The Fruits of Our Labours Book / Publication / Landmark Writing

The Fruits of Our Labours is an illustrated two-volume publication tracing all of the known Chinese fruit shops in New Zealand from the 1880s until 2018, the year the books were published.

Volume 1 (440 pages) presents stories from Dunedin to Whanganui-Taranaki, and Volume 2 (464 pages) presents stories from Hawke's Bay to Auckland.

Commissioned by the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust in 2014, the project was led by Ruth Lam, who co-authored Sons of the Soil: Chinese Market Gardeners in New Zealand. The team of researchers and writers — including Beverly Lowe, Helen Wong, Michael Wong, and Carolyn King — were each part of fruit shop families themselves.

The introduction to the books illustrates the rise and demise of Chinese fruit shops, beginning with the migration of Chinese men from Guangdong to New Zealand in the 19th century for goldmining in the South Island. As this work ended around the 1890s, fruit shops became a popular occupation for Chinese families. Chinese fruiterers moved northwards and established shops which often began as general stores, selling groceries, hardware, haberdashery, fruit and imported goods from China. In a period of economic growth and prosperity after the Great Depression and World War II, Chinese fruit shops reached their heyday. Immigration changes also impacted the availability of family labour in the fruit shops. As supermarkets grew, produce auction floors became more competitive, and small family-run businesses became less profitable, leading to the closure of many Chinese fruit shops.

Mirroring the upward movement of the Chinese population from the South Island, the 16 regions included in the book are ordered from south to north. Each chapter begins with geographical and historical information about the region, before moving into biographies of each fruit shop or fruit shop family and a summary of the social life of the community in the region. Community activities involved church, the New Zealand Chinese Association, Chinese school, Chinese movies, sports, and Chinese National Day.

Oral histories conducted with members of fruit shop families became the primary source for the book, and they were supported by photos, archival documents, newspaper reports, statistics, and history books. The authors identified every Chinese-owned fruit and vegetable shop in New Zealand from the 1860s to the 1980s. Though not all families responded to the request to participate or wished to participate, all known fruit shops are included in a list in the appendix.

The team visited libraries and museums and spoke with hundreds of people from fruit shop families. The personal accounts depict the sometimes hostile environment that Chinese people face in New Zealand. Anti-Chinese attitudes and legislations of the time were reflected in newspapers reporting on Yellow Peril, ‘heathen’ Chinese, the ‘Asiatic’ gardeners and greengrocers.

Journalist Paul Little said the book “constitutes a magnificent tribute to that generation of Chinese immigrants who overcame prejudice and poor beginnings to find their place in New Zealand society.” A notable example is Tom Ah Chee, the grandson of one of Auckland’s early fruiterers who opened the country’s first supermarket, Foodtown, in 1958 in Ōtāhuhu. Historian Trevor Agnew described the book as an “important social document, which recognises a significant chapter in our nation’s history”.

Fruits of Our Labours: Chinese Fruit Shops In New Zealand Facebook

The Fruits of Our Labours Here Now podcast — RNZ

New book The Fruits of Our Labours uncovers the forgotten world of Chinese-owned fruit shops - Newshub

Hidden layers of Chinese New Zealand culture on the fruit stand — Stuff

Books recall history of Chinese fruit shops — Otago Daily Times

Rotorua family features in Chinese fruiterers book — Rotorua Daily Post