Journal of Chinese Australia, Issue 1, May 2005

A brief note on some treasures in the Queensland State Archives

Michael Williams

Like most historians, I am addicted to archives and so when I found myself in Brisbane recently, I naturally spent some time burrowing into the Chinese related material at the State Archives. What I found was fascinating, though unfortunately I had only sufficient time to raise questions rather than to discover many answers. Perhaps those with more time can follow up on what is only referred to here.

As in all the state archives the correspondence of the Colonial Secretary is a great place to start for the earliest periods of a state's history. The correspondence is always indexed and the 'Chinese' listing under 'C' an easy place to start. For example, COL/A94, Letter No.2149 (1867) yielded a glimpse into possible relations between Chinese and non-Chinese at Crocodile Creek in the 1860's. This was a petition, dated 2/9/1867 and signed by numerous locals, to the Governor of Queensland requesting the "remission of sentences passed upon certain persons for affray with Chinese." Apart from wondering about the reasons for the affray, the interesting thing about this petition is that seven Chinese people, six using characters, signed it. Did these seven sign because they wanted to maintain good community relations? Were they part of the affray; were they opposed to those that were? Did they sign willingly? Did the petition organisers believe the inclusion of Chinese signatures would carry weight with the Governor? Were the sentences remitted?

The Queensland government's interest in things Chinese was ongoing, as a special file entitled 'Comes Report, etc., re: Restriction of Chinese' (COL/13, PRV7188, 1877-1894), demonstrates. This file includes the efforts between 1877 to 1888 on the part of the Queensland government to restrict the entry of Chinese people despite the opposition of London and on occasions the Queensland Governor. Included is a copy of a proposed treaty between Britain and China whose provisions on migration would have been very similar to that contained in China's treaty with the United States. There is also a copy of the Parker Report, this summary of the Chinese Diaspora at the end of the 19th century, written by a long time China Consul, should be read by all interested in the history of Chinese people at this time.

Also in this same series - COL/13 - is a file labeled, 'Chinese Restriction Correspondence', which includes a series of letters concerning Queensland's border with the then South Australian territory and the possible crossing via Camooweal of Chinese people into Queensland in order to avoid the poll tax. In a series of letters between May and October 1887, the police at Burketown consistently deny rumours and reports that large number of Chinese people are crossing into Queensland. These letters come at the beginning of what seems to have become a major route and one which historians have yet to understand completely. The walk from Camooweal to Burketown was 250 miles and took at least 4 days not to mention getting to Camooweal in the first place!

This concern with entry into Queensland continues into the next century and can be traced in POL/J1, PRV10729, 1909-1940: Police correspondence, misc. These files again see the local police denying reports, usually in newspapers such as the Labor Call, of large scale smuggling through their areas. One reason cited for their non-belief is that 'Aborigines would talk' and they had heard nothing fro this source. This file also includes references to the 'Japanese fleet' and spies operating in the far north, reports that local police also denied.

Alfred Deakin, then Prime Minister, was often concerned with these reports and another area of interest to researchers is the so called 'Chinese Census' carried out at the request of the Commonwealth Government in 1909. Records of this have been difficult to track down but POL/J2, 1901-1902, provides another clue. Alfred Deakin wrote, in a letter dated 4/4/1908, to the Queensland Premier about his concern over 'young Chinese entry' and illegal entry in general into Queensland. He requested that a census of all Chinese be carried out with particular 'interest' to those born after 1901. The census was to be carried out by police districts.

Most of these files deal with Chinese people in a general way, usually as a community and governmental concern. For a more personal, if tragic, glimpse we need to turn to the files of the Crown Solicitor, in this case 'Briefs and associated papers' in CRS/232 (PRV7330), Crown Solicitors - people of Chinese birth, 1921-1925. Contained within is the transcript of the trial of four men for the murder of Wong Sam, referred to as 'the Chinaman' throughout. On 25th October 1921, Wong Sam, or Ah Sam, a market gardener at Cattle Creek, was assaulted and thrown off a train near Mackay. He lived long enough to say through an interpreter, 'Yes, they are the four men that hammered me.' Ah Sam died in the 'alien ward' of Mackay District Hospital. Willie May, the interpreter and a shopkeeper in Victoria St, Mackay stated at the trial, 'I used the word hammered instead of assaulted as there is no equivalent for assault in Chinese language, they always say hammered.'

These few examples I gleaned from the Queensland State Archives in a relatively short time. The time needed to follow them up and to answer some of the questions raised would be considerably longer. Who was Wong Sam and did he leave relatives in his home village to grieve for him? What was the final tally of that Chinese Census of 1909? Did large numbers of people walk from the Northern Territory into Queensland and how was it organised? What happened at Crocodile Creek in 1867? Would anyone like to follow up some of these questions?

About the author

Michael Williams has been researching the history of the movements of Chinese people in the 19th and early 20th centuries with particular reference to ongoing links with their villages of origin in south China and the impact this had on people's lives. His doctoral thesis, entitled: 'Destination Qiaoxiang - Pearl River Delta Villages & Pacific Ports, 1849-1949', examined these links around the Pacific with particular reference to the people of Long Du locality in Zhongshan County, south China. Michael is currently living in Taipei working as an independent researcher.

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