Adec Preview Generated PDF File - The Sydney eScholarship ...

existed between the Baker family and the Chinese, and by inference,
clothing acquired by the Chinese quite likely originated from Baker's store.
Perhaps some of the bowls and other tablewares identified on the Chinese
sites also came from that source.
The Chinese at Milparinka certainly used the European Court system, both
willingly in respect to the recovery of debts, and unwillingly when an
altercation in their community attracted attention from the Police . They
also made use of the European newspaper to air their grievances when
their mining camp was destroyed.
In summary the outcome of my research demonstrates that there was a
two-way flow of goods and services between the European and Chinese
communities at Milparinka. The activities of the Chinese at Milparinka were
broadly similar to those of Chinese communities elsewhere in rural New
South Wales, except that at Milparinka, as already stated, the Chinese
sold water to the European community as the opportunity arose, and
because of this may have been in a position of considerable significance.
At Chinaman's Garden Well they were involved in a broad range of
business undertakings, including vegetable and fruit growing, perhaps
labouring when the opportunity arose, storekeeping, gambling, and
prostitution. At Chinaman's Well the record is less clear. Within the town
itself was a Chinese eating house which supplied bakery products, and
perhaps eggs.
That the Chinese supplied not only water at almost twice the price of any
other, but also fruit and vegetables which they continued to sell 'at
reasonably remunerative rates' throughout the period under consideration,
was a source of considerable friction in the community. The Chinese had
a 'monopoly in garden produce', and it is surmised that until 1906 they had
a monopoly over Chinaman's Garden Well, the only source of potable subsurface
water not locked up by a pastoral lease. But the impoverished
nature of the town limited the extent to which residents were able to trade
with the Chinese. The failure of the community was not necessarily due to
a lack of co-operation between the different elements of the community,
though racial prejudice could hardly have helped. The Chinese probably
worked very hard to maintain their supply of vegetables. At first they
supplied the gold-rush community, and lived reasonably well. But by the
early 20th century the impact of rabbits upon the far west, together with the
increasingly impoverished nature of the township they served, and their
own increasing age, reduced the viability of their enterprise.
The period under consideration in my research represents the last twenty
or so years in the lives of a group of ageing Chinese. They were remnants
of those Chinese who came to Australia seeking gold during the 1850s and
1860s. One of their number was aged sixty in 1898. Their activities
dwindled over time, and the presence at Chinaman's Garden Well of
numerous artefacts with medicinal associations may suggest ill health.
Many of the European bottle fragments are of a type used to contain
patent medicines such as cough and rheumatism remedies. Opium was