The Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University and the Australian Centre of Asia-Pacific Art, Queensland Art Gallery would like to invite you to: ‘Blackbirding, South Sea Islanders and Seasonal Workers: Historical Memory and Contemporary Justice across the Pacific’ Presented by: The Hon Ralph Regenvanu MP, Member for Port Vila and Minister for Lands, Geology and Mines, Government of Vanuatu and Mr Nic Maclellan, Journalist and Researcher in the Pacific Islands. Chaired by Mr Sean Dorney, Pacific Correspondent for Australia Network, ABC. This year is the 150th anniversary of the colonial labour trade known as blackbirding, as industries like sugar and cotton were built by islanders recruited - or kidnapped - from across Melanesia. Between 1863 and 1904, more than 60,000 Melanesians were brought to work in fields and farms. After Federation, thousands of these Pacific workers were deported under the White Australia Policy, while some settled across Queensland and northern New South Wales. Today the descendants of the indentured workers - the Australian South Sea Islanders (ASSI) - are organising to recall their history and claim their rights. In recent years, as Australian-born islanders seek to learn about their cultural heritage, they have been building links with family and communities in Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Solomon Islands. As a new generation of Pacific workers arrive in Australia under the Seasonal Workers Program, what can we learn about the cultural ties that bind Australia with neighbouring Pacific countries? Join us in conversation with Ralph Regenvanu and Nic Maclellan, to discuss the legacies of blackbirding and new opportunities to link communities across the Pacific region. The Hon. Ralph Regenvanu MP is the Member for Port Vila and Minister for Lands, Geology and Mines in the Government of Vanuatu. A former director of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre and leader of the Graon mo Jastis Pati (Land and Justice Party), Ralph works with descendants of indentured workers in Vanuatu to build links with the Australian South Sea Islander community. Nic Maclellan works as a journalist and researcher in the Pacific islands. He has written widely about development, decolonisation and human rights as a correspondent for Islands Business magazine (Fiji), and contributor to Tahiti-Pacifique magazine, The Contemporary Pacific and other regional media. - Cinema B, Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place, South Bank - FRIDAY 16 August 2013 - 6:00-7:00pm, doors open at 5:30pm Guests are welcome to join us for refreshments prior to the seminar. Places are limited, please book early to avoid disappointment. Please RSVP, to Natasha Vary by telephone 07 37355322 or email by Monday 12 August. Emelda Davis - President, Interim National Body for Australian South Sea Islanders. (Port Jackson) Ltd - branch watch NITV News story: youtube/watch?v=BAckflQoGak Wantok conference video: youtube/watch?v=xVxeByuJ1_w PO Box 117, Pyrmont SYDNEY NSW 2009 email: assi.pj@gmail join us on facebook facebook/groups/assipj/
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 02:43:49 +0000
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