Hong Kong

Hong Kong has played a major role in Chinese Australian history on many levels.

Hong Kong became a British controlled port and colony as a result of the First Opium War. Despite its government it was also always a majority Chinese population largely from the Pearl River Delta and especially Zhongshan. The access to this port allowed mass movement around the Pacific motivated by the gold rushes but facilitated by a network of businesses often headquartered on HK. These businesses sponsored the movement of people through what became known as Gold Goldfields Shops that also handled the remittances that underpinned the diaspora. It was also the base of the Tung Wah Hospital which handled the return of the the bones of the deceased.

Overtime those who made money in various parts of the world often returned to settle in HK rather than their villages for security reasons or access to Western education for their children. Many overseas born also returned to HK to work where their English language skills gave them and edge.

Businesses such as Wing On and Sincere were first established there by Australian Chinese merchants before expanding to Shanghai. The security of HK was greater than within Republican China where sim investments often failed

In the post-1949 period many refugees entered and then re-migrated to where they had connections in places such as Australia often working in Cafes and other occupations accepted under the White Australia policy.