Byline: George Ernest Morrison; 1883-05-09; The Age; pages 7
Report: "A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" - George Morrison - The Age
A letter in a contemporary has drawn my attention to the interest taken in Melbourne in the Queensland slave trade. I do not use this word in any claptrap sense, it is the way we always speak of the trade on board the schooners engaged in the trade itself. In one of these schooners I served an apprenticeship; I am, therefore, writing about the labor traffic on the strength of a practical acquaintance with it.
Description:A letter from George Morrison to the editor of The Age decrying the labor recruiting practices he witnessed when on board "blackbirder" The Lavinia. In contrast to his original 1882 series for The Leader, in this letter Morrison clearly denounces blackbirding, calling it Queensland's "slave trade."
Rights: Public domain.