Why did the Chinese migrate to Australia

By Natasha Teanna and Amelia

• Chinese settlers first rushed to Victoria in large numbers hoping to strike gold. Most were men contracted to agents who sponsored their voyages, and they faced years of difficult repayments. They also sent money back to their families in China.

• As the gold ran out, many Chinese settled as market gardeners or farm hands. Some set up small grocery stores or fruit and vegetable-hawking businesses in country towns. Others worked around Melbourne in a variety of pursuits, including import-export businesses, laundry operations, cabinet making and in medicine. Many Chinese religious and cultural organisations were established, and Chinese New Year celebrations became a highlight in many towns in Victoria.

• Between 1986 and 1991 the China-born population in Victoria more than doubled to over 20,000. This number was largely due to the many Chinese students seeking citizenship and asylum after the repression of student demonstrations at Tiananmen Square in 1989.

• In 2011, the census recorded 93,895 Chinese people were born in Victoria. In recent years many professionals have migrated from China including scholars, doctors and business investors

PART 1The Chinese in the goldfields

Chinese People Living On 1800s Australian Goldfields

• Overview - Chinese People Living On 1800s Australian Goldfields - New South Wales

• The number of Chinese people that came to Australia in the 1800's Gold Rush is open to speculation. It is believed about 7000 Chinese worked in the Araluen gold fields in Southern NSW.

• Australia first became multi-cultural during the gold rush period with mass international immigration to Australia. The lure of gold however often took a personal toll on individuals of all persuasions, particularly those who did not speak English.

PART 2The cultural reverloin

The Cultural Revolution • The Cultural Revolution had a massive

impact on China from 1965 to 1968. The Cultural Revolution is the name given to Mao’s attempt to reassert his beliefs in China. Mao had been less than a dynamic leader from the late 1950’s on, and feared others in the party might be taking on a leading role that weakened his power within the party and the country. This probably explains the Cultural Revolution – it was an attempt by Mao to re-impose his authority on the party and therefore the country.

PART 3The White Australian Policy

• Introduction• The White Australia Policy began in the

1850's in an attempt to create a uni-racial Australia. The policy was against any person who was non-European and those of coloured races by refusing to allow them to enter the country. The policy succeeded in doing this until the end of World War II, when the bans on immigration began to be loosened

The History of the White Australia Policy

• The beginnings of the White Australia Policy can be found in the 1850's in Australia. As the number of British prisoners declined in Australia, Australia was forced to import the labour needed to work in its mines because the declining number of prisoners. Only, instead of importing people from Europe, Australia brought in people from China and the Pacific Islands.

PART 4How the Chinese people in these days

• The Chinese of Population in Australia. In 2011, the Chinese revealed that over a quarter (26%) of Australia's population was born in china and Asia and a further one fifth (20%) had at least one overseas-born parent. Some Chinese have jobs and their whole families are in Australia

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