. The practice occurred primarily between the 1860s and 1901. Those 'blackbirded' were recruited from the indigenous populations of nearby Pacific islands or northern Queensland. In the early days of the pearling industry in Broome, local Aboriginal people were blackbirded from the surrounding areas, including aboriginal people from desert areas. Etymology The term may have been formed directly as a contraction of blackbird catching; blackbird was a slang term for the local indigenous people.… (More on Blackbirding)