19 June 1904

The arrival of Chinese workers in South Africa

A labour shortage at the gold mines on the Rand resulted in the importation of Chinese labour in 1904. This situation, in part, was the result of the Anglo-Boer War (South African War) of 1899-1902, that had displaced large numbers of the indigenous population.

The development of the Gold mining industry was also one of Milner’s plans to further development in South Africa in the post-Anglo-Boer War years.

On the 19 June 1904, the first Chinese labourers thus arrived at the Witwatersrand. Between 1904 and 1910 there were almost 64,000 Chinese working on the Witwatersrand gold mines near Johannesburg.

This measure was very successful in increasing the production of gold from mining, but in the long run, it faced stiff resistance from White labour that considered the Chinese unfair competition in terms of skilled and semi-skilled jobs.