Opening the archives of White Australia

In 1919, the O’Hoy family of Bendigo gathered in Hong Kong to celebrate the birthday of patriarch Louey O’Hoy. Joining the celebrations were Louey O’Hoy himself; his wife, Ah Kit; their five Bendigo-born sons and one daughter; their sons’ wives; and their grandchildren. A formal portrait taken on the occasion shows the family lined up under an elaborately decorated banner celebrating Louey O’Hoy’s long and prosperous life.

Some members of the O’Hoy family were living in Hong Kong at the time, but Louey O’Hoy and Ah Kit, together with daughter Mee, leaving Melbourne in July 1918. Before the family left Australia, they applied for papers that would allow them to return home without being made to sit the dictation test. These identity documents were called certificates exempting from the dictation test (CEDTs).