SCENIC Rim Regional Council has upgraded a memorial to Australian South Sea Islanders at Veresdale.
The memorial upgrade involved repositioning a carved totem pole created by Logan based artist Kakae Pakoa and first installed seven years ago at Hopkins Park. It was moved and more prominent structures were added.
Mr Pakoa said the art tells the story of workers who walked from Redbank Plains to Beaudesert in 1863, when it took them two days to get here to start work.
He said Islanders, many of them from Vanuatu were the victims of blackbirding and did not come to Australia voluntarily.
"They were kidnapped from their homes and forced to work in the sugar industry in Queensland. They were sugar slaves. Up to 40,000 of them were brought here by force."
Mr Pakoa said many of the islanders settled in Australia, married and had families but when the White Australia policy was adopted in 1901, many were deported.
Scenic Rim mayor Greg Christensen said acknowledging history was important to reconciliation.
"The additions to the Australian South Sea Islander Wayfinder... recognise the past history when the first indentured labourers from South Sea Islands arrived in Queensland to work on a cotton plantation at Townsvale (now Veresdale) in 1863," he said.
"It also commemorates the 2013 event, This is Our Story, a commemorative and reconciliation project for Australian South Sea Islanders, when the local Mununjali people made their official welcome to country, some 150 years later. Along with the ironbark carved totem pole, the new additions includes rock seating, a storyboard, and a bronze casting of handprints taken at the event in 2013 and etching concrete slab."
Cr Christensen said council was committed to respecting the history of the region and dealing honestly with some of the aspects that were confronting by today's standards.
"We are grateful to Kakae Pakoa... this tribute enables us to learn from history to build a strong and respectful tomorrow," he said. "We cannot be a truly inclusive community without showing that true respect."
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