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

Browne field. Alternately, Charlie the Chow may have been Charlie Bow,
another Chinese recorded in the police charge and summons book from
Tibooburra in 1896, and in that from Milparinka in 1898. On the latter
occasion the charge recorded was' Police v Charlie Bow (Chinaman aged
60) - assault occasioning actual bodily harm' (NSWPD1, 7 January 1898).
Charlie Bow has already been mentioned at paragraph 3.2.2. in connection
with Wilcannia, and is discussed in detail at paragraph 6.2. Another
possibility is that 'Charlie the Chow' is simply a colloquialism for the
Chinese generally.
The Chinese had returned to the Mount Browne diggings by September
1895 when the Sturt Recorder advised that "The Chinamen" were 'getting
gold under the range between the one mile and here'. A little later 'Charlie
the Chow' 'obtained another patch' (Sturt Recorder, 11 October 1895:3),
but this time there was no mention of interference with their endeavours.
The peak of Chinese involvement in mining at Mount Browne coincides
with a period for which a reasonable volume of historical information has
been identified regarding the Chinese. It also coincides with the peak of
the 1890s depression, which factor probably influenced the tone of the
newspaper articles and the attitude of other Milparinka and Mount Browne
residents towards the Chinese.
6.2 The Chinese Garden at Milparinka
In his report for 1883 E.C. King, Mining Warden and Police Magistrate had
once again referred to the Chinese gardeners at Milparinka, stating that:
'The Chinese gardeners have been very successful in their
operations, and have kept the residents supplied with vegetables at
a reasonable rate, and to this may in a great measure be attributed
the healthy state of the field. They have successfully proved that
potatoes can be grown here and next year they will have peaches,
pears, and grapes in bearing' (Mines, 1883;115).
This was the last official acknowledgment of the Milparinka Chinese
gardeners, and the last historical mention of Chinese at Milparinka until
1891. Accordingly I am unable to state that there was any continuity in their
presence over this period. However, their presence in March 1891 is
confirmed by reports of a fire at the Chinese camp 'situated about a mile
from Milparinka' ...
'It started about twelve noon and a large house with its contents
was burnt to the ground. The only things that were saved...were a
chemise and one stocking, which a lady (?) familiarly called 'Long
Tom' had on when she made her exit in double quick time from the
burning bUilding. The origin of the fire is unknown. We believe the
Chows present kicked up an awful hullabaloo when the fire started.'
(Tibooburra Telegraph, 17 March 1891 :2)