Between 1879 and 1916, tens of thousands of Indians moved to Fiji to work as indentured labourers, especially on sugarcane plantations. Repatriation of indentured Indians from Fiji began on 3 May 1892, when the British Peer brought 464 repatriated Indians to Calcutta. Various ships made similar journeys to Calcutta and Madras, concluding with Sirsa's 1951 voyage. In 1955 and 1956, three ships brought Indian labourers from Fiji to Sydney, from where the labourers flew to Bombay.
Indentured Indians wishing to return to India were given two options. One was travel at their own expense and the other free of charge but subject to certain conditions. To obtain free passage back to India, labourers had to have been above age twelve upon arrival, completed at least five years of service and lived in Fiji for a total of ten consecutive years. A child born to these labourers in Fiji could accompany his or her parents or guardian back to India if he or she was under twelve.
Due to the high cost of returning at their own expense, most indentured immigrants returning to India left Fiji around ten to twelve years after arrival. Indeed, just over twelve years passed between the voyage of the first ship carrying indentured Indians to Fiji (the Leonidas, in 1879) and the first ship to take Indians back (the British Peer, in 1892).
Given the steady influx of ships carrying indentured Indians to Fiji up until 1916, repatriated Indians generally boarded these same ships on their return voyage. 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. Because the return figure includes children born in Fiji, many of the indentured Indians never returned to India.
Direct return voyages by ship ceased after 1951. Instead, arrangements were made for flights from Sydney to Bombay, the first of which departed in July 1955. Labourers still travelled to Sydney by ship.
| Name of ship | Date of departure | Calcutta arrivals | Madras arrivals | Total arrivals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Peer | 3 May 1892 | 464 (260m 111w 35b 43g 15i) | 464 | ||
| Hereford | 25 June 1892 | 24 | 24 | ||
| Moy | 28 April 1893 | 529 (317m 133f 34b 31g 17i) | 529 | ||
| Ems | 5 May 1894 | 576 (312m 148f 38b 42g 36i) | 576 | ||
| Hereford | 16 July 1894 | 447 (277m 125f 41b 28g 21i) | 447 | ||
| SS Virawa | 14 May 1895 | 608 (347m 147f 38b 40g 36i) | 608 | ||
| Erne | 14 May 1896 | 675 (371m 170f 55b 50g 29i) | 675 | ||
| Moy | 15 June 1898 | 393 (273m 65f 25b 19g 13i) | 393 | ||
| Avon | 10 August 1899 | 328 (213m 66f 20b 15g 14i) | 328 | ||
| Ganges | 12 September 1899 | 33 (24m 5f 2b 2g) | 33 | ||
| Elbe | 23 July 1900 | 405 (245m 87f 28b 31g 14i) | 405 | ||
| SS Fazilka | 2 July 1901 | 515 (298m 107f 45b 44g 33i) | 515 | ||
| SS Fazilka | 5 July 1902 | 479 (291m 90f 44b 41g 13i) | 479 | ||
| Arno | 15 September 1903 | 549 (325m 114f 63b 52g 25i) | 549 | ||
| Arno | 19 August 1904 | 366 (211m 91f 34b 37g 20i) | 366 | ||
| SS Virawa | 26 July 1905 | 341 (193m 64w 31b 36g 17i) | 341 | ||
| SS Fazilka | 1 May 1906 | 321 (221m 71f 13b 12g 4i) | 321 | ||
| SS Fazilka | 10 February 1907 | 533 (316m 96w 56b 42g 23i) | 63 (34m 21f 4b 1g 3i) | 596 | |
| SS Fazilka | 1 May 1907 | 26 (15m 8f 2g 1i) | 21 (14m 6f 1g) | 47 | |
| SS Sangola | 30 March 1908 | 606 (363m 115f 42b 60g 26i) | 87 (51m 24f 6b 3g 3i) | 693 | |
| SS Sangola | 11 February 1909 | 60 | 54 (30m 15f 1b 3g 5i) | 114 | |
| SS Sangola | 16 March 1910 | 351 (245m 63f 18b 14g 8i) | 20 (12m 6f 1b 1g) | 371 | |
| SS Santhia | 30 April 1910 | 18 (14m 4f) | 23 (13m 5f 1b 3g 1i) | 41 | |
| SS Sutlej | 8 July 1911 | 545 (408m 78f 30b 21g 9i) | 102 (66m 24f 7b 2g 3i) | 647 | |
| SS Sutlej | 7 October 1911 | 53 (34m 12f 2b 2g 3i) | 8 (3m 4f 1g) | 61 | |
| SS Sutlej | 9 May 1912 | 616 (383m 108f 47b 59g 20i) | 103 (54m 34f 7b 6g 2i) | 719 | |
| SS Ganges | 28 February 1913 | 681 | 126 | 807 | |
| SS Chenab | 8 March 1914 | 675 | 264 | 801 | |
| SS Chenab | 22 June 1914 | 321 | 33 | 354 | |
| SS Mutlah | 13 May 1915 | 473 | 95 | 568 | |
| SS Chenab | 6 September 1916 | 486 | 242 | 728 | |
| Ganges I | 7 June 1920 | 844 | 303 | 1,147 | |
| Ganges II | 30 August 1920 | 1046 | 82 | 1,128 | |
| SS Ganges | 12 November 1920 | 892 | 239 | 1,131 | |
| SS Torilla | 18 December 1920 | 1134 | 105 | 1,239 | |
| SS Ganges | 12 February 1921 | 1444 | 149 | 1,593 | |
| SS Ganges | 24 May 1921 | 1000 | 214 | 1214 | |
| SS Ganges | 7 June 1920 | 695 | 241 | 936 | |
| SS Ganges | 12 November 1920 | 799 | 166 | 965 | |
| SS Torilla | 18 December 1920 | 1808 | 93 | 1,901 | |
| Ganges | 12 February 1921 | 974 | 100 | 1,074 | |
| Ganges | 24 May 1921 | 996 | 178 | 1,174 | |
| SS Chenab | 22 November 1921 | 739 | 249 | 988 | |
| SS Sutlej | 6 June 1922 | 512 | 454 | 966 | |
| SS Chenab | 27 December 1922 | 565 | 372 | 937 | |
| Ganges | 6 November 1923 | 411 | 560 | 971 | |
| SS Sutlej | 20 December 1924 | 558 | 464 | 1,022 | |
| Unknown | 25 January 1926 | 701 | 487 | 1,188 | |
| SS Ganges | 31 January 1927 | 528 | 528 | ||
| Ganges | 26 February 1927 | 514 | 582 | 1,096 | |
| SS Sutlej | 21 April 1928 | 530 | 442 | 972 | |
| SS Sutlej | 8 July 1929 | 365 | 286 | 651 | |
| SS Sutlej | 16 March 1930 | 346 | 305 | 651 | |
| SS Ganges | 7 September 1931 | 103 | 171 | 274 | |
| Ganges | 14 May 1932 | 76 | 93 | 169 | |
| Ganges | 30 August 1933 | 136 | 112 | 248 | |
| SS Ganges | 22 August 1934 | 78 | 45 | 123 | |
| SS Elephanta | 14 November 1935 | 82 | 80 | 162 | |
| SS Ganges | 24 December 1936 | 105 | 66 | 171 | |
| SS Ganges | 21 April 1938 | 109 | 86 | 195 | |
| SS Ganges | 20 September 1939 | 56 | 65 | 121 | |
| MV Orna | 3 August 1947 | 106 | 52 | 158 | |
| SS Selma | 13 May 1945 | 12 | 7 | 19 | |
| MV Orna | 5 March 1948 | 29 | 32 | 61 | |
| MV Orna | 18 August 1948 | 70 | 50 | 120 | |
| MV Orna | 8 July 1949 | 95 | 47 | 142 | |
| Unknown | 28 March 1950 | 53 | 22 | 75 | |
| SS Sirsa | 17 May 1951 | 34 | 12 | 46 | |
| Total | 39,157 |
| m | Men | |
| w | Women | |
| b | Boys | |
| g | Girls | |
| i | Infants |
The following ships brought labourers to Sydney.[1]
| Name of ship | Flight departure | Number of departures | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strathmore | 25 July 1955 | 25 | |
| Stratheden | 29 November 1955 | 68 | |
| Strathnaver | 24 July 1956 | 12 | |
| Total | 105 |