Once restricted by White Australia, now celebrated: Punjabi early settler featured in ‘Aussie’ poster series

Bella Singh migrated from Punjab to Cairns in the late 1800s with 13 others in search of better opportunities. Over a century on, the man once exempted from the discriminatory dictation test under the White Australia policy is now appearing on streets across Australia as the latest face of Adelaide-based artist Peter Drew’s ‘Aussie’ poster series.

Australian artist Peter Drew features a over 100-year-old photo of Punjabi migrant Bella Singh, who is the great-grandfather of the NSW Nationals Leader Gurmesh Singh. Credit: Instagram/ Gurmesh Singh. Peter Drew Arts / Peter Drew

The turbaned Punjabi migrant featured in Australian artist Peter Drew’s viral ‘Aussie’ poster series is Bella Singh, who is also the great-grandfather of NSW Nationals party leader Gurmesh Singh.

This Adelaide-based artist has been creating these posters over the last decade, using photographs of some people who were granted exemption from the discriminatory dictation test under the White Australia Policy.

Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Peter explained how the project began.

“I learned about the national archives and the exemption papers made for the dictation test. I found that there were thousands of photographs that showed how racially and ethnically diverse Australia was around the turn of the twentieth century .”

Once I found those images I thought— this is something special that more people should see, the posters came from there.

Peter Drew

Peter Drew's 2026 'Aussie' Poster series collection. Credit: Peter Drew

Peter's first poster in this series featured Indian migrant Monga Khan with the word 'Aussie' in bold, serving as a commentary on discriminatory narratives. He went on to paste more than 1,000 copies across Australia.

One of those posters reached Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh.

In 2022, I first saw one of Peter’s posters on a pole in Barangaroo, and at the time I posted a selfie with it and tagged the artist

Gurmesh Singh

After briefly speaking with the artist, Gurmesh said, "Peter encouraged me to look into the National Archives of Australia and see if I could find a picture of my relatives."

He then found his great-grandfather's image in archival documents— an exemption from the dictation test in 1919.

Gurmesh also referenced Peter's posters in a parliamentary speech in September, condemning divisive sentiment in Australia.

Bella Singh's records from the National Archives of Australia. Credit: National Archives of Australia

Seeing the 'Aussie' posters had reached the parliament Peter said, "I was touched by how heartfelt his [Gurmesh] reaction to it was. He’d sent me the records of Bella Singh but it wasn't until he talked about it in the Parliament that I thought, 'What a nice surprise —and a way to return the favour.' So I went away and created a poster."

Listen to this podcast to hear the full conversation with Gurmesh Singh and Peter Drew.

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