[yellowed A4 letterhead page in good condition, some damage at top left, typed letters, handwritten annotations, date and other stamps]

[top right-hand corner, date stamp in purple ink, somewhat faded, text illegible]

[inside the date stamp, hand written in black ink] '21/1981'

[purple text, typed underneath date stamp] 'EMC'

[printed letterhead information] 'Tel B6351' [underlined and in large, capital letters at top of page] 'Commonwealth of Australia' [underlining ends]

[smaller capitals underneath] 'please address reply – Collector of Customs, Customs House, Sydney, Box 8 GPO Sydney and quote C & E'

[main body of text, typed in purple, possibly a carbon copy] '21st March, 1922, w 22/1108, memorandum. In reply to the Collector's telegram of the 6/3/22 with reference to a Chinaman named Sym Choon, who, with his wife is supposed to be taking 300 sovereigns by SS St Albans to China, I desire to inform you that the baggage of the above-mentioned Chinese and their cabin were searched, special attention being paid to their clothing, but that no trace of gold was found. It is noted that these Chinese embarked at Melbourne on the SS “St Albans” and would therefore have had ample time, if in possession of gold, to conceal the same on board the vessel.

[signature at bottom of text in black ink] 'W A Barkley'

[the word 'wife' in the previous text, is circled in black pen with a pen line linking this word to a handwritten annotation on the left-hand side of page which reads; 'should be daughter Dorothy Sym Choon [illegible] 'G & E 21/7947' [end of handwritten notation]

[left hand side of page, near the bottom, in purple typed text underneath the signature] Collector of Customs NSW

[in purple typed text inside a hand drawn oval in black ink] the collector of customs for South Australia, Port Adelaide

[handwritten in black ink appears to be a fountain pen, starts with an initial and date which are illegible] 'Departure recorded, duplicate C E D Ts 27 & 28 detached from file and lodged in strong room' [initial, illegible] '25/3/22'