Indenture Ships To Fiji
Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 42 ships made 87 voyages, carrying Indian indentured labourers to Fiji. Initially the ships brought labourers from Calcutta, but from 1903 all ships except two also brought labourers from Madras.
A total of 60,965 passengers left India but 60,553 (including births at sea) arrived in Fiji. A total of 45,439 boarded ships in Calcutta and 15,114 in Madras. Sailing ships took, on average, seventy-three days for the trip while steamers took 30 days. The shipping companies associated with the labour trade were Nourse Line and British-India Steam Navigation Company.
List of Ships in a Searchable/Sortable Format.
List of Indenture Ships to Fiji
Name of Ship | Date of Arrival | Registered Numbers | Number of Arrivals |
---|---|---|---|
Leonidas | May 15, 1879 | 1–463 | 463 |
Berar | June 29, 1882 | 464–887 | 424 |
Poonah | September 17, 1882 | 888–1364 | 477 |
Poonah | June 19, 1883 | 1365–1860 | 496 |
Bayard | August 20, 1883 | 1861–2354 | 494 |
Syria | May 14, 1884 | 2355–2792 | 438 |
Howrah | June 26, 1884 | 2793–3287 | 495 |
Pericles | July 3, 1884 | 3288–3748 | 461 |
SS Newnham | July 23, 1884 | 3749–4323 | 575 |
Main | April 30, 1885 | 4324–5048 | 725 |
Ganges | June 27, 1885 | 5049–5571 | 523 |
Boyne | April 26, 1886 | 5572–6108 | 537 |
Bruce | May 21, 1886 | 6109–6566 | 458 |
Hereford | April 24, 1888 | 6567–7105 | 539 |
Moy | May 3, 1889 | 7106–7782 | 677 |
Rhone | May 15, 1890 | 7783–8367 | 585 |
Allan Shaw | June 17, 1890 | 8368–8940 | 573 |
Danube | June 15, 1891 | 8941–9531 | 591 |
Jumna | June 27, 1891 | 9532–9978 | 447 |
British Peer | April 23, 1892 | 9979–10505 | 527 |
Avon | May 5, 1892 | 10506–11025 | 520 |
Hereford | June 15, 1892 | 11026–11504 | 479 |
Moy | April 14, 1893 | 11505–11971 | 467 |
Jumna | May 23, 1893 | 11972–12281 | 310 |
Ems | April 20, 1894 | 12282–12851 | 570 |
Hereford | June 28, 1894 | 12852–13362 | 511 |
SS Vadala | March 26, 1895 | 13363–14109 | 747 |
SS Virawa | April 26, 1895 | 14110–14786 | 677 |
Erne | April 24, 1896 | 14787–15343 | 557 |
Elbe | June 13, 1896 | 15344–15958 | 615 |
Rhone | May 11, 1897 | 15959–16611 | 653 |
Clyde | June 1, 1897 | 16612–17281 | 670 |
Moy | June 1, 1898 | 17282–17849 | 568 |
Avon | July 25, 1899 | 17850–18316 | 467 |
Ganges | September 3, 1899 | 18317–18780 | 464 |
Ganges | June 21, 1900 | 18781–19334 | 554 |
Elbe | July 26, 1900 | 19335–19938 | 604 |
Arno | July 23, 1900 | 19939–20565 | 627 |
Rhine | August 30, 1900 | 20566–21056 | 491 |
SS Fazilka | March 28, 1901 | 21057–21860 | 804 |
SS Fultala | May 12, 1901 | 21861–22669 | 809 |
SS Fazilka | June 18, 1901 | 22670–23445 | 776 |
SS Virawa | April 26, 1902 | 23446–24163 | 718 |
SS Fazilka | June 20, 1902 | 24164–25003 | 840 |
Mersey | June 13, 1903 | 25004–25588 | 585 |
Elbe | August 5, 1903 | 25589–26178 | 590 |
Arno | September 4, 1903 | 26179–26812 | 634 |
Arno | May 3, 1904 | 26813–27443 | 631 |
Ems | July 30, 1904 | 27444–27969 | 526 |
SS Fultala | April 10, 1905 | 27970–28796 | 827 |
SS Virawa | July 17, 1905 | 28797–29411 | 615 |
SS Wardha | July 28, 1905 | 29412–30303 | 892 |
SS Fultala | August 17, 1905 | 30304–31093 | 790 |
SS Fazilka | April 17, 1906 | 31094–31974 | 881 |
SS Fultala | April 28, 1906 | 31975–32775 | 801 |
SS Wardha | June 28, 1906 | 32776–33609 | 834 |
SS Fazilka | January 28, 1907 | 33610–34484 | 875 |
SS Virawa | March 23, 1907 | 34485–35243 | 759 |
SS Fazilka | April 25, 1907 | 35244–36039 | 796 |
SS Sangola | March 18, 1908 | 36040–37171 | 1132 |
SS Sangola | June 6, 1908 | 37172–38257 | 1086 |
SS Sangola | February 1, 1909 | 38258–39409 | 1152 |
SS Sangola | April 21, 1909 | 39410–40076 | 667 |
SS Sangola | March 7, 1910 | 40077–41002 | 926 |
SS Santhia | April 22, 1910 | 41003–42023 | 1021 |
SS Sangola | June 5, 1910 | 42024–42892 | 869 |
SS Santhia | July 8, 1910 | 42893–43922 | 1030 |
SS Mutlah | May 22, 1911 | 43923–44756 | 834 |
SS Sutlej | June 25, 1911 | 44757–45606 | 850 |
SS Ganges | July 22, 1911 | 45607–46466 | 860 |
SS Mutlah | August 18, 1911 | 46467–47329 | 863 |
SS Sutlej | October 4, 1911 | 47330–48140 | 811 |
SS Sutlej | April 27, 1912 | 48141–48997 | 857 |
SS Indus | June 8, 1912 | 48998–49801 | 804 |
SS Ganges | July 18, 1912 | 49802–50644 | 843 |
SS Ganges | November 8, 1912 | 50645–51490 | 846 |
SS Ganges | February 21, 1913 | 51491–52261 | 771 |
SS Sutlej | April 11, 1913 | 52262–53069 | 808 |
SS Ganges | May 29, 1913 | 53070–53917 | 848 |
SS Ganges | September 9, 1913 | 53918–54701 | 784 |
SS Chenab | March 24, 1914 | 54702–55556 | 855 |
SS Chenab | June 16, 1914 | 55557–56273 | 717 |
SS Mutlah | May 7, 1915 | 56274–57125 | 852 |
SS Ganges | June 21, 1915 | 57126–57971 | 846 |
SS Mutlah | August 1, 1915 | 57972–58783 | 812 |
SS Chenab | September 1, 1916 | 58784–59665 | 882 |
SS Sutlej | November 11, 1916 | 59666–60553 | 888 |
The most important man on these ships was the Surgeon-Superintendent, who supervised the medical care, ventilation, clothing, cleanliness and exercise of the passengers and his authority extended over the Captain. He inspected the stores before departure and reported on any defects during the trip. The Surgeon-Superintendent also intervened to prevent passengers from being mistreated by the crew. He was paid a bonus for each laborer landed alive. The table below shows brief details of the two ships, Howrah and Rhone II.
From the early 1900s, Indians started arriving in Fiji as free agents. Many of these paid their own way and had previously served in Fiji or other British colonies or had been born in Fiji. Amongst the early free migrants, there were religious teachers, missionaries and at least one lawyer. The government and other employers brought clerks, policemen, artisans, gardeners, experienced agricultural workers, a doctor and a school teacher. Punjabi farmers and Gujarati craftsmen also paid their own way to Fiji and in later year years formed an influential minority amongst the Fiji Indians.
Conditions of return
According to Clause 10 of each labourer’s indenture agreement:
10. After ten years continuous residence every Emigrant who was above the age of twelve on introduction to the Colony and who during that period has completed an industrial residence of five years, shall be entitled to a free-return passage if he claims it within two years after the completion of the ten years’ continuous residence. If the Emigrant was under twelve years of age when he was introduced into the colony, he will be entitled to a free return passage if he claims it before he reaches 24 years of age and fulfills the other conditions as to residence. A child of an Emigrant born within the colony will be entitled to a free return passage until he reaches the age of twelve, and must be accompanied on the voyage by his parents or guardian.
Due to the high cost involved in returning after only 5 years of servitude, of the indentured immigrants returning to India, most left Fiji under the free-return passage option 10–12 years after arrival. As the first ship carrying indentured Indians to Fiji “the Leonidas” arrived in 1879, the first ship to take Indians back “the British Peer” set sail just over 12 years after in 1892.
Repatriation
Given the steady influx of ships carrying indentured Indians to Fiji up un til 1916, repatriate Indians generally boarded these same ships on their return voyage 10-15 days after arrival. The total number of repatriates under the Fiji indenture system is recorded as 39,261, while the number of arrivals is said to have been 60,553. As a proportion this works out ot be 64.8% which appears quite high. However, this figure includes children born in Fiji so the actual percentage is significantly lower. After 1951 return voyages by ship ceased and arrangements were made for flights from Sydney to Bombay, the first of which departed in July 1955. Ship charter were however organised for Fiji to Sydney leg of the journey.
References
Repatriation of indentured Indians from Fiji. (2012, June 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:07, July 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Repatriation_of_indentured_Indians_from_Fiji&oldid=498152187