"Too much 'yellow' in the melting pot?" : perceptions of the New Zealand Chinese, 1930-1960.

Abstract

The Chinese make up the largest immigrant group of Asian origin in New Zealand, and recently the history of the Chinese both internationally and within New Zealand seems to be undergoing a revival. Within New Zealand much of the historiography concerning the Chinese tends to concentrate on the early gold miners and the New Zealand Government's restrictive immigration policies. By researching images of the Chinese in New Zealand from 1930-1960 I hope to expand understanding of the topic beyond these familiar issues, and discover avenues for further research. My hypothesis is that perceptions of the Chinese in New Zealand during this time period went through an important stage of transition and change. [from preface]