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Name
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Malaita
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Type of carceral site
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Blackbirding
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Dates of use
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1847 – 1906
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Quote
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On nearing the beach, where the natives are waiting, the officer in the landing-boat swings her round with his steer oar, and the crew back her in, stern first, on to the beach. The recruiter then steps out, and the crew carry the trade chests on shore; then the boat pushes off a little, just enough to keep afloat, and obtrusive natives, who may mean treachery, are not allowed to come too near the oars, or take hold of the gunwale, Meanwhile the covering boat has drawn in close to the first boat, and the crew, with their hands on their rifles, keep a keen watch on the landing boat and the wretched recruiter [...] The recruiter opens his trade box, and then asks if there is any man or woman who desires to become rich in three years by working on a plantation in Fiji, Queensland, or Samoa.
Historical narrative.
Becke, Louis. The Call of the South. John Milne, 1908, n.p.
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Fiu harbour on Malaita where I come from, after young men were taken, a chief, or what we call in Kwara'ae a fata'abu, would curse the harbour because people were kidnapped from the harbour. Anybody who was seen in the harbour, even just walking along the beach would be killed. And there were bounties.
Journalistic article.
Gegeo David. "Blackbirding: legacy of anger in Solomon Islands." Radio New Zealand, 9 August, 2019, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/396351/blackbirding-legacy-of-anger-in-solomon-islands. Accessed 16 June 2026.
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In the South Sea Islands the name of the British Empire is even now dishonoured by the connexion of some of my subjects with these nefarious practices; and in one of them the murder of an exemplary Prelate has cast fresh light upon some of their baleful consequences.
Speech.
United Kingdom Parliament. Hansard, "House of Lords: Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech to Both Houses of Parliament." 6 February 1872, n.p.
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Authority
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Polynesian Labourers Act 1868 (Qld); Pacific Islanders Protection Act 1872 (also known as the Kidnapping Act) (UK); Pacific Island Labourers Act 1901 (Cth)
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Archives and sources
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Corris, Peter. Passage, Port and Plantation: A History of Solomon Islands Labour Migration, 1870–1914. ANU Open Access Thesis, 1970. Docker, EW, The Blackbirders: The Recruiting of South Seas Labour for Queensland, 1863-1907. Angus and Robertson, 1970.
Missionary Society Archives.
National Archives of Australia.
Queensland State Archives.
Solomon Islands National Archives.
State Library of Queensland.
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Contact
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Jerry/Kieren
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identifier
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SITE-MAL