The first recorded Japanese in Australia: Steve Dawson’s family story

By Steve Dawson

It is a privilege to be able to write about my family’s ancestral Japanese roots which trace back to Sakuragawa Rikinosuke, the first recorded Japanese immigrant to take up residence in Australia. Technically, this pioneer was my great-great grandfather, but our family bloodline actually begins with his adopted son, Ewar Dicinoski (Togawa Iwakichi), who was seven when they both arrived in Australia in 1873. Sakuragawa had been married in Japan to Otako Conchi, who passed away before his migration.  He brought their 10 year old daughter, Makitchi Sakuragawa Ume, with him to Australia, but she returned to Japan. Sakuragawa Rikinosuke is reported to have been born in Edo (former name of Tokyo) in 1845, and Togawa Iwakichi was born in Edo in 1867.

A younger Sakuragawa Rikinosuke in performing attire

Ewar Dicinoski (Togawa Iwakichi) on the left with a Troupe colleague

A young Ewar Dicinoski (Togawa Iwakichi)

In 1866, as the Tokugawa Shogunate was declining, strict laws preventing most Japanese from travelling overseas were repealed, and passports were issued for the purposes of study and trade. Significantly, this included numerous Japanese circus acts. Research shows passports were issued by the prefectural authorities of Yokohama on October 7, 1872 to Sakuragawa Rikinosuke and Togawa Iwakichi. The next day, October 8, 1872, they departed Yokohama aboard P&O’s Avoca (headed for Calcutta, India), and may have been employed by French entrepreneur C. Pasquale.  Subsequently, they departed Calcutta and arrived in Sydney aboard the R.M.S. Baroda on July 29, 1873. They were part of a group of 13 Japanese performers, and were accompanied by proprietor Thomas King. Interestingly, the R.M.S. Baroda manifest for that day lists “Mr and Mrs King with 18 Siamese troupe”.

After performing in various parts of Australia for a while, Sakuragawa married Jane Kerr in 1875 in Fitzroy, Melbourne – making him one of few Japanese immigrants to marry an Australian.  Jane Kerr, who was born in Ireland, worked as a barmaid in a hotel in Bourke Street, Melbourne, where Sakuragawa also lived. For the next few years, Sakuragawa continued to work as a circus performer and travelled around Australia in the 1870-1880s, eventually in later years settling in Queensland. Upon arriving in Australia, the name Rikinosuke was phonetically recorded incorrectly as ‘Decenoski’, which is the name used henceforth by Sakuragawa until his death in June 1884 from tuberculosis. In fact, he was recorded as using ‘Sacaranawa Decenoski’ for most circus performances. His adopted son, Ewar, took on the name ‘Dicinoski’, which was recorded officially upon his marriage on 20 February 1892, at the age of 26. Ewar married Susan Bowtell (16) in Warracknabeal, and they went on to have ten children, one of whom (Ewar junior) was my grandfather: he was affectionately known as ‘Hughie’ (another variation of Ewar, whose origins lie in ‘Iwakichi’). Having joined numerous circus troupes, including the Ashton’s and St Leon’s, Ewar senior eventually established the ‘Dicinoski Troupe’, which consisted of the entire family. The Dicinoski name remains to this day in the descended clan and was my mother’s maiden name.

Sakuragawa Rikinosuke and wife Jane Kerr (circa 1875-6)

Togawa Iwakichi (Ewar Dicinoski) and wife Susan Bowtell with their growing family

The grave plot of Sakuragawa Rikinosuke at Rookwood Cemetery (Photo by Mayu Kanamori, 2009)

Togawa Iwakichi (Ewar Dicinoski), wife Susan, with children Amelia and Reginald in circus attire (The Weekend Australian)

Amelia Dicinoski, contortionist (The Weekend Australian)

Circus flyer, featuring the Dicinoski Troupe

For many reasons, the Japanese lineage has recently become a curiosity in the family. It was once investigated by one of my aunts, but in a non-globalised and non-digital world. Things seemed to come to a halt also with the untimely passing of a key researcher – ANU Professor David Sissons – who was a skilled proponent of knowledge about the Japan-Australia relationship, and was fascinated with our family connections as they related to culturally significant bilateral relations. Most of the records that I have are testimony to the excellent research efforts made by Professor Sissons.

I would like to say that interest in our Japanese lineage has always been strong in our family, but this is not the case. In fact, I do not recall this ever being a topic of conversation while I was growing up or in my young adult life. The truth is, my mother and her sisters were quite proud to be from northern Queensland (Delulu, Mount Morgan, Rockampton) and to be ‘simple country’ people: they did not speak of their Japanese origins – for they were simply not aware of them. My grandfather, Ewar ‘Hughie’ Dicinoski, after being raised as a circus performer with the Dicinoski Troupe, worked as a jockey and horse breaker for most of his adult life. I wondered if at some point in time, there was a conscious or unconscious decision, or perhaps just a natural transition, to overlook or suppress our ancestral Japanese roots. I felt compelled to question my mother about it. She responded that they never asked about their father or mother’s family history, as it “was just not done; it was a different age back then. You certainly did not ask such questions of your parents”. I asked if they, or others in the community, were ever curious about their father’s obvious Asian appearance (as he was half Japanese), but none were. I queried why they thought their father never told them about the family’s Japanese history, and they gave the same response – “It was just not done”. In fact, my mother continued, the first that any family members knew of our Japanese ancestry was when one of their uncles was contacted in the 1970s in relation to official records. For me, this is astounding, and somewhat saddening at the same time, for I lament the loss of historical family information that could have been passed on and shared. The key to the family’s lack of knowledge about ancestral Japanese roots lay with Togawa Iwakichi (Ewar Dicinoski).

Noting the realities of historical events and the White Australia Policy, I wondered if the ‘Japanese-ness’ was suppressed intentionally by great-grandfather Ewar Dicinoski, so that he and his large family could simply be ‘Australians’ in Australia. My mother believes this could be a distinct possibility, but common sense provides a more logical explanation. Ewar was only seven years old when he arrived in Australia, so he essentially grew up in Australia like any other Australian child. Linguistically, he could have been bilingual if he had maintained his Japanese language, but this seems not to have been the case.  His relationship with his adopted father, Sakuragawa Rikinosuke, remains a mystery. For all intents and purposes, Ewar was a country person with a country accent, but looked Asian. However, my research revealed that a time came when Ewar faced his Japanese heritage and felt the need to take action.

My search of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) revealed that Ewar Dicinoski applied in September 1914 to External Affairs for naturalisation under the Naturalisation Act 1903, which was rejected on the grounds “you are an aboriginal native of Asia and you are not eligible to become naturalised under the Commonwealth”. I believe it possible that the trigger for this application was the commencement of World War I in June 1914 and possibly the influence of stricter immigration policies up to that time – such as the White Australia Policy 1901, which sought to reduce the numbers of immigrants (Asians in particular) to Australia. At that time, Ewar was 48 years old, had eight children, and his profession was ‘travelling acrobat’. He was subsequently registered as a ‘Japanese alien’ in 1917 under War Precautions (Alien Registration) Regulations 1916. We know from the written description on these documents that he was 5’1”, had black hair and brown eyes, a scar on his right temple, and was of “strong, nuggety build”. Of course, with the advent of Japan’s expansionist policies in the Pacific before and during World War II, the Dicinoski family may well have been concerned about their well-being, but Ewar actually died in September 1938, and his children were adults by then and may still have been unaware of their true roots. It appears that even when accepting the reality of his Japanese status in 1914 at the age of 48, Ewar chose not to communicate his origins to his children. We may never know the reason for this, and can only surmise it was because, essentially, he did not ‘feel’ Japanese.

It appears that Dicinoski family members’ knowledge of the significance of their Japanese roots did not become apparent until they were researched deeply by Professor Sissons of ANU. Despite not being discussed openly, the Japanese genes are strong, I think, and are apparent in Dicinoski descendants. My mother, like her three sisters, all have black hair (in their youth) and dark brown eyes, and olive skin. My older brother has the same features. We are somewhat ‘height challenged’ – I am the tallest in our nuclear family at 5’6”, I recall my grandfather was 4’11”, and his sisters (Pearlie and Goldie), who were twins, were the same height. As children in Ewar senior’s (Togawa Iwakichi) circus, they were acrobats and contortionists, among other roles. Throughout my life, I have had an inexplicable affinity for all things Asian: my wife is Filipina by birth; I am a very good linguist (Chinese, Indonesia – sadly, not Japanese); I have lived and worked in Asian countries; and a passion in my current life is helping non-native speakers learn English, which I do professionally. Oddly, despite their physical features that I do not possess (people do not believe my brother and I are related, as we do not look similar). My mother and brother do not share my affinity with Asia and Asian cultures. My interest may also be strongly influenced by my Anglo-Saxon father who was an academic and taught Chinese and Vietnamese at Griffith University.

Aunties ‘Goldie and ‘Pearlie when younger, with Grandpa ‘Hughie’ behind them

Aunties Pearlie and Goldie (taken in the early 1980s)

As a teenager and young man, I recall from time to time visiting great aunties Pearlie and Goldie in Brisbane. They lived practically their entire lives together, except for a few years when Goldie was married.  In a word, they were cute, and quite inseparable.  As they aged, Pearlie lost her eyesight, and Goldie lost her hearing, and they continued to function as one, complementing each other. Although not identical twins, I was mesmerised at how they knew each other’s thoughts, and always began and ended sentences in harmony. In hindsight, had I been aware of the family’s roots, I would have been inclined to delve deeper and ask many questions, but I was blinded by their quietness, selflessness, and aversion to talking about themselves. It seems obvious, now, that they may not have known very much about their Japanese father’s story either.

Steve with Aunties Goldie and Pearlie (taken in the mid-1980s)

I only remember seeing my grandfather, Ewar (‘Hughie’) Dicinoski a few times during my life, as he lived a sedentary life and I was in the military, like my father. The last time I saw him was in the early 1980s (see below). Grandpa Ewar Junior’s demeanour and personality was exactly like his sisters’ Pearlie and Goldie. He was quietly spoken, with a Queensland country accent and manner. He smiled warmly and easily, and his eyes always smiled too. He looked cute and Yoda-like with grey wisps of hair on his balding head. Despite not knowing me well, I felt that Grandpa was equally proud of me as he was of his other three grandchildren, but I sensed that my world was far removed from his and clearly generations apart. Grandpa was tough. I recall when visiting that he had had a headache for a couple of days, which he put down to another redback spider bite on the outside ‘throne’! I will always remember the sight of this diminutive man as a horse whisperer of sorts, breaking in a wild horse. His skin was tanned and leathery from years working under the Queensland sun, but I once walked in on him while he was changing his shirt and was astonished to see pale white skin on the torso of a fit man 60 years his junior.

Sadly, after a long, healthy life in the country, independent of medicines that most people take regularly and for granted, Grandpa Ewar had a mild heart attack, entered Rockampton Hospital and passed away in 1985, perhaps prematurely, at the age of 87.

Steve with Grandpa ‘Hughie’ (Ewar) Dicinoski (taken in Delulu, QLD, in the early-1980s)

Ewar Dicinoski Jnr’s (Grandpa Ewar) four daughters and his sister, Pearlie (1996) – from left: Merle, Vivienne, Freda, Delma

Steve and grandson Fin (the great-great-great-great grandson of Sakuragawa Rikinosuke)

Steve, daughters Cass and Jess, and wife Judy (2015)

*All photographs courtesy of Dawson Family archives unless otherwise stated. This includes historical photographs donated to the family by the late D. C. S. Sissons.