WALKING THROUGH TIME

While most Japanese migrants who moved to Australia before the Second World War settled in northern Australia to pursue economic opportunities in primary industries such as farming and pearl diving, Japanese communities in southern Australia like Sydney and Melbourne were formed by traders and business professionals. This presentation explores the role of Australian wool in shaping early Australia-Japan relations. Long before the establishment of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (1976) or Australia-Japan Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation (2022), wool served as a silent agent of symbolic connection between the two nations. Like the pearl divers, Japanese businesspeople were granted exemptions from the dictation test—a central mechanism of the White Australia Policy designed to restrict Asian immigration—in recognition of the economic and material benefits their presence brought. These exemptions facilitated early forms of bilateral cooperation and laid the groundwork for some friendship between the two nations. Although the Second World War positioned Australia and Japan as wartime enemies, the post-war period saw efforts by Australia to normalise relations. A notable example was the use of Australian wool in Japanese textiles, symbolised by the tour of “Miss Wool Japan,” who modelled wool kimono in Australian cities. Her visit reassured that Australian wool was being put to high-quality use. Far from being merely a commercial commodity, this paper argues that wool served as a cultural medium, shaping mutual perceptions and fostering transnational engagement in the formative years of Australia–Japan relations.

The presentation focuses on the businesses of Jiro Muramats (1878-1943) in Cossack and Darwin. After succeeding his father’s retail shop, he established J & T Muramats, a company that operated in two key areas: trading and pearling. As a naturalised British subject, Muramats was dedicated to being an Australian entrepreneur and supporting the local economy in northwest Australia. He was also the only Japanese pearling master in Australia during the first half of the 20th century, competing with ‘white’ pearlers. His employees, mostly Japanese indentured labourers, made up the majority of the population of Cossack and supported the local business activities. I would also like to discuss the significant roles of Japanese migrant merchants in Broome within the local Japanese community.

Between the 1870s and the 1960s, Japanese workers migrated to northern Australia—particularly to Broome—to participate in industries such as pearl shelling. Despite various constraints, including discriminatory policies and wartime disruptions, some, predominantly men, formed relationships with local Indigenous people, resulting in mixed-heritage descendants. Many of these descendants identify as ‘mixed’ and actively acknowledge their multiple ancestries. As a Japanese and non-Indigenous researcher, I approach this topic with respect and an awareness of the sensitivities involved in engaging with Indigenous histories and experiences. This paper explores the complex layers of identity and belonging among these individuals, with particular attention to food and food-related narratives. It argues that food memories and practices not only sustain but also express their nuanced and distinctive ways of recognising their diverse heritages, alongside a strong sense of connection to Broome as a site with a history of cultural and ethnic interrelations.

This presentation draws from Shirozato to Shinju (White Sugar and Pearls), an exhibition exploring the overlooked histories of Japanese presence, labour, and erasure in North Queensland through the medium of hand-cut washi paper. Anchored in archival research and personal heritage, the project reframes early Japanese contributions to the sugarcane and pearling industries—industries both essential to the region and entangled with Australia’s White Australia policy and wartime internment. Through delicate yet deliberate gestures, each artwork functions as both memorial and material intervention—transforming bureaucratic silence into embodied remembrance and representing the fragility of cultural memory. This paper positions contemporary art as a powerful form of historical inquiry—one that foregrounds care, nuance, and emotional truth. In doing so, it contributes to a broader reactivation of Japanese Australian history in northern Queensland, asking how artistic practice can illuminate what was nearly lost, and restore presence where there was erasure.

It is well known that many Japanese indentured workers were employed in North Queensland’s pearl-shelling industry and on sugar plantations before the Pacific War. However, it has been largely forgotten that some Japanese entrepreneurs established businesses in the Townsville region, even during the era of the White Australia Policy, which began with Australia’s federation in 1901. This paper aims to uncover this overlooked chapter of history.

From the nineteenth and through to the twentieth century, Japanese Associations formed across northern Australia and appeared in nearly every major town, from Broome to Townsville, and Thursday Island to Mackay. These Associations connected disparate communities across Australia and Japan, their members comprising labourers, business owners, merchants, and had strong relationships with diplomats. This talk will explore the history and connections of these Associations and how their story might offer new perspectives on shared Australia-Japan histories, especially focusing on the history of the Japanese Association in Townsville and its connections with the Japanese Consulate, Kardinia.