The Chinese Seamen’s Union was an important association in the 1940s and 1950s, brought about by the presence of Chinese seamen in Australian ports during the war. Closely linked to the Chinese Youth League and to international Chinese seamen’s unionism, the CSU worked to assist Chinese seamen living in Australia. Leftist in orientation, it also forged ties with Australian workers’ movements and assisted seamen in their legal battles for equal wages and working conditions. After the war, the CSU also sought to help some seamen, some of whom had married Australian women, achieve paths to residency.