In 2015, the Museum of Chinese Australian History produced the first exhibition about the history of the Chinese Anzacs that highlighted untold stories of Chinese-Australians who served during World War I.

Recent information about Chinese-Australians who enlisted in World War II were subsequently added to the exhibition and, in 2018, it started travelling to different locations across Australia as part of the museum’s touring exhibition program. 

Stories of Chinese Anzac and Chinese-Australian WWII Soldiers explores a range of themes including Australian identity, belonging and exclusion, racial discrimination, enlistment irregularities, sorrow, individual and family sacrifice, and heroism. It presents a unique opportunity to examine parallels between WWI and WWII and brings to the fore how prevailing attitudes impacted Chinese-Australians who enlisted during these two wars. 

Click here to learn more about the exhibition.

 

If you would like the exhibition to visit your school or community centre, please send a message to [email protected].  

Information and materials for the exhibition were initially drawn from the museum’s collection. Additionally, the museum also sourced details about Chinese Anzacs from the digitised WWI service records of the National Archives of Australia. Since the majority of WWII service records are yet to be digitised, Professor Edmond Chiu, AM interviewed veterans and family members of soldiers who were in active duty during WWII. He also used seminal books on Chinese-Australians military service during WWI and WWII to augment his research for the exhibition. 

Click on the links below to read more about:

Chinese Anzacs           Chinese-Australians in WWII

 

The museum continues to collect photographs, memorabilia, stories, and information about Chinese Anzacs and Chinese-Australian soldiers. If you have family members who are Chinese Anzac or Chinese-Australian WWII soldiers, we would like to hear from you and add their names to our growing list of soldiers. Click here to fill out the information submission form.