CHINESE NEW ZEALANDERS – LIMITED CITIZENSHIP
Although there were some constraints on Asians generally, the only people who were really restricted in terms of citizenship were the Chinese. Legal restrictions affected their migration to and from New Zealand, and their lives in this country from 1881
until 1986.
The main records relating to Chinese are Alien and Naturalisation files, and Immigration records from the Labour Department archives.
Many general records of interest to family historians, such as twentieth century immigration records [SS 1], Notices of Intention to Marry [BDM 20], Probates and Coroners Reports, can also provide information on Chinese New Zealanders.
Background
Chinese labourers first arrived in 1866, having been invited by the Otago provincial government to re-work the gold fields of southern New Zealand. They were not assisted immigrants, so there are usually no immigration records. Most Chinese then, and later, came to New Zealand via Australia.
In the 1870s, when strong anti-Chinese feeling first appeared in New Zealand, many were still living in Otago, but more than 1000 were also on the West Coast goldfields.
The Chinese Immigrants Act 1881 levied a £10 entry or poll (head) tax on Chinese newcomers and decreed ships were to carry no more than one Chinese for each 10 tons of the ship’s weight. The Customs Department issued exemption certificates and poll tax receipts, but the records are now held in Labour Department archives.
Poll tax payment allowed Chinese to land and gain permanent residency, but they remained aliens, except for the few who were naturalised. The latter often spoke English before arrival.
Many further acts restricted Chinese immigration to New Zealand, such as the raising of the poll tax to £100 in 1896. The ability of Chinese to become British citizens in New Zealand through naturalisation was prevented in 1908.
There were three other periods when Chinese were allowed into New Zealand in significant numbers: after World War I 1918-1920, at the beginning of World War II 1939-1940 as refugees, and for a few years after World War II 1948-1951, but otherwise restrictions remained. Many of those who came were ‘students’ or relatives of Chinese already living in New Zealand.
The poll tax was abolished in 1944 and in 1951 the government permitted the naturalisation of Chinese in New Zealand again. However, the number of Chinese immigrants remained relatively small – mostly chain migration of family members – and it was not until 1986 that the immigration status of Chinese and Europeans was made the same.
Records
Some records were destroyed in the Hope Gibbons fire in 1952. The following existing records are specifically concerned with Chinese:
Auckland Registration Certificates (indexed), with photographs and fingerprints, of Chinese people who were required to pay the poll-tax 1902-1918. [BBAO 5575/1-24] (AK)
Labour Department records [L 24 to 31] can provide information on Chinese migration. Access may be restricted. The most useful series of records are:
Wellington alien entry and re-entry certificates and registers, some called ‘poll-tax books’ (actually books of butts from Certificates of Entry issued to Chinese people entering New Zealand in Wellington). Thirty-five unindexed volumes cover May 1888-December 1930 in chronological order of arrival. [L 24/1-35]
Auckland Re-entry Certificates are held at the Wellington office of Archives New Zealand for the years 1906-1930, 1932-1934, 1939. [L 28/1-46]
Alien Re-entry Certificate Index Books give access to Auckland Re-entry Certificates above. [L 30/1-5]
Alien Re-entry Certificate Registers are linked to the above [L 28 & L 30] for 1932-1955, but they also include some information on Wellington departures and arrivals of Chinese 1900-1955. [L 29/1-12]
The archives of the Department of Customs, Dunedin District Office, hold a few alien records which include many Chinese (and some others who were not British):
Certificates of Registration of Aliens, c1904-1941 [DADF D429-430] (DN)
Returns of Students Admitted Temporarily, 1931-1954 [DADF D429-430] (DN)
Wardens’ Court records also include information on Chinese in the goldfields.
Download the PDF version here: Citizenship
archives.govt.nz/research/guides/citizenship#chinese
