ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Apologies, Maureen and Neville - I'm late! Great prompt, by the way, and I knew immediately what I wanted to write about - there was just a delay between inspiration and execution!

As you would no doubt be aware, during the second half of the 19th century, thousands of South Pacific Islanders were lured by deception or kidnapped from their islands in a practice known as blackbirding, to provide cheap labour for the sugar industry. It is estimated that as many as 15,000 died in Queensland alone, a staggering mortality rate of 30%. Maryborough was one of the entry points for these ships, and the men were employed on many plantations across this district. I've included a photo of our historical precinct "standing stones" monument which commemorates their outstanding contribution to Australian industry.

SET IN STONE
(c) Shelley Hansen 27/8/20

Taken from your island shore
placed aboard a ship -
never knowing what's in store
on a one-way trip.

Slaving in the sugar cane
stifled by the heat
for the white man's greed and gain -
head bowed in defeat.

Feel the foreman's stinging tongue
followed by the lash.
Flowing sweat trails burn among
every fresh-cut gash.

Promised wages never come -
food supplies are poor.
Illness causes death for some -
misery for more.

Past events are set in stone
now the page has turned -
but perhaps we may atone
if we prove we've learned.

Yes Shelley they were hard times back then.
To us it seems inhuman, but it was the same the world over - and sadly always has been,
and at some time in history it had happened to all races. Just look at what happened to the Jews not all that long ago.
Even our own soldiers went through hell when prisoners of the Japanese.
You would think we would learn from our past, but we never have.

Nicely Written

Terry

Very true Terry - and thanks for the positive feedback.

Hi Shelley

I just received the Bronze Spur Results.

Congratulation, I see you got First and Second, Wow!

Terry

Good on ya Shelley. I didn't know there was such a monument. These days the money grubbers have worked out that you don't need to bring the slaves to us you can move the factory over to their place.

Oh I love this Shelley - good ink - well done. One of my best friends when I was a kid growing up in Nambour came from a very well respected family who are still in town to this day and her Dad was a Kanaka, blackbirded when he was a young bloke. I always found the stories he told to be very distressing, and I think it was from him I learnt about the horror of slavery and the crummy deal that our coloured people have always received ... and of course in today's world the terrible racism that still abounds. My friends family were very loving and kind - I've never forgotten them, although she passed away many years ago.

The last verse - well - we haven't learned have we, somehow I doubt we ever will, or not in our lifetime - maybe in our Grandkids perhaps. We can only hope that the world becomes a kinder place.

Thanks Maureen and Neville

Yes it is a sad chapter and many lessons are still unlearned.

Thanks Terry, and congratulations to you too for your 3rd placing in the Bronze Spur. I was absolutely surprised and delighted when I received the phone call. I've entered this one for a long time.

It is proof once again of the value of this writing workshop ... my winning poem began its life as a homework piece. Not the first time I’ve had this experience with poems that may never have been written if not for our monthly prompts! So thanks again to Maureen and Neville!

I will post the full results on the forum in the next day or so when I receive them officially.


Cheers
Shelley

Very powerful Shelley - like Neville, I didn't know this monument was there, but am glad it stands in their honour and as a reminder of a brutal past that should not be repeated. As Terry so rightly says, the capacity for man's inhumanity to man, especially towards those of different races and cultures, is seemingly endless - so in this respect, your last stanza is particularly strong. Great poem.

Thank you Catherine - yes, certainly an episode in our history that is both "forgettable" and yet worth remembering for the lessons it teaches.

In additional to this monument in Maryborough, there is also a sugar museum in Bundaberg which has a room dedicated to the contribution of the South-Sea Islanders. It is well worth visiting for anyone in the area.

Cheers
Shelley