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source of supply for Milparinka during much the period being considered,
and it was thought logical that links would exist between people and
enterprises in the two towns. This was certainly found to be correct. It was
also found that the inability of paddle-steamers to reach Wilcannia due to
low water in the Darling River affected both towns.
A separate avenue of study was the treatment of Chinese at selected
goldfields during the 1850s and 1860s, and the subsequent activities of the
Chinese in rural areas of Australia. An account was located of Chinese
camps in western New South Wales towns. Similarities between the
description of these camps and that of the community at Milparinka were
immediately apparent.
The background research into the Chinese had two primary objectives.
The first of these was to establish reasons for the Chinese to isolate
themselves from the European community as they clearly did at Milparinka.
The second was to identify the occupations followed by the Chinese in
rural areas during the period under consideration, and to identify evidence
for their ecology. In this respect the activities of individual Chinese on
pastoral properties, where other sources clearly demonstrate their
involvement as cooks and perhaps gardeners, were ignored on the basis
that my research was intended to concentrate upon Chinese who lived
more independent of European protectors. This distinction, however, was
not rigidly maintained as my research suggested Chinese in several
locations may have lived together in the 'camps' already mentioned while in
the employ of Europeans.
1.3.1 Use of Historical Resource
Within the historical record primary written and oral sources were identified
and used from the commencement of the research. Written records
included newspapers, diaries and manuscripts, Police, Department of
Mines, Department of Education, Post Office and Bank records. Most were
found to be extremely fragmentary.
Oral histories were sought as repositories of first and second-hand
knowledge of Milparinka. The information thus obtained was based upon
the childhood experiences of people now well advanced in years and
clearly reflects the limitations of a childhood viewpoint. Another difficulty
which became apparent was the well-known effect of the conscious and
unconscious editing of oral history during interviews. Photographs,
although scarce, helped to confirm impressions of the community already
gained.
Each historical resource can be shown to contain a degree of bias, not
necessarily in favour of the European viewpoint. Generally I suggest the
bias is unconscious. But in the local newspaper at Milparinka (the "Sturt