Resources

Below is a list of resources that may help you in your research or increasing your general knowledge about Australian South Sea Islander history.

Australian Human Rights Commission – eRace Archives
Historical information about Australian South Sea Islander history: “The Australian South Sea Islander community played a significant role in the development of Australia’s sugar and cotton industries”.

LINK: www.humanrights.gov.au/erace-archives-australian-south-sea-islanders

Queensland State Archives – Australian South Sea Islanders Records
Find online records of ship logs with names of Islanders brought to Australia, Government records pertaining to South Sea Islanders and historical resources. Watch the video below to find out how to search these online resources.

LINK: List of ASSI materials, resources and archives accessible via Qld State Archives: https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/arts/heritage/archives/collection/assi

Search the Qld State Archives List of ASSI Names 

Indexes are lists of names and other information that we have transcribed from a selection of registers (lists) in our collection. Indexes only include a small portion of the names mentioned in the archives, so although they are good place to start your research, you may need to do a more extensive search in the Archives Search catalogue.

(A-Z) of Australian South Sea Islanders as kept in the government records detailing the administration of the South Sea Islander immigration and employment program in Queensland from 1867 to 1908.

Search & Download digital excel sheet of names A-K: click here

Search & Download digital excel sheet of names L-Z: click here

State Library of Queensland

Search the State Library of Queensland’s catalogue One Search for information about Australian South Sea Islanders. By doing a basic search, more than 2000 records come up immediately from SLQ Collections, Online Resources and Peer-reviewed journals.

Search for for Australian South Sea Islander images (http://bit.ly/2PkBiNN) in the One Search catalogue, and then narrow the search further to images. Here you will be able to peruse the State Library of Queensland’s collection of Australian South Sea Islander images by subject, time period and geographic areas just to name a few.

Flickr
The Queensland State Library has digitised ASSI archival photos from it’s collection that are now out of copyright and accessible via Flickr. Search for terms like “Australian South Sea Islander” to discover a trove of black and white images taken over 100 years ago. Tag the images yourself to increase their searchability.

LINK: “Australian South Sea Islander” Search Results

Trove
Find newspaper articles, books, journals, maps and archival images by searching for key ASSI history words and phrases.

LINK: “Kanakas” Newspaper Search Results

Blackbird International
“Established in 2003 as a small community project, Blackbird was founded on the single objective to reunite families of the descendants of those that were sent abroad during the Blackbirding era”.

LINK: www.blackbird.vu

Queensland Family History Society
Begin your family history research, join as a member, print and digital resources.”QFHS is committed to providing research resources in a pleasant, friendly environment and to providing suitable premises for members to spend time, both for educational purposes and as a meeting place to discuss shared interests”.

LINK: www.qfhs.org.au

Department of Multicultural Affairs: Resources Link

VIDEO RESOURCES

• ASSI STORIES PROJECT (2014): Short films by Australian South Sea Islanders: View Online

• Australian South Sea Islanders 150 years: What does it mean? QSL / The Edge Project (2013): View Online

• ASSI Secretariat YouTube Channel: Short films: View Online

• South Sea Islanders Cutting Cane (1899). Original footage of South Sea Islanders cutting cane in Queensland: View Online

• Plantation Voices Exhibition 2019,  State Library of Queensland: View Videos

• SUGAR SLAVES (1995) Documentary: View Full Film

• BLACKBIRD (2016) short film: More Information