Yes James You did not misunderstand, it is only in the last few years that sensitivity to the word "nigger" has arisen and has been imported from the US. Australia had a different set of epithets. We came under British Law and so did not have the institution of slavery although our hands were not clean when it came to the treatment of our First Nation peoples. In Queensland we had the indentured labour of Islander people who were called Kanakas which was a virtual form of slavery
"Kanakas were workers from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia (Canada), Fiji,S olomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Queensland (Australia) in the 19th and early 20th centuries"
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