Chinatowns in Australia

Chinatowns in Australia exist in most states and capital cities with historic former Chinatowns in frontier and rural areas.

Given the proximity to the Asian continent, Australia has had, and continues to witness, a massive immigration of Chinese and other Asians. The majority of ethnic Chinese immigrants to Australia are from Hong Kong. Chinese from various places of mainland China, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, Southeast Asia—especially Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, and Indonesia—and Latin America also settled Australia.

Many early Chinese from the Guangdong and Fujian provinces of China immigrated to Australian gold rushes. They were mainly Chinese of Taishan, Cantonese, Zhongshan, Hokkien, and Hakka origin. As in North America, the Chinese faced massive institutionalized discrimination, and Asian immigration was restricted by the White Australia Policy in the late 1880s. It was repealed by the 1970s under multiculturalist policies, which in turn ushered in a new wave of Asian immigration, particularly from Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China, and giving rise to several Australian Chinatown communities.

Australian Capital Territory

Woolley Street in Dickson at night, seen sometimes as Canberra's 'Chinatown'

A contemporary Chinatown exists at Woolley Street in the Dickson Centre, Australian Capital Territory. The Chinatown has become established fairly recently as a restaurant precinct.

New South Wales

Sydney

Main article: Chinatown, Sydney

Paifang at Sydney's Chinatown.

Sydney's Chinatown is the third area to bear that name. Originally in The Rocks area of Sydney, it later moved to the area near Market Street at Darling Harbour and finally to its current location in Haymarket, around parallel streets Dixon Street and Sussex Street. This Chinatown hosts various centers of Chinese cultural activities such as the Chinese Youth League of Australia ^[1] and Catholic Mass in dialect Cantonese at the St. Peter Julian's Catholic Church.^[2] Nearest CityRail rail station is Central and Town Hall.

Other suburban Chinatowns have cropped up over the years in the suburbs of Burwood, Campsie, Ashfield, Auburn, Fairfield, Marrickville, Chatswood, Eastwood, Parramatta, and Hurstville.

Victoria

Ballarat

An extensive historical Chinatown existed in Golden Point, Victoria, a district of the city of the gold field city Ballarat^[3] While the settlement no longer exists, it is remembered at nearby Sovereign Hill.

Bendigo

Chinese quarter entrance at Bendigo

Several Chinatowns were established in Bendigo during the Victorian Gold Rush of the 1850s and 1860s. Today it is the site of the Chinese Gardens and Golden Dragon Museum which includes many relics from the city's Chinatown. Another prominent Chinatown settlement was established near White Hills with vegetable gardens which was the place of a lucrative gold deposit, a Joss House, Victoria's oldest, remains on the site.

Castlemaine

A historic Chinatown existed in Castlemaine during the Victorian Gold Rush in the 1860s near the corner of Mostyn and Union Street (current site of the Albion Hotel) which included as many as five Joss Houses and a Chinese Mission Chapel.^[4]

Creswick

A historical Chinatown existed in Creswick during the Victorian Gold Rush in the 1850s.^[5] The settlement was depicted in Watercolor paintings artists by Burkitt (1855) and Norman Lindsay (1894).

Melbourne

Main article: Chinatown, Melbourne

Melbourne Chinatown entrance at Little Bourke Street

Melbourne's Chinatown is around Lonsdale Street, Little Bourke Street, Bourke Street and Russell Street. It is notable as the oldest Chinatown in Australia,^[6] the oldest continuous Chinese settlement in Australia, and the longest continuously running Chinatown outside of Asia. A suburban Chinese community lives in Doncaster, with a large Hong Kong and Taiwanese expatriate population, and in Box Hill with a large Chinese and Vietnamese communities. The Vietnamese community resides in Footscray, Richmond, Springvale and St Albans. Melbourne's Chinatown boasts some world famous cuisine, Flower Drum for example was voted as one of the best Chinese restaurants in the world by the New York Times. Gift shops and souvenir shops also make up a large proportion of businesses. This started when Chinatown Duty Free opened, a popular store selling Australian produce to overseas Chinese. It is said that Melbourne Chinatown also houses the world's longest dragon in the Melbourne Chinatown Museum.

Queensland

Brisbane

Main article: Chinatown, Brisbane

Bilingualism in suburban Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Australia. Chinatown is located above ground.

The Chinatown of Brisbane is located in the suburb of Fortitude Valley, complete with its own Chinese gateway. Located near the Story Bridge, Chinatown is very popular for Australians too.

South Australia

Adelaide

Main article: Chinatown, Adelaide

Adelaide's China Town is located in the Adelaide Central Markets precinct, on Moonta Street, between Grote and Gouger streets. Two impressive Paifang mark the entrances at either end. Adelaide China Town consists mainly of oriental restaurants, grocery stores and markets.

Northern Territory

Darwin

The first Chinatown in Darwin existed in the 1880s. A new synthetic Chinatown of Darwin, Northern Territory is in development and it is to be finished in 2010^{[dated info]} at a cost of A$90 million.^[7]

Western Australia

Perth

Perth has a Chinatown on Roe Street in the inner-city suburb of Northbridge. There are many more Asian businesses found on William St, Northbridge than at the official Chinatown. Historically many Chinese (usually of Malaysian, Singaporean or Indonesian background) settled in Northbridge alongside other immigrant groups. The city's low density population and comparatively cheap property encourages migrants to move to the expanding suburbs. Asian students often chose to live in suburbs near universities, such as Bentley, Murdoch and Nedlands.

References

1. ^ [1] 澳洲侨青社 Chinese Youth League of Australia
2. ^ [2] St. Peter Julian's Catholic Church
3. ^ http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/identity/chinatowns/
4. ^ "Castlemaine - Places to See". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/castlemaine--places-to-see-20081114-66xw.html. 
5. ^ http://www.creswick.net/creswick_history
6. ^ City of Melbourne. "Multicultural communities - Chinese". http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=100&pg=903. Retrieved 2006-10-13. 
7. ^ [3]^{[dead link]}