Register of names relating to exemption from Dictation Tests
Date Published
: Certificate Exempting Dictation Test (CEDT), White Australia policy (Dictation Test), discrimination / racism
: Sydney
: Sydney
: 1902 to 1958
Register of names relating to exemption from Dictation Tests
NAA: SP726/1, BOOK 1, Register of names relating to exemption from Dictation Tests (1902-1910)
The Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 set up a regime under its Dictation Test that required pre-1901 residents of Australia (if the wrong colour) to obtain a Certificate Exempting the Dictation test in order to enable their reentry to Australia if they wished to travel. This in turn required a bureaucracy to issue and check these CEDT's. The heart of this was a register kept at each port around Australia listing all people issued with a CEDT and a subsequent note of their reentry. This is the Register kept for the Port of Sydney.
While not all people issued with a CEDT were Chinese, the overwhelming majority were.
CEDT register Book1 names index page
CEDT register Book1 cross filing
See also: Immigration Archives Guide A “how-to” about getting started with Chinese research in the National Archives of Australia records.
