Descendants of war refugees celebrate 75th anniversary

TO GROW ROOTS WHERE THEY LAND
"Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Chinese War Refugees in NZ"

1 October 2014
Media release

Descendants of war refugees celebrate 75th anniversary of arrival in NZ

Former Chinese war refugees and their descendants will gather in Auckland on Sunday, 12 October to acknowledge and celebrate their first arrival in New Zealand in 1939.

Richard Leung, chair of the New Zealand Chinese Association (Auckland) said,” We want to acknowledge New Zealand’s humanitarian act of accepting women and children fleeing a war-torn China and we want the generations who have been born here since to remember their roots as New Zealand Chinese.”

The 244 women and their 239 children who arrived in 1939 and 1940 enabled the Chinese in New Zealand to become a community of families. Prior to the arrival of the war refugees, the Chinese community was very small. The high cost of the Poll Tax made it prohibitive for men to have their wives join them. Chinese men worked to support family in China and if successful travelled back to marry and have children, but often couples spent decades apart. There were many who were here on their own, to make their fortunes with the aim of returning back to China. But with the arrival of the war refugees suddenly NZ became a home for many.

Mr Leung said that the organisers had chosen the theme “To Grow Roots Where They Land” to highlight the long and substantial history and contribution the New Zealand Chinese community had made to the country.

Mr Leung said he hoped the luncheon would raise awareness for not only the Chinese community but all New Zealanders the depth of the roots and the extent of the contribution the Chinese community had made to New Zealand.

Mr Leung said as part of this celebration of our New Zealand Chinese Community history we will be raising money for the WISE Collective, which is an initiative of the Auckland Regional Migrant Service, a non-profit organisation. The WISE Collective is supporting refugee women to make a better life in NZ through creating business enterprises. NZCA Auckland recognise that many of our community started life in NZ as refugees, and it is now our opportunity to “pay it forward”, supporting this worthy cause.

The To Grow Roots Where They Land anniversary celebration will be held at Alexandra Park from 11am on Sunday, 12 October.

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Celebrating the arrival of refugee women and children from Guangdong 75 years ago

Seventy-five years ago Chinese women and children arrived in New Zealand as refugees from a war-torn homeland. By the end of 1937, Beijing, Shanghai and a large part of the north of China were occupied by the Japanese. In 1938, the Japanese forces moved into the Pearl River Delta region, home to the Chinese in New Zealand, and began invading the villages and torturing the villagers.

The New Zealand Chinese Association and the Chinese Consulate appealed to the New Zealand government to allow Chinese men to bring their families here during this time of crisis. In February 1939, the government agreed, and as a humanitarian gesture allowed the wives and children to join their husbands in New Zealand, on a temporary permit, for a period of two years.

There were various conditions including the payment of a £500 bond to ensure that wives and children returned to China at the end of the two years and took with them any children born during their time in New Zealand. In addition, £200 was payable for the maintenance of the family and possible repatriation after the war. It was a huge financial burden but the leaving your loved ones to the mercy of the Japanese was unthinkable.

Between August 1939 and 1941, a total of 249 wives and 244 children came to New Zealand. Many walked for several days from their village along the Kowloon-Canton railway line down to Hong Kong. The journey was dangerous and having reached Hong Kong there was no guarantee of a passage; some had to make the journey back to the village and certain misery.

The situation in China only worsened and World War Two was in full swing. It was impossible to send families back to their villages in Guangdong. Again, the Chinese Consulate and the New Zealand Chinese Association, with support from the New Zealand Presbyterian Church and the Inter-Church Council, urged the government to allow the families to stay.

In late 1947, the refugee wives and children, the other children born in New Zealand to refugee wives, 93 Chinese men who had been admitted on the business replacement scheme and Chinese students and a few others – 1408 in all who had been in New Zealand for five years or more – were all granted permanent residency.

The arrival of the refugee families was a watershed in Chinese New Zealand history. With a stable family structure, Chinese businesses thrived and expanded. Market gardeners increased the size of their gardens and the amount of crops grown. Fruiterers had instantly their increased labour force and were able to provide better service at keener prices. The Chinese were well-placed to take advantage of the post-war economic boom.

As families grew and businesses prospered, the younger generation took advantage of the opportunities living in New Zealand offered them. They received a good education from an early age and many chose to pursue professional careers instead of traditional Chinese occupations. Seventy-five years have now passed since the government’s decision to allow families to be reunited, and two or three generations have now reaped the benefit. As we reflect on this, we realise that New Zealand, in return, has also benefitted – it has gained high-achieving, well-respected and valued members of its society.

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