Exile into bondage : an analysis of Asiatic indenture into colonial Queensland

INTRODUCTION

Coloured indentured labourers formed part of colonial society from the early settlement of Moreton Bay until the years after the Federation of the Australian colonies. These workers were specifically imported to meet the demands of a number of capitalists in order to ensure ready profits for their economic pursuits. But what sort of predicament was the coloured labourer to face during his temporary stay? What sort of work, conditions, and social life was he to experience in his allotted residence tor a fixed number of years? What was his status - his place in colonial society? How was he to adapt to a totally alien environment? How was colonial society to accommodate him, when it had other plans for the young colony? 

Contemporary sources presenting the landowner and capitalist’s viewpoints may be found in abundance. Such evidence presents the indentured labourer as understood by a racist, colonialist society. The pastoralist or planter who employed them were usually educated, articulate people, whereas the coloured indent could rarely speak or write English. This factor, plus the nature of their bond placed the latter in a particularly vulnerable position : for those with power often wield it against powerless groups………