Census taking
Date Published
Numerous surveys and census of Chinese people were undertaken by the Colonies and Commonwealth Governments.
As the colonies of pre-Federation Australia grew increasingly obsessed with defining themselves as white societies, their census practices began to reflect that ideology. Aboriginal and Chinese populations were deliberately separated from the general figures. After Federation in 1901, this practice intensified. The federal census explicitly targeted Chinese residents to measure whether their population was declining—a key goal of the White Australia policy, which sought not only to prevent further non-white immigration but also to reduce the presence of those already in the country. These enumerations took place at both state and federal levels, and in the early decades of Federation were often conducted under the supervision of local police.
"The Government statistician has issued the following returns showing the estimated coloured alien population of Queensland on December 31, 1907: Chinese. 8,569; Pacific Islanders, 1,568; Japanese. 1,904; natives of India and Ceylon, 675; other Asiatic races, 2,179; grand total. 14,895."
