Propaganda postcard showing ‘well fed’ (13 stone) Chinese workers at a Rand mine

(Left) Propaganda postcard showing ‘well fed’ (13 stone) Chinese workers at a Rand mine; (Right) Postcard showing ‘climbing the greasy pole’, a sporting event at a West Rand gold mine, posted from Johannesburg on 1 May 1909.

Criticism of the compound life of Chinese miners led to mine management to promote the production of propaganda postcards showing the adequacy of diets and promoting sports and other entertainment.
Mine management also organised a number of sporting events, where Chinese and Black workers competed against each other in various events, such as tug-of-war and rock-drilling contests.