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The Blackbirded Labourer and the Missionary: Great-Grandsons Meet

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The Blackbirded Labourer and the Missionary: Great-Grandsons Meet April 2015 : No 274 The blackbirded labourer and the missionary: great-grandsons meet Soon after 1901, Joe Natuman’s story of his great-grandfather, Tavo, Later in conversation the High great-great grandfather was sent back refusing to shake the hand of a visitor Commissioner expressed appreciation to the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) from Queensland, but later meeting for Faith Bandler, who was awarded from Queensland under the White my grandfather, Rev Frank Paton, on the Order of Australia for tirelessly Australia policy. He had first come as Tanna and becoming a Christian. campaigning for Aboriginal rights “blackbirded” slave labour, and then in Australia and for recognition of came back a second time, hoping to Difficult truths Australian South Sea Islanders. Her stay. Being deported against his will father had been blackbirded from The Australian High Commissioner, left him embittered. Back home on Ambrym. Jeremy Bruer, said it is “sometimes the island of Tanna he met the son Welcoming the 50 guests, Eileen quite difficult to see the truth in of pioneer missionary Rev Dr John G Boe, Chairperson of the Vanuatu history. This exhibition is part of Paton, and, overcoming his bitterness, Cultural Council, thanked the artists a process that enables us to look became a leading figure in the church. for responding to “the significant at, confront and understand much Joe Natuman is now the Prime Minister inner call for handing over this art better some of those truths. It’s a of Vanuatu. Eleven days before work to the right people”. process that is well under way now Cyclone Pam devastated his nation My wife, Helen, explained that (in Australia). We’ve seen motions he related this story to David Bunton, we had come to say “sorry” for the before the Queensland and NSW great-grandson of John Paton. David suffering faced by so many families in parliaments (as well as) the Federal contributes this account of the historic Vanuatu because their forebears were parliament, recording and recognising bridge-building between two peoples, blackbirded, and to express “thank the experience of the Australian two nations: you” for the contribution that these South Sea Islander community Vanuatu Prime Minister, the Hon Islanders had made, including that of and recognising them now as an Joe Natuman, opened our Australian some 40,000 descendants in Australia individual community within Reflections on Blackbirding exhibition today. She commented: “The artworks Australia with their own interests and at the National Library and Archives have now come home.” One visitor their own needs.” Gallery, Port Vila, on 2 March in continued on Page 2 the presence of the Australian High Commissioner, Jeremy Bruer, Minister for Lands Ralph Regenvanu and Paramount Chief Richard David Fandanumata. The exhibition of 11 artworks and many historical documents tracing the story of blackbirding was a gift to the people of Vanuatu from my wife, South Australian artist, Helen Stacey, and myself. “This exhibition shows the struggle of our forefathers taken away as slaves to work on the cotton fields and sugarcane plantations (of Australia),” said the Prime Minister, “as well as the opposition of John G and Margaret Paton, whom we all know as great missionaries to Vanuatu in the 1800s. They and others came to spread the Prime Minister Joe Natuman (centre left) and Dr David Bunton look at portraits of John and Margaret gospel and to strongly oppose the Paton in the exhibition, watched by Minister Ralph Regenvanu (left) and Chief Richard David slave trade.” He went on to tell the Fandanumata. Credit: Lesley Bryant. IofC Newsbriefs April 2015 : page 1 continued from Page 1 later patted the words “sorry” and “thank you” on the Also contributing to the exhibition was Lesley Bryant final artwork in the series and said, “When I came in I who helped initiate the 150-year commemorations in knew this was for me”. Queensland and Fiji. Lesley has been involved in processing Introducing my song Australian Islander Tribute, I pointed documents that provide information about Islanders taken out that blackbirding began nearly 60 years after Britain to work in Queensland. Examples of these documents were abolished the slave trade from Africa to the Americas and part of the exhibition, along with photographs of many continued another 40 years until ended with the White island labourers. These documents may help Vanuatu Australia Policy. My song, describing the beauty of the people to trace their own family members by searching islands and the story of blackbirding, was performed with such documents on the internet and with the help of singers and instrumentalists from the youth agency, Wan the National Library and Archives or Australian High Smol Bag, and staff of the Cultural Centre and National Commission. Library. It was later recorded at the Cultural Centre and We also met members of Vanuatu-Australia Connections will be released after post-production work in Sydney. and the Vanuatu Indigenous Descendants Association, the The exhibition also displayed three messages of support latter organisation being for descendants of Australian from members of the New South Wales and Federal Aboriginals brought back to Vanuatu as children or Australian Parliaments, including the NSW speaker wives of blackbirded labourers. Chief Richard David and the former Federal speaker, Anna Burke. The MPs Fandanumata and his brother, former MP Abel David, were from Liberal, Labor and Greens parties, and their came to Port Vila airport at 5am, just before we left, messages expressed the need for recognition of the South bringing three ladies whose Aboriginal grandmother had Sea Islander community in Australia and deep regret for been smuggled back to Vanuatu as the wife of a labourer. their marginalisation. A message also came from Rev Prof They have suffered great discrimination on the island of Andrew Dutney, President of the Assembly of the Uniting Santo and long to trace their grandmother’s family in the Church in Australia. Melbourne area. Briefing in Australian Parliament Just before Question Time, on 25 March, Greens MP Adam exactly what Parliament should be encouraging all of our Bandt announced in the House of Representatives that communities to do.” “today many members of Australia’s South Sudanese Tim Costello, head of World Vision Australia, spoke in communities, together with Rev Tim Costello, have support of increasing humanitarian aid. As a hand-out at travelled to parliament in Canberra to brief all of us on the the Parliamentary Briefing noted, remittances from South humanitarian crisis and conflicts in South Sudan.” Sudanese in Australia far exceeded the $18 million given Later that afternoon, the briefing was co-chaired by by the Australia government last year. The Rev Costello Bandt and two other Federal MPs, Anna Burke (Labor) and went further: “The humanitarian need in South Sudan is Kelly O’Dwyer (Liberal). now enormous, and while agencies like World Vision are It was organised by the South Sudan Australia Peace responding, we urgently need the international community Initiative (SSAPI), a community initiative supported by to act in order to find a lasting, peaceful solution.” IofC. Twenty South Sudanese from five States travelled to He vigorously supported a third recommendation: Canberra at their own cost to support the Briefing, after to appoint an Australian Special Envoy to assist the weeks of careful preparation together. peace process. Such teamwork is not a given. The current conflict back Formation of a “Parliamentary Friendship Group” was home has caused divisions here in Australia. also recommended – which Adam Bandt and Anna Burke Co-founder of the SSAPI, Nyok Gor, came to Australia agreed to chair. Mike Bowers, who photographed the as one of the 30,000 South Sudanese refugees, after years occasion for the Guardian, commented on their website: as a child soldier and then in a refugee camp. A video “So much constructive engagement happens through these showed how he and another refugee, from an opposing parliamentary associations. It’s important to remember ethnic group, started SSAPI after both had lost relatives this when we feel like screaming about the state of in fighting. “Finding forgiveness is a tough road but we contemporary politics.” must walk it together so that no child will be fighting in the bush instead of living with their family and going to school,” said Nyok. The first of four recommendations to the Australia Parliament was to support NGOs within Australia “to facilitate healing and trust-building dialogue among the diaspora”. Kelly O’Dwyer gave the example of peace- building meetings she had attended at the IofC centre, Armagh, which is “an important part of my electorate”. Adam Bandt, in his statement in the House, reinforced this aspect: “Using Australia as a crucible to nurture… the values of peace and non-violence across the world is Adam Bandt speaks at the briefing IofC Newsbriefs April 2015 : page 2 The deadly cost of wrong choices The cause of two Australians on death row in Indonesia has and in Indonesia, I feel deeply sorry. An Indonesian Islamic provoked reactions in many. Barbara Lawler was able to cleric expressed the hope that Indonesia could be a bridge express some of her thoughts with friends in Indonesia: between Islam and the West. Maybe we in the West need to We can say these are only two lives, compared with the do better starting to build some spans from our own side? massive number of deaths from drug abuse around the As an example I was moved by the visit of the Australian world. Yet this issue goes deep, at least with me. Islamic clerics to Jakarta, reported on the ABC on 11 The purpose of Indonesia’s toughness is to save lives March. Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, the Grand Mufti of by eliminating illegal drugs.
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