Chinese History
in the Oliver Region

There has been a long history of Chinese presence in British Columbia, with the earliest mentions being of artisans and traders who came to Vancouver Island from China in 1788. It would be another 70 years before people from China began to come to British Columbia in a more permanent capacity, as many Chinese people came for the Fraser River Gold Rush which started in 1858. As this gold rush ended, some new arrivals returned to China; however those that remained took up jobs as labourers, cooks, gardeners, laundry workers, and more, and many would work to build the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the 1880s.

In 1885, as the CPR neared completion, the Canadian government passed the Chinese Immigration Act to limit Chinese immigrants from entering Canada by imposing a tax on them. Chinese immigrants were the only group of people to be targeted with such a tax, with it originally being $50 per person ($1696 today), and being raised to as high as $500 by 1903 ($18,695 today). In 1923, the Chinese Immigration Act was replaced with the Chinese Exclusion Act, which essentially banned Chinese immigrants from entering Canada. This would remain in place until 1947, when the act was finally repealed.

In the area surrounding Oliver, the Chinese were present as early as 1881. There were 36 Chinese people who were mining in the area. In 1891, 36 Chinese individuals were recorded in the census, mainly working as miners in Fairview, though some took other positions. Around this time, it is known that a group of Chinese individuals, headed by a man named Chung Wu, had established a vegetable garden with a water wheel to water the garden using the Okanagan River. The garden was in the area that the Oliver tennis courts are today, making it the first commercial irrigation system around Oliver.

1901 saw the area’s largest population of Chinese settlers in the first 50 years of federal censuses with 75 people recorded between Fairview and Camp McKinney. In 1911, the Chinese population had decreased to 32, though this can likely be attributed to the decline of both Camp McKinney and Fairview during this period and the workers moving on. By the time of Oliver’s founding in 1921, only 1 Chinese man named Kwong ‘Eveline’ Moy was present in the area, working as a cook at the South Okanagan Lands Project (SOLP) survey camp.

Unfortunately, historical Chinese migration to Oliver and the surrounding area was, like in many other places, marked by racism and discrimination. There are several specific instances of actions being taken against Chinese people in Oliver, with the following two being the most visible examples on record:

In 1929, a Chinese individual named Quang Ming Hee was hired by George Heal to tend his and his brother’s lots for $40 a month. A large group of locals, who were of the mindset that nobody around Oliver should hire any Chinese workers, took exception and confronted Heal. Despite initially being resistant to firing Quang, Heal was eventually forced to decide that Quang would leave within 10 days. This was enough to disperse the mob, though some were still discontent. A few days later, while Quang was leading a team of work horses back from Heal’s field, a car pulled up, one man grabbed Quang, blindfolded him, and forced him into the car, which then took off. Heal’s family noticed that something was awry when the horse team came back into their yard on their own, with Quang nowhere to be found. Quang was driven out towards Cawston, where he was then turned out of the car and told to keep going and never return to Oliver. Quang did return though, and both he and Mr. Heal promptly took the incident to court. Sadly, those responsible were never convicted, as the court dropped the case due to “conflicting evidence.”

In 1936, another Chinese man named Pong Moy came into Oliver via bus to work at a relief camp. Despite trying to compromise with the local residents by explaining that he would not be living in the town itself, Pong was forced to catch a bus out of town two days later due to the inhospitable treatment he received during his brief stay.

Between government acts restricting the rights of Chinese people in Canada and the actions of European settlers to bar anyone of Asian descent from living or even working in the area, the presence of Chinese people in Oliver became minimal or non-existent for decades. However, by the late 1940s attitudes towards Chinese people slowly began to shift in a more positive direction because of China being an ally during the Second World War, and as news of the accomplishments of Chinese Canadian commandos spread. Despite the severe discrimination that they faced, Chinese migrants and residents in the South Okanagan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries made important contributions in mining, agriculture, and local business. These individuals should be kept in mind when one pictures the life of early towns in the South Okanagan.

Reference List:

• Anthony B. Chan. “Chinese Canadians.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. May 22, 2019.

• Bob Iverson. “The McCuddy’s.” Thirty-seventh Report of the Okanagan Historical Society. 85-88.

• “Census of Canada, 1881: District Number 189, Sub-District Number D.” Library and Archives Canada.

• “Census of Canada, 1891: District Number 5, Sub-District Number K.” Library and Archives Canada.

• “Census of Canada, 1901: District Number 5, Sub-District Number J, Division 14.” Library and Archives Canada.

• “Census of Canada, 1901: District Number 5, Sub-District Number J, Division 15.” Library and Archives Canada.

• “Census of Canada, 1911: District Number 14, Sub-District Number 56.” Library and Archives Canada.

• “Census of Canada, 1921: District Number 25, Sub-District Number 33.” Library and Archives Canada.

• “Census of Canada, 1921: Kwong Eveline Moy.” Library and Archives Canada.

• “Chinaman comes to Oliver --- But he doesn’t stay.” The Oliver News January 16, 1936: 5.

• “Chinaman is Back.” Penticton Herald April 25, 1929: 1.

• Darryl MacKenzie. “The Chinese History of Oliver and Area.” Okanagan History: The Seventy-third Report of the Okanagan Historical Society. 63-66.

• “High Wind at Oliver Blows Chinaman Clear Out of Town: Court Case Follows Return.” Penticton Herald May 9, 1929: 1.

• “History of Canada’s Early Chinese Immigrants.” Library and Archives Canada.

• Julie Cancela. The Ditch: Lifeline of a Community.

• “Magistrate says No Clear Evidence that Emrick had Kidnapped the Chinaman.” Penticton Herald May 16, 1929: 1.

• “Oriental Forced Out.” Penticton Herald April 4, 1929: 9.

• “People and Stories: Chinese Canadians.” Veterans Affairs Canada. March 24, 2020.

• “Raymond Dentist is Apparently Determined to Keep Oriental.” Penticton Herald August 1, 1929: 1.

• R. O. Hall. “Early Days of Fruit Growing in the South Okanagan.” The Twenty-fifth Report of the Okanagan Historical Society. 105-122.