Chinese Immigration To Australia Essay

Lily Smith

World Affairs

Bicchieri

April 24, 2023

Chinese to Australia 1850-Present

Gold was discovered in Australia in 1851. This was news that spread internationally, which eventually reached the Chinese. This intrigued a lot of them, because it was an opportunity for them to build better lives for their families. The majority of Chinese immigrants that went to Australia during the gold rush were contract laborers, which tells us that they were in need of jobs. Although that idea of cheap labor should have helped them, it backfired on the Chinese, creating public protests which further escalated into racist opposition towards the Chinese immigrants. But gold wasn’t the only reason why the Chinese went to Australia. There were also the conditions

But through the years, they have worked to make communities within themselves to save their culture and fight for their rights. You can see the struggle that they have faced with being accepted, especially with their culture. The Chinese weren’t fully accepted when they first arrived in Australia, around the year 1850. Racism, discrimination, harassment, violence, and so much more were used against the Chinese. When they immigrated to Australia, they had to learn the language from there, which was Anglo-Australian language. They also became accustomed to Australian culture as well. This, however, doesn’t mean that they left behind their own practices. “It cannot be assumed that, because Chinese Temples or Joss Houses are no longer used for worship, Chinese religious beliefs have been abandoned and Christran beliefs adopted” (Inglis). They haven’t completely moved on, because if you were to look deeper into the Chinese religion, it is centered on the home and family. When the Chinese were around Australian culture and society more, they began to see a lesser importance for worshiping outside of the home. As time went on, with the Chinese immigrants staying in Australia, they began to be weary of their cultural practices, especially if it had to do with outside of the home. Due to the Chinese staying in Australia, they began to have families, and created a bigger population of

by which the master of any ship carrying any male adult natives of China…had to pay, on arrival at any port in Victoria '' (Lee). Right from the start the Chinese had a rough time being accepted because there were already too many of them coming to Australia. And this was just one of many acts passed in Australia that restricted Chinese rights. “The last anti-Chinese act passed in Victoria is “The Chinese Act, 1881,”...its principle features are…a limitation of the number of Chinese a vessel can carry…” (Lee). Even after around 30 years of the Chinese immigrating to Australia, who were in search of a better life such as a better paying job, the Australian’s still wouldn’t give them full access to the country. In section 12 of The Chinese Act, 1881, it states the voting rights of the Chinese at that time. It says “...no [Chinese]...shall be entitled to vote at the election of members for any mining board” (Lee). Life for the Chinese was extremely difficult when they first arrived in Australia, they had to make an effort for Australia to recognize their rights. With all of the new Chinese immigrants, and even immigrants from other countries, Australia had to make laws and rights available for them, such as being able to vote. By the end of 1901, voting rights were made possible for everyone, including the Chinese immigrants. COMMON WEALTH Today, “the Chinese community accounts for 1.2 million of Australia’s 25 million