History of Chinese Australians
The history of Chinese after those from the British Isles. Significant Chinese emigration only began in earnest after the discovery of gold and the subsequent gold rushes in Australia. This migration shaped and influenced Australian policies on immigration for over a century. Despite facing societal discrimination and restrictive immigration policies, Australians of Chinese descent have
Chinese immigrants arriving in Melbourne's Chinatown, located on Little Bourke Street, 1866
Bird's-eye view of Ballarat with Chinese gold miners in the foreground, 1858, by George Rowe
White Hills Cemetery Chinese Section
Chinese market gardener, ca. 1893
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia, approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony and an influx of population growth and financial capital for Melbourne, which was dubbed "Marvellous Melbourne" as a result of the procurement of wealth.
Richard Daintree and Antoine Fauchery (circa 1858) A gang of diggers at Forrest Creek, Chewton
Fossickers in the Nerrena Creek outside Ballarat
Canvas Town, South Melbourne in the 1850s
Ballarat's tent city just a couple of years after the discovery of gold in the district. Oil painting from an original 1853 sketch by Eugene von Guerard.
