Farewell Guangdong: Refugee wives and Children arrive in Aotearoa New Zealand, 1939-1941

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

"In February 1939, the New Zealand Government approved a concession permitting 256 wives and 244 children to take refuge temporarily in Aotearoa New Zealand. The journeys begin in the villages of Guangdong province and the families share the stories of life in the home villages, fleeing from war, passage by sea, safe arrival and then settlement. This significant group of wives and children, along with their sons and daughters subsequently born in New Zealand, faced the uncertainty of deportation for eight years before the Government approved their permanent residency in July 1947. Now reassured that they could remain with their husbands in locations throughout Aotearoa, their families - the genesis of settler Chinese communities - were contributing to all facets of New Zealand life within a generation."