The Boat People were an Australian four-piece indie pop band. The Brisbane based group consists of James O'Brien, Robin Waters, Charles Dugan and Tony Garrett.

The Boat People began performing in the Brisbane music scene in early 2000, releasing their debut self-titled E.P. in October of that year.

In 2002, the band's released their second E.P. titled Squeaky Clean E.P.. Another E.P. was released in 2003, titled Three Pieces for Small Ensemble found radio success and the band toured before the departure of drummer Chris Pickering. Pickering was briefly replaced by Geoff Green, of successful Brisbane group George, before Tony Garrett joined the group. The band then released their fourth E.P. titled Tell Someone Who Cares in 2004.

In August 2005, The Boat People released their first studio album, titled, yesyesyesyesyes, which included the singles "Clean" and "Unsettle My Heart". After extensive touring at home, the group made their first trip overseas, performing at the Musexpo conference in Los Angeles.

The band returned to the studio in 2007 and in late April 2008, the band released "Awkward Orchid Orchard", the first single from their forthcoming album Chandeliers. It's accompanied video was created by Paul Underwood who has worked on previous videos from the band. In the video, the viewer is encouraged to find 52 bands amongst the visual hints given. Their second full-length album Chandeliers was released in July 2008.

The band released "Echo Stick Guitars" as the lead single from their third studio album, Dear Darkly, released in 2010.

• James O'Brien (vocals/bass)
• Robin Waters (vocals/keyboard)
• Charles Dugan (vocals/guitar)
• Tony Garrett (drums)