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On the basis of the above discussion I suggest Chinaman's Garden Well
was the last site abandoned by the Chinese at Milparinka, and that the
more northerly scatter at Chinaman's Garden Well represents the
residence of the last of a particular group.
Unless the superimposition of artefacts from later periods at Chinaman's
Garden Well is particularly severe, the presence there of clothing rivets
and relatively unadorned pressed brass buttons suggests the residents
adopted Euro-American work clothes. The presence of mother of pearl and
shell buttons suggests the adoption of similarly-oriented underclothing. The
buttons found are similar to those from sites investigated by Snoek,
Ritchie, and Coutts. They are certainly not exclusive to Chinese sites, and
are most likely of European, American and Australian origin. That the
assemblage from Chinaman's Garden Well includes a gold cuff-link may
suggest adoption also of more formal European attire, which would be in
keeping with suggestions made by Hong-Kingston (1981:65), but in
contrast to the conclusion reached by Fagan (in Wegars, 1993:226). Fagan
found that during off-duty hours Chinese cannery workers at Warrendale,
Oregon changed into traditional clothing. It is perhaps significant that the
gold-plated buckle (item #737) from Chinaman's Well could possibly be
associated with traditional Chinese attire, but that none of the finds at
Chinaman's Garden Well could have such an association.
In respect to foodstuffs the evidence strongly suggests continuation of
traditional dietary preferences, with the presence of at least one soy jar
and two or three Chinese food jars. Pickle, Worcestershire sauce and
vinegar jars are represented in the assemblage from both sites. These
represent European substitutes for traditional foodstuffs. Finds from
Chinaman's Well include traditional medicine bottles, but there is no
evidence for the utilisation of European remedies. Adherence to traditional
medicines in addition to the adoption of European remedies is evident at
Chinaman's Garden Well. Neither site contains remnants of Ng Ka Py
bottles - the traditional Chinese alcohol bottle. This last observation is a
definite contrast to the assemblages reported from New Zealand, the
Northern Territory, and Oregon.
The tableware assemblages from Chinaman's Well and Chinaman's
Garden Well contain far fewer Chinese items than have been found by
others. In Central Otago, New Zealand and in the Northern Territory there
was a preponderance of Chinese material. At Milparinka there is a relative
absence of Chinese tablewares. Several bowls are represented, but only
one (#58-362-368) is likely to be of Chinese origin. One platter which
possibly bears a Chinese base mark is represented in the Chinaman's Well
assemblage, but this item also bears an impressed Arabic numeral. There
are no Chinese tea cups, no ceramic spoons. There is but one fragment of
celadon ware, and although this may represent a wine cup, it is atypical in
having a quite robust rim. There is a polychrome porcelain fragment which
may have come from a Chinese wine cup. Both these items are from
Chinaman's Garden Well. At Chinaman's Well the items associated with
alcohol consumption are of non-Chinese origin.