Hello Gwulo and Gwulo followers,
I am a screenwriter researching a script, and seeking stories about female expatriates who came on their own terms to Hong Kong to work in the early 20th century, and particularly post WWII. What kind of life experiences propelled them here, what opportunities, and organizations brought them here to work as nurses, or teachers, or civil servants, or anything else.
I've found some very interesting research in a book detailing accounts of Eastern European women working in prostitution in the late 1800s. But definitely looking for more stories about women in other professions working in the 20th century. If anyone has any stories please get in touch!
Jennie Liu
20th century ?
You could look through the list of women interned in Stanley POW camp by the Japanese in the 1940s. You can look for the people who dealt with fashion, and hairdressing, often women run businesses. Find a subscription to the South China Morning Post through an academic organization and look up the word "Miss" and see what ads those women were running to advertise their businesses.
Expat Women
Hello Jennie
You could do a lot worse than research Lady Helena May, (née Barker), who in the early 20th century opened the eponymous Helena May Institute located on Garden Road, Central, opposite the Consulate-General of the United States 🇺🇸 of America in HK.
The Helena May, a “home from home” for expat young ladies who came out to HK at that time, is still in existence and still doing the “job” it was designed to do!
Best regards.
Betty Steel's diary is…
Betty Steel's diary is another source worth checking. It covers the years 1910-33.
Early entries describe her childhood in Hong Kong. She'd arrived with both parents but after her father died she remained in Hong Kong with her mother and sister.
Later entries describe the life of a young western woman living and working in Hong Kong.