The Australian label South Sea Islanders refers to the Australian descendants of people from the more than 80 islands in the Western Pacific – including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) in Melanesia and the Loyalty Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Rotuma and Tuvalu in Polynesia and Micronesia – who were recruited between the mid to late 19th century as labour in the sugarcane fields of Queensland. Some were kidnapped or "blackbirded" into long-term indentured service. At its height, the recruiting accounted for over half the adult male population of some islands.