Chinese Heritage Tour
The Chinese in Ballarat - a brief history
Unlike the Europeans who paid their own way to the diggings, Chinese diggers were mostly financed by wealthy Chinese from cities such as Canton and Hong Kong. Many were also sent by their villages and families in the hope of striking it rich in the New Gold Mountain, as Ballarat was known as distinct from California, the Gold Mountain.
In the early 1850s, the news that gold had been discovered in Victoria reached the British colony of Hong Kong and large numbers of Chinese diggers left to seek their fortune on the goldfields of Victoria, including Ballarat.
The Chinese, who came mostly from the four counties of Toishan, Sun Hui, Hoi Ping and Yan Ping south of Canton, never intended to stay in Australia much beyond the period of their indenture. The miners were not the first Chinese in rural Victoria, as Chinese had been coming to Australia since just after the First Fleet arrived and many Chinese shepherds found work on Australia's large sheep runs in the 1830s.
By 1857 there were 25,400 Chinese males in Victoria, and approximately one third of Ballarat's population at that time were Chinese. Today Ballarat's school children have done much to remind us of the City's Chinese heritage. A number of schools have been involved in the creation of a new Chinese dragon Gum Loong, as well as the development of a memorial garden at the New Cemetery.
Chinese contributions to the health and well-being of all miners was significant through herbal medicine and fresh vegetables from the market gardens. Chinese technology in shallow mining and water use were significant elements in mining development.
Ballarat's surrounding districts still hold reminders of a Chinese presence. Graves, some that in an earlier times were robbed; old round mineshafts; water ways and market gardens are all legacies of the Chinese diggers.
Ballarat Chinese Heritage Tour
The Ballarat Chinese Heritage Tour has been identified to provide visitors with information on the Chinese in Ballarat in the 19th century and an understanding of the culturally significant sites around Ballarat.
A visit to these sites offers an opportunity to appreciate aspects of the Chinese community during the Gold Rush and into the late 19th century.
In the cemeteries we gain an appreciation of the size of the early Chinese population and an understanding of some of their culture and customs. Translations of the burial stones in both Ballarat cemeteries yield detailed information on the many who did not make it back to their homeland.
1. New Ballarat Cemetery
The Chinese graves in the New Cemetery at the top of Lydiard St North have been blessed and a traditional Chinese garden, a memorial to those early diggers who did not make it back to China.
2. Old Ballarat Cemetery
The Chinese sections of the cemetery, with their ceremonial ovens and graves, offer rich information on Chinese burial and religious customs. Their work of transcription and translation of the gravestones add a unique dimension to the visit. The name, age, date and place of birth and reason for death provide an understanding of each of the people. Only one gravestone is inscribed in English - O Cheong, who for 9 years was the government interpreter in the colony. His gravestone is at the Old Cemetery. A full history of both cemeteries, including that of the Chinese, is available on the touch screen at the Old Cemetery in the building near the main gate.
3. Main Road
The Chinese lived in the camps on the Ballarat fields and surrounding district. In Ballarat, the main camp was on the site of the present athletics track, Llanberris Reserve, just off Main Road. Newspaper reports of the period speak often about the Chinese music and circuses that provided entertainment for all miners, not only the Chinese, in the streets of these camps. Today in Ballarat there is little to remind us of such a substantial population. By the end of the 19th century the numbers of Chinese were as low as 1,000. Sovereign Hill has perpetuated the Chinese links through the Joss House and the Chinese Camp.
4. Sovereign Hill
Entry into Sovereign Hill is not included in the Chinese Heritage Tour. A visit to Sovereign Hill offers information on the Chinese communities in Ballarat during the gold rush.
- Secret Chamber
- Chinese Village
- The Joss House
- Chinese Protector's Office
- Woah Hawp Canton Mine
5. The Gold Museum
Entry to the Ballarat Gold Museum is not included in the Chinese Heritage Tour. The Gold Museum features a selection of artefacts from the Arnott-Rogers Collection of Chinese decorative arts and textiles. Gathered by George and Robina Arnott-Rogers, Australian missionaries in China at the turn of the 20th century, this extensive collection includes ceramics, clothing, artworks, photographs and rare examples of the blue and white embroidery of Sichuan.
Experience Gum Loong
Gum Loong, an authentic Chinese fortune dragon, was awakened at Sovereign Hill, on March 11, 1995. Gum Loong was created by the Canadian Lead, Mt Blowhard and Sebastopol Primary School communities, with support from the Ballarat Chinese Community Association, the Australia- China Friendship Society - Ballarat, the Asia Education Foundation and Department of Education, Employment and Training.
A dragon team of 100 students, representing the three schools, assists Gum Loong on his outings. Gum Loong is accompanied by the lions of the Ballarat Chinese Association when he appears in public. He usually lives at Canadian Lead Primary School or Sebastopol Primary School along with his family of Vietnamese puppy lions and unicorn.