The Chinese diaspora and North Sydney

The Chinese diaspora in the 19th century was a result of both pulls and pushes. Violence, disorder and poverty at home encouraged people to leave China. Opportunities abroad drew them away. Gold was, of course, a huge draw from the middle of the century. But many more opportunities were created as European nations, particularly the British, established colonies throughout south-east Asia.

Penang and Singapore are two examples where Chinese labour and commercial prowess were transformative. The 1860 Convention of Peking, drawn up between a beleaguered China and Britain (and other European powers), facilitated travel for Chinese people throughout the Empire. Poorly-paid Chinese labourers – so-called 'coolies' – helped build Britain's Asian possessions. Australian colonies had this form of labour from as early as 1841 but would flout the Convention with tax-based restrictions on Chinese immigration from the 1860s.

The Chinese community was well established in Singapore when this photograph, 'Crowd at an auction, Singapore', was taken around 1907.

State Library of NSW

Most of the people who came to Australia from China were born in, or departed from, the south of that country. Many named 'Canton' as their birthplace, known today as Guangzhou. There were 13 counties in Kwangtung (now Guangdong) province around Canton. The map below shows the significance of waterways to this area. It was along these that Chinese people moved out into the world.

The photograph above titled 'Native Passenger boats, Canton', shows the Pearl River waterfront in that city around 1907.

State Library of NSW

It is interesting to consider Chinese immigrants and sojourners leaving from one busy waterway to arrive at another. This engraving by Fred B Schell shows Sydney Harbour in 1886.

Ian Hoskins collection

Most Chinese immigrants initially came to Australia hoping to find gold, and then because of the possibilities that arose within established networks and communities. Most of them came from southern China, specifically the delta region of the Pearl River in Guangdong province. Guangzhou, once called Canton, is its capital. Trade with the Middle East and Europe was centuries old and people from Guangdong had been venturing out into the world since the 12th century. Almost all those who came to Australia in the 1800s were men. They were generally without formal education but had access to money or credit to allow the journey. Many had gardening or trading skills they could apply to their lives beyond the goldfields.

Titled 'Washing Tailings', this undated lithograph shows Chinese gold seekers working through the waste material – tailings – from mines or alluvial washing in search of gold missed by the first wave of miners. This practice characterised the thoroughness and determination of Chinese gold seekers.

National Library of Australia

Whereas the Chinese population had been widely dispersed during the height of the gold rushes, after 1880 there was a drift to the towns. As the capital of colonial NSW and the largest settlement by far, the port city of Sydney was a popular destination. In 1880, 1,000 Chinese men were living in and around the metropolis. By 1888, when harsher immigration restrictions were introduced, there were more than 4,200. In 1901, after more than a decade of restricted entry and the denial of re-entry, that number had fallen to 3,800. But this still represented one third of all Chinese people in the newly created State of New South Wales.

An urban community was established, with many people living and working in the old waterfront precinct called The Rocks, and then further to the south in Haymarket. The quarter there would be called Chinatown in the 1920s. However, residences and small businesses were spread far and wide, for market gardening and related grocery retailing were common occupations and there was a demand for fresh produce across the city. These often disparate groups were linked through kinship, friendship, business affiliation and fraternal organisations, such as the Yiu Ming Hung Fook Tong Society, which began around 1870 and opened a temple in Alexandria in 1910. The Society had members from the southern and eastern suburbs, and also across the harbour on the North Shore.

Ah War operated a garden in Cammeray in the 1880s and 1890s. At least three men of that name were photographed for Australian Customs prior to their departure from Sydney to China in 1906 and 1907. We cannot be sure if any of these people were Ah War from Cammeray but the portraits are interesting, nonetheless, for what they reveal about the appearance of Chinese men who were quite likely gardeners. Two men have the 'pigtail', or queue, and short-cropped hair that was typical of the Manchu or Qing period, which ran from the 17th century to 1911. Queues were a source of racist ridicule and attack in 19th century Australia. These men have wrapped the queue around their head to conceal it under a hat. By the 20th century, queues were regarded as a sign of backwardness and Manchu oppression by 'progressive' Chinese people at home and abroad. That they remained common in Australia even among Chinese men who adopted western-style clothing is evidence of a personal cultural connection to their homeland.

The third pair of portraits (above right) shows a man with short hair, inexpertly cut or possibly just growing out from the traditional queue and high forehead line. With his high collar, this Ah War is dressed more formally for the portrait than his counterparts. Possibly he was a shopkeeper rather than a gardener. The absence of a queue might also indicate that this man was in contact with European-Australians frequently in indoor settings where a hat was not typically worn. Keeping one's queue might have been fine if most days were spent in the field and a hat could disguise it on the street, but it may have attracted negative attention when dealing with non-Chinese customers.

Left: NAA ST 84/1, 1907/361-370; Middle: NAA ST 84/1, 1907/251-260; Right: NAA ST 84/1, 1906/341-350

The Chinese diaspora and North Sydney

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