Dorothy Sym Choon AUSSIE

Date2016

Object number00055709

NamePoster

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall: 1177 × 834 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionAUSSIE poster depicting an Exemption to the White Australia Policy photo of Dorothy Sym Choon by Adelaide street artist and activist Peter Drew. The ‘AUSSIE’ series was inspired by the collection of Certificates of Exemption from the Dictation Test (CEDT) held in the National Archives of Australia. Dorothy Sym Choon was a member of the Sym Choon family of South Australia, who owned a number of shops in Adelaide, including 'Miss Gladys Sym Choon' in Rundle Street. Dorothy, sister of Gladys, had her photo taken in 1920 for her exemption to the White Australia Policy.HistorySince 2013, Adelaide street artist and activist Peter Drew has been installing his handmade posters in public space to raise awareness of issues around immigration, asylum seekers and Australian identity. Drew says, 'The aim of my work over the last year has been to pose a question about the casual assumptions that underlie Australia's identity; does ‘Aussie’ describe the people who wrote the White Australia policy, or does ‘Aussie’ have more to do with the people who survived it? I see more to admire in the courage of those who chose to make Australia their home, despite the racial discrimination of its government.' Dorothy Sym Choon was one of four children born in Adelaide to Chinese immigrants John Sym Choon and So Yung Moon. John began a fruit and vegetable business and was eventually able to purchase four shops on Rundle Street in Adelaide. The children each ran a business and sold a range of food, fireworks and other goods imported from China. Dorothy married in 1930 and moved to Sydney but Gladys stayed in business until 1991 but her original store retains her name. SignificancePeter Drew’s poster locates personal stories and lived experiences within a broader immigration policy framework, giving agency to figures such as Dorothy Seem Chon as a survivor of the White Australia policy. Drew uses the powerful medium of poster art to showcase hidden and marginalised histories in order to question, and consequently expand, the vision of national identity that dominates media representations and Australian folklore. The poster has excellent interpretive and research potential into the White Australia policy, the dictation test, and the intersections between immigration history and national identity.