LIFE IN THE GOLDFIELD- CHINESE BLOG

This term we have been learning about Australian goldfields and what life was like in 1850's. We were chosen to write a blog about Chinese people and the time that they were in Australia digging for gold. We learnt how tough it was for many different cultures who had to work all day and send little money home to their family. We researched about the Chinese religion and beliefs, their clothing, food they ate, how they migrated to Australia and their entertainment when they were in Australia. We enjoyed working as a group and getting to learn more about the goldfields and life back in the 1850's.

By Maddy, Claire, Vaughan, Campbell, Morgan and Kate.

RACISM

The rise of anti-chinese prejudice on the Australian goldfields led to legislation that restricted their rights in the colonies, in 1877 the Chinese were made to pay a higher licence fee to mine.

FOOD

People on the Australian goldfields mostly ate damper (a plain bread made of water, salt and flour) it is then cooked on an open campfire. They would eat mutton with potatoes and onions with some cabbage and carrots if they were lucky. They would sometimes kill and cook kangaroo or wallaby, but it was not hugely loved.

Other food like fruit and vegetables were rare on the goldfields except if the Australians made a deal with the Chinese.  Food was either brought in with the diggers or bought in one of the "trading posts" that grew up around where the fields were. Food was often expensive as the local supplier needed more money. People on the goldfields enjoy billy tea as well, which is tea boiled in a billy over an open fire.

The Chinese ate rice, and they also dug up their own vegetables. They would raise their own animals to then kill them to eat.

ENTERTAINMENT ON THE GOLDFIELDS

What is entertainment?
Entertainment is the action of being  provided/providing something that people can watch. It is an event to entertain others.

Child Entertainment- children can be entertained with things like cartoons, clowns, puppets, video games and music. Live entertainment is loved by all ages like music concerts and live sports. Some people like entertaining publicly which is called busking.

Corporate events- corporate events are big groups of people coming together to participate in an event. They will come together and organise private parties, ceremonies, weddings or presentations.

Late in the afternoon Monday to Saturday the working day was over and the opportunity was high to entertain people.

A ball or a concert such as Subsription Ball was a major event on the goldfields. People would come come and participate because it was a time to relax and show off some money that they had earnt. They would also participate in it because it was a luxury that everyone could afford, not just the richest person.

WHEN THE CHINESE ARRIVED AT THE GOLDFIELDS

When the Chinese arrived at the goldfields they stayed in large teams with a head man. The groups were allocated jobs like mining, cooking, or growing vegetables. They worked hard and would send home the money that they earned to their families.

The Chinese would collect gold that had been missed. They wouldn't go deep underground because they wouldn't want to disturb the mountain Gods.  They would find other jobs that they could work on such as washing clothes,selling cooked or herbal medicines.

CLOTHING

The clothing the Chinese men are wearing were visual reminders of their cultural difference.The clothing they wore was collarless long-sleeved jackets, long robes, conical hats, loose wide-sleeved shirts, knee-high trousers, long baggy trousers and also sandal-like shoes they also wore their hair in plaits.

 

CHINESE MINING METHODS ON THE GOLDFIELDS

Chinese miners used different methods to dig for gold than Europeans. It was found that a lot of gold had been missed by the European miners and the Chinese would find this gold. Chinese diggers were very successful in finding gold. They would work very carefully for hours. 

MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA

The Chinese came to Australia to dig for gold because there were problems in their own land. Drought, famine and a downturn in trade had caused poverty in China.

The Chinese were the largest amount of foreign people to come to Australia. During the gold rush Australia was made up of about 4000 Chinese miners. Most of the Chinese miners were made up of men, there were only a few women at the time.

The Victorian government were worried about how many Chinese were arriving and tried to stop them. The captain of a boat arriving in Melbourne had to pay the Government 10 pounds in tax for every Chinese on board. The captain avoided that by landing in South Australia that had no gold taxes. The Chinese diggers walked hundreds of miles across the country to the Victorian goldfields.