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Chinese migration and their Gold Rush experience

When we think of Australian culture, we think of the many different ethnicities which make up
its diverse cultural mixing pot. There are strong influences of Greek, Lebanese, and many Asian cultures
just to name a few. Indeed, Australia is a country with a rich history of diversity. The history of Chinese
communities in Australia dating back to their migration during the gold rushes of 1850 is an exemplary
example of hardship, alienation and determination. Their resilience and ability to adapt to foreign
surroundings as well as their strong sense of community, family and kinship ensured that the Chinese
community could prosper despite the various hardships and restrictions imposed upon them throughout
their early settlement period during the gold rush era. At the height of the gold rush, towns such as
Bendigo made up for more than a quarter of local population however despite their prevalent
numbers, they still found themselves victim of a progressively debilitating system aimed at restricting
their community.

Since the 1970s, multiculturalism as a policy has been widely embraced by the Australian
government1; recognizing the advantage of having a rich and diverse culture, Australia has prided itself
on successfully integrating migrants from all over the world. Despite this proud sense of multiculturalism
today, Australia was once a very closed off country, with some very xenophobic policies restricting
migration and limiting movement within Australia; the Chinese communities of Victoria were no
exception to that policy. Chinese migration to Australia at its peak occurred between 1848 to 1891,

Ien Ang, Beyond Chinese Groupism: Chinese Australians between assimilation, multiculturalism and diaspora, Ethnic
and Racial Studies, 37/7 (2014), pp. 1184 - 1196

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following a series of lucrative gold rushes that drew many people from around the world to places such
as California and Victoria in hopes of securing their share of the rush2 and ultimately a better economic
future for themselves and their families. At the height of the gold rushes, Chinese population in both
Victoria and New South Wales reached a peak of 60,000 consisting primarily of both independent and
small groups of men3. Despite their prominent figures, Historians such as Ngai contend that though
Chinese gold miners comprised upwards of 25% of mining populations in Victoria during the 1850 to
1860s, they remain an obscure figure in historical accounts, generally appearing as the target of EuroAmerican racism and in a xenophobic context4. Furthermore, the population of Chinese migrants in
Australia during this time fluctuated substantially because of failed opportunities in the gold fields, and
restrictions/hostilities from both local and government forces4. For many, the gold rush was a shortlived
experience, usually returning to their home country with or without gold in hand. However, others
stayed on through the sheer need of economic necessity, and eventually these settlers brought their
wives and families over to Australia6; ultimately beginning the long history of Chinese settlement in
Australia.

Cooperation between Chinese countrymen in Australia was evident most clearly in their work
on the gold fields; Chinese men often worked together forming small cooperatives and companies. Per

Mae M. Ngai, Chinese Gold Miners and the Chinese Question in Nineteenth-Century California and Victoria,
Journal of American History, 101/4 (2015), pp. 1082 - 1105
3
Paul Jones, Chinese-Australian Journeys: Records on Travel, Migration and Settlement, 1860 1975
(National Archives of Australia: 2005) 4 Ngai 2015, p. 1083
4
Christine Inglis, Chinese in Australia, The International Migration Review, 6/3 (1972), pp. 266 - 281 6Inglis
1972, p. 267

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Reverend William Youngs unofficial census in 1868, half of the 2,200 Chinese miners in Bendigo worked in small
companies ranging from six, to over ten men5. Camaraderie played a huge part in ensuring the survival of Chinese
communities, and played an integral part in maintaining their heritage, as Valerie Lovejoy contends
Chinese immigrants to Australia were resourceful and resilient, sustained by networks of
friends and relatives in the goldfieldscreating wealth in their overseas communities was the primary
goal of immigrantsmany lived in Australia for the duration of their working lives and made a significant
impact Australias economy and social fabric6
In doing so, these Chinese migrants could maintain a spiritual connection to that of their homeland
whilst also still pursue their economic fulfillments, which has been an integral part in maintaining their
Chinese identity. In fact, one of the primary reasons behind 95% of the population of migrants coming in
from China during the gold rush were mostly single men were a result of a carefully constructed family
plan, where the husband/eldest son were sent to the Goldfields as a representative of their family to
build family wealth and provide for their families back in China7. The suicide letters of Yick Yourn, a
Chinese worker in the Bendigo goldfields analyzed by Valerie Lovejoy is instrumental in understanding
the heavy family ties placed upon these working men who migrated to Australia. Yourn took his own life
in 1875 because of failing to pay debts owed and struggling to provide financially for his family both in
Australia and in China8. Despite coming to Bendigo as a gold miner, Yourn eventually sought out other
business ventures after increasingly restrictive government legislation forced him out of the gold fields

Ngai 2015, p. 1090

Valerie Lovejoy, Chinese in Late Nineteenth-Century Bendigo: Their local and translocal lives in this strangers country
Australian Historical Studies, 42/1 (2011) p. 47 - 48
7
Lovejoy 2011, p. 48
8
Lovejoy, 2011 p. 49
6

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and into other venues of business. After failing and succumbing to crippling debt in over 63 different
occupations, Yourn took his own life in 1875.

Yourns experience in Bendigo mirrored that to many Chinese migrants in Australia at the time.
His deep connection to his family and embodiment of Chinese ideals persisted with him up until and
even through his death, choosing to take his own life rather than returning home to China and bringing
shame upon his family9. Anti-Chinese sentiment was widespread in Victoria, with many European
diggers in Australia at the time claiming that the Chinese were dirty and immoral a perception argued
by Ngai as having been influenced by Australias own previous convict past10. Generally, Victoria pursued
policies of segregation and restriction amongst Chinese migrants, such as imposing hefty fees on
incoming ships carrying Chinese passengers and imposing taxes on Chinese workers13. These restrictions
carried on over to the gold fields as well despite there still being considerable opportunities in the
Bendigo fold fields in 1870, many Chinese were largely excluded by the fledgling Amalgamated Miners
Association11. This would have a tremendous impact on the lives of many of these migrants, most of
which came to Australia in the first place out of both a traditional and economical need. Therefore, as
mining and prospecting became less lucrative, many Chinese migrants dispersed into a far wider variety
of occupations to achieve their economic and filial commitments venturing into market gardening,
store keeping, agriculture, and other domestic/commercial jobs12. Their resilience and ability to adapt to

Lovejoy, p 50
Ngai 2015, p. 1097-1098
13
Ngai 2015, p. 1100
11
Amanda Rasmussen, The Chinese in Nation and Community Bendigo 1870s 1920s, BA Honors (La Trobe
University 2009)
12
Inglis 1972, p. 269
10

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their society around them whilst still maintaining close ties to their national community was impervious
to the survival and flourishment of the Chinese community.

Although anti-Chinese sentiment on a political level was prevalent in mining towns such as
Bendigo, Rasmussen argues that the local Bendigo community worked with the ideal of treating all
people fairly, despite the impersonal authority of federal politics13. Many Chinese-Bendigonians
participated in local matters and events, eventually contributing to the annual Bendigo Easter fair and
cementing their importance in the Bendigo society. The Chinese relations in Bendigo with the local
community is an excellent representation of the willingness Chinese migrants undertook to assimilate
with the local community, recognizing the value of respect within local society to alleviate the levels of
poverty and misconceptions projected upon them14. Through their demonstration of integrity, financial
independence and filial values, the Chinese could gain the respect of their peers and neighbors, and
overall assimilate into the local community relatively peacefully. However, thats not to say that there
wasnt considerable hardship imposed on Chinese communities when it came to preserving their sense
of culture and tradition. As an extension of the anti-Chinese policies and legislation in Victoria at the
time, the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 significantly contributed to the decline of Chinese

13
14

Rasmussen 2009 p. 11
Rasmussen 2009 p. 12 - 14

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Australian populations15. This in turn would have ramifications on the integrity on local multiculturalism, with the
Bendigo Chinese struggling to sustain their annual Easter procession, which was a staple of Bendigo society16.

Australia today is commonly referred to as a multicultural mixing pot, full of diverse ethnicities
and rich with influence from other countries. The Chinese community is one such staple in Australias
multicultural community; even though early migrants from China faced hardship imposed onto them
through anti-Chinese politics and legislation. Land fees, taxes, and the Immigration Restriction act
greatly limited Chinese mobility in and out of Australia. Many of the migrants came in hope of making
their fortune in the gold fields, imbued with filial commitments to their families back in China. Migrants
such as Yick Yourn were part of a larger, nationalistic and spiritual network between fellow Chinese
countrymen in Australia, relying on each others strong sense of camaraderie to survive in a new and at
times hostile environment. Its this same sense of kinship which allowed Chinese migrants to sow the
seeds of early Chinese settlement in Australia, the seeds of which have very much ripened in todays day
and age. When chased out of the goldfields by legislation and policy, the Chinese migrants showed
exceptional resilience and adaptation, being able to undertake different occupations to survive and
provide for their families back home in China, with the goal of reuniting them in Australia despite
increasingly strong anti-Immigration laws. Over time the Chinese community successfully imprinted and
assimilate themselves into local Australian society; the annual Easter Parade in Bendigo which began
during the gold rush era is a testament to the resilience, fortitude and willingness of Chinese

15

Rasmussen, 2009 p. 18
Tsan-Huang Tsai, From Cantonese religious procession to Australian cultural heritage: the changing face of
Bendigos Easter Parade, Ethnomusicology Forum, 25/1 (2016) p 103
16

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communities to both fit in with local society, as well as retain their strong nationalistic ideals of filial
commitment and economic goals.

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An article from the Age in 1947

describing the colorful influence
of Chinese decorations in the
annual Easter Parade. Chinese
communities were finding it
increasingly difficult to put on
the parade considering
economic difficulties such as the
great depression and WWII as
well as the strict immigration act
restricting influx of more
Chinese migrants into the
community. However, due to
the nature of the respected and
assimilated Chinese community
in local Bendigo culture, nonChinese communities could
assist in the parade by
mobilizing other Chinese
communities across the region
to contribute to the parade.
Such was the extent of Chinese
assimilation.

20

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DFG
Article from the Age in 1859
describing unruliness of Chinese men.
Interesting to note here is the sense
of camaraderie between the Chinese
workers the men arrested were
joined by their fellow countrymen
who insisted that they lock them up
too around 900 to 1000 of them.
These protectorate camps were
commonplace early on in Chinese
migration, however they proved to
ultimately be ineffective as many of
its residents ended up establishing
their communities elsewhere.

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20
21

Chinese Display in Bendigo, The Age, 9 May 1947, in Trove [online database], accessed 19 Oct. 2016
Chinese Disturbance on Bendigo, The Age, 12 May 1859, in Trove [online database] accessed 18 Oct. 2016

Bibliography
Secondary Sources
-

Ang, Ien, Beyond Chinese Groupism: Chinese Australians between assimilation,

multiculturalism and diaspora, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 37/7 (2014), pp. 1184 1196

Ngai, M. Mae, Chinese Gold Miners and the Chinese Question in Nineteenth-Century
California and Victoria, Journal of American History, 101/4 (2015), pp. 1082 1105

Jones, Paul, Chinese-Australian Journeys: Records on Travel, Migration and Settlement, 1860
1975 (National Archives of Australia: 2005)

Christine Inglis, Chinese in Australia, The International Migration Review, 6/3 (1972), pp. 266
281

Lovejoy, Valerie, Chinese in Late Nineteenth-Century Bendigo: Their local and translocal lives in
this strangers country Australian Historical Studies, 42/1 (2011) pp. 45 61

Rasmussen, A, The Chinese in Nation and Community Bendigo 1870s 1920s, BA Honors (La
Trobe University 2009)

Tsai, T. H, From Cantonese religious procession to Australian cultural heritage: the changing
face of Bendigos Easter Parade, Ethnomusicology Forum, 42/1 (2016) pp. 86 - 106

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Primary Sources
-

Chinese Display in Bendigo, The Age, 9 May 1947, in Trove [online database] accessed 19 Oct.
2016

Chinese disturbance on Bendigo, The Age, 12 May 1859, in Trove [online database] accessed 18
Oct. 2016