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8.2 Chinaman's Garden Well
8.2.0 Introduction
As demonstrated by the statistics at paragraph 8.0.1, Chinaman's Garden
Well presented a far larger assemblage of artefactual material than
Chinaman's Well. Chinaman's Garden Well is no longer used, and has not
been in use for many years. The well is defunct, and there is no need for
more than occasional visits by the pastoral lessees. The topography of the
site suggests that f100dwaters tend to back-up here rather than form a
raging torrent. For all of these reasons, the degree of disturbance at
Chinaman's Garden Well is far lower than at Chinaman's Well, and more
can be drawn from the archaeological record. Map 18 provides an
overview of the site.
8.2.1 Recent Site Features
At Chinaman's Garden Well there are no recent site features, but the
historical record confirms the site was probably disturbed quite frequently
by flooding, by visits to the well during its tenure as the Milparinka water
supply, and perhaps during the annual Milparinka Gymkhanas or horse
races. A large water tank at the southern end of the site is said to have
been carried to its present location from further upstream during floods in
the late 1970s, and does not therefore relate to the site at all, while a
solitary small excavation in the centre of the site is probably the outcome
of casual excavation by recent juvenile residents of Milparinka, at least one
of whom was involved in bottle-collecting.
8.2.2 Early Site Features
As in the case of Chinaman's Well, it is reasonably clear that a number of
developmental phases may be represented in the older site features at
Chinaman's Garden Well. Quite apart from the Chinese occupancy, oral
history suggests the Cox family may have lived in the immediate vicinity in
the early 20th century, and other records confirm the site was dedicated for
a town water supply at much the same time. That members of the Cox
family moved to Chinaman's Garden Well to caretake the water supply, at
that time abandoning their residence at Cox's Well, and that this phase in
the occupation coincides with Tom Chong Toosey's fence being burned by
Joseph L1ande Cox, is worthy of consideration.
Photographs of the more prominent features of the well and cellar sites
have been provided in connection with paragraph 7.2.2, while Map 19
shows the relationships involved.
As already discussed, although structural remnants are present, there is
no artefact scatter associated with the well site. Artefacts here are limited
to cut and roughly dressed stone, bush timbers, a stone pedestal for the