ProvenanceCertificate only states name 'Sym Choon' but date and appearance of the man in the photos show that the subject is John Sym Choon, patriarch of Adelaide's Sym Choon retail dynasty. The certificate was issued in 1921 and used to allow un-impeded return to Australia from a trip to Hong Kong in 1922. It includes a physical description of John Sym Choon (note complexion is recorded as 'yellow').
Sym Choon would have required this certificate in order to return to Australia under the ‘White Australia Policy’ (Immigration Restriction Act, 1901), despite being a long term resident. The Sym Choon family became well known in South Australia and have been remembered in exhibitions, works of art, and other publications. Related documents are held in the National Archives of Australia, the photos in these confirm the identity of John Sym Choon.
John Sym Choon travelled with daughter Dorothy in March 1922 to China, died there in July 1922. Dorothy had problems upon re-arrival as she couldn't produce his exemption paperwork. The National Archives of Australia hold documentation related to this.SignificanceThe certificate is evidence of discrimination against long-term and prominent South Australian resident. Copies of the ‘Certificate Exempting from Dictation Test’ were kept by government, but personal examples kept by family are rare, and not many are held in museum collections.DescriptionSingle page certificate with two photos headed Certificate Exempting from Dictation Test, signed by issuer (SA Collection of Customs), includes physical description of subject. Small note attached with glue relating to exemption. Reference numbers 255/099, 27/19212, 1981/1921.Creator (person)Creator (organisation)Commonwealth of AustraliaAcknowledgementDate of Creation19/12/1921Date of Usage9/3/1922Materialpaper
|photographic paper
|glue DimensionType: paper
Height: 270
Width: 165
Depth: 1
Unit (Lengths): mm
|Type: attachment
Height: 75
Width: 85
Depth: 1
Unit (Lengths): mm Accession NumberHT 2009.0233
