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While records show that in 1829 Moon Chow was the first
Chinese to settle in Western Australia, it was not until
1847 that another 51 Chinese men arrived from Singapore
as a source of cheap labour for the growing colony. They
were employed as cooks and domestic servants in Perth,
York, Albany and Bunbury. Further introduction of
Chinese to Western Australia ceased with the
introduction of convicts from 1850 which helped to
overcome the labour shortages of the struggling colony.
A second wave of Chinese, again recruited in
Singapore started in 1873 when labour shortages occurred
5 years after convict transportation finished in 1868.
This time they worked as shepherds, gardeners,
carpenters and farm servants as well as cooks and
domestic servants. Chinese were recruited for labour
until 1898, when the introduction of the of the first
restrictive immigration acts during the 1890s halted the
practice. These acts prohibited overseas Chinese from
entering Western Australia throughout the 1890s, however
‘free’ immigrants, or Chinese not bound by contract,
came in increasing numbers from other parts of
Australia. They were attracted by new economic
opportunities following the discovery of gold. Although
banned from mining, Chinese immigrants found commercial
niches in furniture manufacturing, market gardening,
laundries and retail outlets.
The Chinese population peaked in 1897 with
1600 Chinese in the wider community of a population of
under 200,000 but started to decline in response to the
federal Immigration Restriction Act of 1901. This
prohibited the entry of wives and families as well as
new Chinese entering Australia, with the introduction of
the Dictation Test. The ‘White Australia Act’ as it was
commonly referred to restricted the entry of many non
Anglo-Saxon migrants.
It
was only after the relaxation of immigration policies from the late 1960s that the community was rejuvenated
with a new wave of Chinese immigrants. Students came
from various parts of South East Asia under the Colombo
Plan, and some later migrated to Australia after
completing their studies and working in their homelands.
Their presence has broaden Chinese contributions to
society to include many professional areas such as
engineering, medicine and teaching. Since the 1970s the
Chinese community has grown to become a leading and
influential component of Western Australian society.
Several Chinese have been recognized for their
contributions by being awarded with Australia Day
honours. Festivals and celebrations such as Chinese New
Year are widely incorporated in mainstream Australian
festivities. Some activities such as dragon boat racing
started by the Chung Wah are now organized by general
community groups.
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