Kanaka Maratta: a history of Melanesian Mackay

This is a history of Melanesian Mackay, studying in detail the migration of Malaitan (Solomon Islands) labourers between 1871 and 1904. It describes the life and work of the Melanesian community of the district in the nineteenth century, following the compulsory repatriation of the majority after the federation of the Australian colonies and the progressive divorce of the few who remained in Queensland from the sugar industry they and their fellows had done so much to create. Also included is a brief outline of the subsequent fate and present status of that community. To make this Melanesian history fully comprehensible it also gives a detailed account of European settlement, and more especially of the evolution of the sugar industry, at Mackay