Journal of Australia-China Affairs 2014

Owing to their hardworking nature and ability to endure hardship, the Chinese quickly took root across Australia. Their footprints were left not only upon NSW and Victoria, where gold was initially discovered, but as far as the remote and desolate reaches of the Northern Territory and Australia's southern and western regions. In 1877, Queensland was home to around 25,000 Chinese, who comprises a seventh of the state’s population. 6 The majority of Chinese at this time moved according to kinship ties or native place ties, making mutual introductions as they came to Australia to seek their livelihood. Owing to a lack of linguistic competence in English, it was difficult for many Chinese to interact with the local white population, to say nothing of attempting to assimilate. As a result, they often lived a life separate from the Europeans. Within their social circles they retained the local culture they brought with them, including habits of diet and housing. As their number gradually increased, they were able to form small communities, creating their own systems of culture and daily life. The communities of this period were influenced by the distinctive features of Chinese culture, particularly those of southern provinces such as Guangdong and Guangxi. Case Study: Examining the Historical Remains of Ravenswood's Chinese Labourers Ravenswood is situated in the north of Queensland, and is known as a famous gold mining site. After the discovery of gold there in 1868, a Gold Rush immediately spread through the area. In what was indeed a ‘golden age’, many Chinese miners arrived, with around 1,500-­‐2,000 Chinese inhabiting the area (currently there are only around 6,000 residents). Local museums contain relatively complete burial records, from 1877 to 1940, of local Chinese labourers, most of which note the person’s full name, age and occupation. According to cemetery records, a total of 54 Chinese labourers are buried in Ravenswood, most of who worked as miners. What is worth noting here is that the graves of Chinese labourers are arranged separately to those of European miners. Although the shape of the graves bears no relation to traditional Chinese graves, they nonetheless include Chinese tombstones written in traditional Chinese style. This indicates that the early Chinese migrants were greatly influenced by the culture of their provincial hometowns, and felt a strong sense of belonging to their ancestral homes. The face of the tombstone above reads: ‘Here Lies Heda Ruan of Maowan’. According to local museum records, we can infer that this labourer, a male, came from a district situated within Xiangshan county in Guangdong province, now known as Zhongshan city. What is worth pointing out here is that the occupant's birthplace is marked on their tombstone, in much the same fashion as in the south of China. Furthermore, the indication of birthplace happens to exactly verify certain theories within academic circles regarding the ancestral homes of the overseas Chinese, which contend that many of the Chinese scattered across Australia were originally from Zhongshan city in Guangdong. Those Chinese labourers working in the Ravenswood gold mines, in all aspects of their daily life, maintained a close-­‐knit traditional Chinese community, as can be observed from their diet and living habits. According to blood ties and the existence of ancestral shrines, they organised themselves into small societies that can be seen as imitating familial structures. 6 Ibid. 50 JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIA-­‐CHINA AFFAIRS