The Australian South Sea Islander (ASSI) 150 Project commemorated the 150th anniversary of the first arrival of South Sea Islanders transported to Queensland along with later arrivals and the impact that had on them and Queensland.
Commemoration events and activities took place throughout South East Queensland in August 2013.
Large information panels were created for display purposes for ASSI 150 events. This information is now available in A4 pdf format below:
Labour Trade; People and Plantation (PDF, 2.3 mb)
Surviving Deportation; Regulations, Restricitions and Racism (PDF, 2.2 mb)
Coastal Communities; Recognition and Remembering (PDF, 1.6 mb)
South Sea Islanders in Ipswich; Woodlands; Bremer Mills (PDF, 1.1 mb)
The following information sheets provide an insight into the history of Australian South Sea Islanders in the Ipswich area.
1. Arrival of South Sea Islanders (PDF, 464 kb)
2. Employers of South Sea Islanders in Ipswich (PDF, 785 kb)
3. Alphabetical list of Australian South Sea Islanders in Ipswich (PDF, 55 kb)
4. South Sea Islanders at Marburg (PDF, 2.7 mb)
5. Tarra Gindi Tasserone (PDF, 1.2 mb)
6. South Sea Island Labour debate in Ipswich (PDF, 475 kb)
7. Women's views on South Sea Island Labour (PDF, 247 kb)
8. Queensland Statistics - Polynesian Laborers (PDF, 241 kb)
9. Charlie Gorman (PDF, 206 kb)
10.Health Care and Cemetery Records (PDF, 138 kb)
A number of Australian South Sea Islanders who worked in Ipswich have been identified through the James Ivory Diaries and through online newspapers on the Trove Website.
South Sea Islanders were employed at the following places in Ipswich:
Numerous articles appear in historic newspapers about the importation of South Sea Islanders to Queensland. A number of these articles have been transcribed and they provide a valuable insight into the debate that took place from the 1860s to the early 1900s.
Researchers who would like additional information should visit the Trove website and search the online newspapers.
Queensland State Archives details the resources (online indexes, guides etc) that have been developed to assist researchers with discovering the history of Austrlian South Sea Islanders in Queensland and with accessing the related records held at Queensland State Archives.
The Australian South Sea Islander 150 (ASSI 150) website provides information about the commemorative program of community activities, arts and cultural events to mark 150 years since the first South Sea Islanders were brought to Australia.
The ASSIS website is administered by the descendants of some 60,000 Pacific Islanders who
were brought to Australia during the late 19th century. Please note that the ASSIS project is seperate from the Ipswich City Council ASSI 150 project. Click on this link to discover their story. http://www.assis.org.au/
Sugaropolis looks at the lives and contributions of Australian South Sea Islanders in the Gold Coast region.
Ipswich residents are invited to provide copies of photographs and information about Australian South Sea Islanders in Ipswich between 1863 and 1904 for the ASSI 150 Project.
The Council will scan the image and keep a digital copy which will become part of our digital library collection. Selected images will become part of the Picture Ipswich online photo database.
For further information about Australian South Sea Islanders in Ipswich please contact Council's Cultural Heritage Coordinator: Phone (07) 3810 6256