Amoy / Xiamen
Date Published
: 廈門
: City
: China
: labour, Amoy / Xiamen
Amoy / Xiamen was the port of embarkation for over 3,000 men to the Colony of NSW between 1848 and 1853.
“Amoy is one of the most ancient emporiums of China, and has been famous through all the dynasties for its great trade. The harbour is indeed excellent, and the junks can lie close to the warehouses, and unload their cargoes.”
The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Saturday 2 April 1842, p.4.
“Between 1848 and 1853, more than 3,000 men from Amoy (Xiamen, Fujian) came to New South Wales to work primarily as shepherds. They were generally recruited under dubious contracts that often involved coercion or deception. Their arrival filled a labour gap left by the decline of convict transportation, but conditions were harsh—isolated work, disputes over wages, and frequent court cases. The so-called Amoy Riots of 1852, protesting against abusive recruitment practices, effectively ended this migration.”
Too much like Englishmen by Michael Williams, ChidestudyPress, 2026
