The NSW Chinese Women's Relief Fund (1937–1941)

In 2019, at the bottom of a drawer in a filing cabinet in the office of the Australia-China Friendship Society, a long-forgotten file containing important historical records was found.

That single file, with the title The NSW Chinese Women's Relief Fund (1937-1941) and containing nearly one hundred documents, is now in the State Library of NSW.

The file revealed the fascinating story of a group of Chinese-Australian women responding to the all-out invasion of China by Japan in 1937. It is an amazing success story of how these women formed a charity and raised the funds to send shipments of medical supplies, food, clothing, even sewing machines to China to assist the war effort against Japan.

The file provides a valuable insight into this important part of Chinese-Australian history. It tells the story of Australia-China friendship in the late 1930's during the early years of the Second Sino-Japanese War, which became part of what we call the Second World War.

Find out who these women were and hear about the concerts, picnics, grand Town Hall fete and even a cocktail party that they organised to raise funds.