Today in History

1881 Poll tax imposed on Chinese

The Chinese Immigrants Act was passed by Parliament, introducing a ‘poll tax’ of £10. Ships arriving in New Zealand were also a restricted to one Chinese passenger per 10 tons of cargo. In 1896 this ratio was reduced to one passenger per 200 tons of cargo, and the poll tax was increased to £100.

 As work on the goldfields became harder to find, anti-Chinese prejudice resurfaced. By 1871 there were calls for Chinese immigration to be restricted. Other British colonies like Canada and Australia had imposed entry taxes on Chinese immigrants and New Zealand followed suit in 1881.

Organisations emerged to oppose Chinese immigration during the late 19th and early 20th centuries including the Anti-Chinese Association, the Anti-Chinese League, the Anti-Asiatic League and the White New Zealand League.

The poll the tax was waived by the minister of customs from 1934, but it was not repealed until 1944. By then other countries had abandoned it. In 2002 the New Zealand government officially apologised to the Chinese for the suffering caused by the poll tax.

Image: Poll tax certificate (Te Ara)