This payroll ledger from the Mayo Lumber Company reveals the names and wages of workers from various backgrounds, including Japanese Canadian, Chinese, Punjabi, and European.
Mayo Singh immigrated from Paldi, India to British Columbia in the early 1900s where he found work in several sawmills. He later founded his own logging operation on Vancouver Island, the Mayo Lumber Company, in a village that would later become known as Paldi. Singh invited many of the men he had worked with across BC to join his company.
This ledger documents the names of the Mayo Lumber Company workers, as well as their working hours, hourly rates, total monthly income, and the evolution of their hourly rates over time. Scans are available to flip through the pages and browse the workers who made up this intercultural community.
Learn more about the village of Paldi and the community formed between South Asian Canadians and Japanese Canadians, on display as part of the Haq and History exhibit in the Karasawa Gallery at NNMCC until January 25, 2025.
Photo: Mayo Lumber Company Payroll Book (Ledger), 1915-1917. SACDA 2023.13.02.02. BC Forest Discovery Centre Collection. Duncan, BC.
