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of the group died, most probably at Chinaman's Garden Well, the
expensive whisky, fine porcelain and Celadon-wares which may have been
associated with the rituals remained in his residence, and the tending of
the Chinese graves at Milparinka ceased.
A question which arose during my research was the origin of the Chinese
at Milparinka. My curiosity was aroused by their knowledge of arid land
agriculture. While most of the Chinese who came to Australia were from
the reasonably well-watered areas of Southern China, the archaeological
record suggests that the Milparinka Chinese may have originated from the
arid lands in the north or the north-west of China. The evidence derives
from their knowledge of dry-land farming, their ability to produce crops from
highly alkaline soils, the use of a cellar, perhaps the configuration of their
wheelbarrow wheel, and the origin of coins recovered from the sites.
In his record of an extensive tour of China in 1909 or 1910 F.H. King noted
groups of small, almost windowless houses built of earth brick in Chihli
province (King, 1911 :227-338) and that 'for nearly an hour we had travelled
up the river before there was any material vegetation, the soil being too
saline...but beyond this crops in the fields and gardens, with some fruit and
other trees, formed a fringe of varying widths along the banks.' The
Chinese at Milparinka were almost certainly familiar wiith the methods
required for successful cultivation of saline soils. In 1883 they were
producing peaches and pears from their gardens, and a year later picked
their first crop of grapes (Mines, 1883). King noted the use of water for
irrigation in Chihli province as elsewhere, and that a typical series of crops
was 'cabbage, followed by melons and then radish the same season'.
Cabbage and melons were included in the produce of the Chinese garden
at Milparinka. King recorded the 'skill and practice of storing and
preserving such perishable vegetables as pears and grapes...' and that
'the growers depend simply upon dry earth cellars which can be maintained
at very uniform temperature, the separate fruits being wrapped in paper'
(King, 1911:343). A cellar was a feature of the 'Chinaman's gardens' at
Milparinka, and was used by the Chinese for gambling. (ref page 79).
Quite possibly that cellar was first built as a means of prolonging the
storage life of grapes and other produce of the gardens. If so the
technology may have originated in northern China. In another work King
(1910:95) discusses the use of alkali soils for the growing of grapes, with
gypsum being used in conjunction with mulches to counter the salinity.
Gypsum was certainly available in the vicinity of Milparinka.
King also (1911 :239) noted the use of wheels fixed rigidly to the axles,
especially in Manchuria. The wheel now located at Peak Hill homestead is
fashioned in this manner from iron or steel. Although the general layout of
the wheel is similar to those illustrated by Simpson (1988:15) on a
Canadian vineyard plough, and a portable kerosene engine (Simpson,
1988:120) the fixed axle remains of specific interest.
Of the coins from the Milparinka Chinese sites, three were minted in Chihli
province, while the others are from Kansu, the most north-westerly part of