Australia from 1901-1914 as a Chinese worker

By Alexander Anthony

Today I will be leaving china on a boat to australia it will be departing at 7:00 am and should arrive at australia in about two weeks from now.

I am now on the boat I have been here for about a week now and have seen sea sick a number of times, so far 3 people have died from diseases like scurvy. I thought this would be a good opportunity to start a new career but I think id be lucky to actually make it to Australia

It has been about three weeks now and finally I have reached Australia I have already been offered a job as a pearl diver. Meaning that I will have to travail on a boat very day out to sea to a spot in the sea where clams are farmed and collect the pearls from them.

I was offered accommodation food and some spending money If I was to take this job so I said yes. I start today and I am excited about starting the new career I have a new life ahead of me now, I am just about to board the boat.

When I arrived at the clam farming section just off the Australian coast I found that this job was not exactly what I expected it would be, I never thought that clams where at all dangerous, I also did not know what the job required me to do!

When we arrived we where put on to a smaller boat there was about 3 people to each small boat. The captain then told us what was required. We where told that we where to throw in nets to scoop up the clams then get out all of the pearls.

I was assigned with the job opening the small clams and obtaining the pearls from the ones that had them, so I got the hang of it, after a while of looking at all of the pearls I decided to take a few to sell for a bit extra money, I then picked up a pearl and suck it in to my pocket, I then decided to take another and then another, just as I picked up the third pearl I realised that the captain had been standing behind me the whole time.

The captain gave me an angry stair then picked me up by my shirt and chucked me on the ground he began to throw punches at me then pushed me off the boat, the next thing I new I was laying on the shore, I don't really know how long I was there for, but i was more then one night, I felt my pockets and realised that....

I still had the 3 stolen pearls in my pocket, I went an bought a ticket for the next boat back to Hong-Kong, I arrived back home in about 3 weeks.