Kōrero: Asia and New Zealand

The Immigration Restriction Amendment Act 1908 required that Chinese leaving New Zealand – and wishing to return – obtain a certificate of registration. The certificate displayed copies of their thumbprints and recorded that they had paid their poll tax. Many Chinese saw the thumbprint requirement as deeply humiliating and believed it was based on the European assumption that all Chinese looked alike. The images above show the certificate of registration for Lau Fong, a Chinese man resident in New Zealand in early 1909, along with the photograph he presented when applying for the certificate.