Blackbirding exhibition, BOB Hawke Centre, Adelaide, South Australia - May 2018

Between the 1860's to 1906, over 50,000 Pacific Islanders from Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Fiji were brought over as slaves and as indentured labourers to work on the sugarcane farms of Queensland and NSW. In May of 2018, an exhibition was done to raise awareness of this piece of Australian History. The project was the result of the collaborative effort of the University of South Australia, David and Helen Bunton and the Pacific Islands Council of South Australia.

On easter Friday 2019, a group of Fijian youth and young adults visited an Aboriginal community called Raukkan, about 80 kilometers, south east of Adelaide city. Raukkan, which means "meeting place" in the Ngarrindjeri language, was for thousands of years an important meeting place for Ngarrindjeri "lakalinyeri" (clans) and the location of the Grand Tendi, the parliament of the Ngarrindjeri people.The Grand Tendi was composed of men elected from each of the eighteen lakalinyeri who then elected from its members the Rupulle or leader. English explorer Charles Sturt first encountered the Ngarrindjeri at Raukkan, who fed the starving Sturt and his party. In 1860 the Aborigines' Friends' Association was granted 107 hectares in the area and established a mission at Raukkan,which had been named "Point McLeay" by T. B. Strangways in 1837.George 

On the 25th of April 2019, a group of Pacific Islanders who live in Adelaide, were privileged to be given an opportunity to learn about this piece of Australian history on the 'Stolen Generation' through the eyes of someone who experienced it, Aunty Mona Olsson.

This gathering was held in a place called Colebrook, (now Reconciliation Park) along Shepherds hill rd., Eden Hill, an old venue where children were housed when they were taken away from their families. Aunty Mona had lived in Colebrook in her mid-teens.

The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. These Acts were in place from 1910 to 1970. These children, known as the Stolen Generation, were often under five years of age. They were taken away from their families because the government did not believe in the future of the Aborigines. They thought it would be better to bring them to white families. Aunty Mona Olsson is Yankunytjatjara women from Mimili in 

On the 25th of April of each year, the people of Maluku ( a group of islands between West Papua and East Timor) also known as 'Spice Islands' commemorate the day of their independence before they were invaded by Indonesia. Maluku is right on the edge of the Melanesian region of the Pacific Islands and Asia. Traditionally, the Malukuan's are recognised as a Melanesians. This event was supported and endorsed by PICSA.

Prior to 1950 Maluku was an independent sovereign nation, after years of being a Dutch colony, In the early part of 1950 the indonesian army invaded Maluku and since that day, Maluku has been under the Indonesian rule. This gathering is to commemorate and acknowledge the sovereignty of Maluku and to continue to support Maluku's fight of independence from the oppressive Indonesian regime.

Graeme Isa’ako is of Samoan and Maori descent. Graeme grew up in the in the inner suburbs of Sydney where he developed his skills in signing, dancing and acting.

On the 25th April, Graeme and his wife and two young children spent some time with a small group of Pacific Islanders at the 5 EBI radio station, in Adelaide city.Graham gave an interview on the Pacific Islands radio program and also gave a live demonstration of his musical talents by singing a couple of the songs his currently singing at the musical ‘Aladdin the musical’ where he plays the lead role as Aladdin.

To view photos from this event click on this Link

On Sunday the 19th of May, a group of Timor Leste students studying in some of the university in South Australia got together to commemorate the restoration of independence of East Timor from the ruthless and barbaric Indonesian regime. The event took place at the Oasis centre, Flinders University.

This momentous event of the restoration of East Timor independence took place on the 20th of May 2002. Here is a bit of information on the long and complex history of East Timor. The present division, and exact boundaries, between Indonesia and Timor Leste arose from the division of the island of Timor between Portuguese and Dutch colonial administrations. The Portuguese colonised the northeast half of Timor, beginning with the city of Dili, in the 1700?s. A treaty with the Dutch in 1914 fixed the boundaries with ?Dutch