Mapping History: Victoria’s Chinatown Laundry Services
Mapping the history of earlier Chinese laundry services within the Chinatown core, Victoria, 1901-1911. This page will analyze and display the prominence of these laundry services, reflecting on the societal stigma it created. Come explore this forgotten aspect of Victoria’s history. Discover the magnitude and significance of this industry through micro-historical evidence of these businesses . By using historic documents such as the Victoria fire maps from 1901 and 1911 we were able to locate many locations of these laundries spread throughout Chinatown. We used the Henderson Directories(street and personal ), Census reports, as well as the BC and Victoria archives primarily. Through this we discovered personal details about the businesses, owners, employees and there many locations. We choose to create this project to illuminate the importance of this industry for new Chinese immigrants in search of a job in the racially biased Victorian workforce. This early legacy of the Chinese immigrants of Victoria is a largely unknown aspect of our capitals past. We hope to educate and shine a light from a new perspective on the significance of this industry.
