Underground prison home for islanders in Blackbirding era

“ I discovered my descendants here in Vanuatu, 15 years ago, and have made regular trips to strengthen our bond that my great grandfather passed on down to me through my parents,” says Daniel Narai Nomorinu, a South Sea Islander descendant from Erromango.

His great grandfather was taken to Queensland during sugarcane slavery. His grandfather married and bore his father. His father passed on to Nomorinu information on the origins of the island they came from in Vanuatu which happened to be Erromango. His home village is Dillon’s Bay (which is now called William’s Bay).

For Nomorinu, seeking his indigenous roots back here on Erromango is one thing. The other is how can he express his appreciation to the people of his roots because as he puts it to the Daily Post: “I just cannot come empty handed and search for my root then expect my relatives to welcome me back without me saying thank you with some form of gifts, not only for my folks on Erromango but throughout Vanuatu, because my heart is for my country of origin as as a whole,” he expressed.

Over the 15 years, Nomorinu, arranged and brought to Vanuatu many different assistance to schools and clinics for the islands in Vanuatu.

With the assistance of Australian friends in Queensland, Nomorinu has provided schools materials and clinic equipment over the past years.

Born from a Vanuatu descendant in Queensland in October 1948, Nomorinu has managed to engage Queensland State and Australian Federal Officials to assist in different ways with his wishes of assisting the people of Vanuatu through charitable deeds. But he has also, over the past many years, collected information on Blackbirding history including photos and written information.

He showed the Daily Post one of the photos he has collected that relates to the Blackbirding era. The photo is of what Nomorinu describes as “an underground prison home”.

“Look at this photo. It is a homestead in Queensland back during the Blackbirding. While it appears a perfect western homestead, but in fact the house has an underground dungeon or jail/prison which many of our island descendants were sent there for trivial matters that does not warrant being put to jail.

“They would be led there thinking they are being invited to a homestead for something good only to find that they are being dumped into an underground prison, hidden under the house or the homestead,” Nomorinu revealed.

He said even one young island girl was imprisoned there, he alleged.

“The house is no longer there, but the steps leading to the homestead and the remains of the foundation of the house are still there, and I have visited the place after the photo came into my possession with some research and findings that I did over a period of time,” he revealed to the Daily Post.