Masuda & Fuji Laundry
Flinders Street, Ogden Street Carpark
From Hiroshima to Townsville
Masuda Street in Annandale is named after T. Masuda. It’s the only street (that we know of!) named after one of Townsville’s early Japanese migrants.
While today it is a carpark, this site was once home to the Fuji Laundry, one of Townsville's longest-running Japanese-owned businesses. From 1903, it served the community, marking a significant chapter in the city's multicultural history.
The laundry was established by Tokisaburo (Toki) Masuda, who arrived in Australia from Hiroshima in 1893. He likely began his life here as an indentured labourer on the sugar cane fields before starting his first laundry business in 1903. Known by many names—including 'Thomas' on his official records—his gravestone in the Belgian Gardens Cemetery reveals his name as 増田新右エ門 (Shin’emon Masuda).
After his death in 1928, the laundry continued to operate for several years, a testament to its success. By the 1930s, Fuji laundry was just one of many other Japanese laundries in Townsville.
