New Zealand Chinese Poll Tax Timeline

Key Years

• 1881 – The NZ government introduced the poll tax at £10 per Chinese immigrant, with a restriction limiting Chinese passengers to one per 10 tons of ship cargo.

• 1896 – The poll tax was increased tenfold to £100 per person, and the immigration restriction was tightened to one Chinese passenger per 200 tons of ship cargo.

• 1930s – Due to the Great Depression, Chinese immigration was already low, but the poll tax still applied to any arrivals.

• 1944 – The poll tax was formally repealed by the New Zealand government under Prime Minister Peter Fraser.

Compensation & Apology

• 2002 – The New Zealand government formally apologized to the Chinese community for the poll tax.

• 2004 – A compensation fund was established to support cultural and historical projects related to New Zealand's Chinese heritage.

Research

Knowing approximately when someone died might enable one to look up poll tax records for further information. Many of the gold miners would have landed in Dunedin first coming via Australia.