.