Ham Hop came to Australia as the wife of a Geelong businessman in 1910. Arriving on a temporary permit under the Immigration Restriction Act, Ham Hop became a cause célèbre as her husband fought for her to be allowed to remain in the country permanently.
The first Chinese woman to graduate from an Australian university (USyd, BA 1929, DipEd 1930). Fluent in English and Cantonese, after graduating she became English Secretary for the Consul General of China in Australia.
Chinese-American artist known for re-working historic Chinese photographs into haunting, visually arresting paintings and mixed media pieces.
Despite her immigration detainment and the long-term consequences of the exclusion era, Ou Shee and the women around her table lived lives of courage and strength. Their legacies survive among their daughters and granddaughters who built a homeland in America for the Chinese immigrant community.
Architect and founding partner of the New York City-based studio Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
Australian Labor Party politician Penelope Ying-Yen Wong became the longest-serving female cabinet minister in the history of the Australian Parliament on 6 March 2024.
The first woman and first person of color to be elected Mayor of Boston
Sue Ko Lee was a Chinese American garment worker and labor organizer with the Chinese Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Association. In 1938, she participated in a successful 15-week strike against the National Dollar Stores garment factory. At the time, it was the longest strike in the history of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Lee went on to become a leader in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) in California.
Chinese opera performer
Christina Huang was a Chinese American student who testified before the New Jersey State of Legislators to help lobby for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) History to be taught in public schools.