In 1877, a special Government Savings Bank fund was established for the 'safekeeping' of wages belonging to South Sea Islanders working in Queensland's sugar industry. Legisla- tion was subsequently introduced under the Pacific Island Labourers Act 1880 and The Pacific Islander Labourers Act 1880 Amendment Act 1884 to further regulate and protect South Sea Islander wages in Queensland. In theory, these policies ensured the protection and regular distribution of pay to recruits and facilitated their purchase of trade goods, an integral outcome of their employment. However, research by Adrian Graves and Clive Moore has demonstrated that this system was frequently exploited by employers, storekeepers and the Queensland government for their own financial benefit. Employing a microhistory approach, this paper builds on Graves and Moore’s research by exploring how a general store in Ayr, North Queensland manipulated government-led financial systems and South Sea Islander labourers for its economic gain. Utilising a unique collection of letters written to the store’s owner Charles Coutts between March 1901 and April 1902, it explores the techniques adopted at the Coutts Store to financially and psychologically exploit South Sea Islanders, a practice which ultimately facilitated the business’s expansion into a multimillion dollar company throughout the 20th century.