Chinatown, Melbourne

Chinese immigrants arriving in Chinatown, 1866

The advent of the Victorian gold rush in 1851 attracted immigrants from around the world, including tens of thousands of Chinese prospectors. The majority were Cantonese-speaking male villagers from Hong Kong and nearby areas, including the southwestern districts of Guangdong (See Yup), and its capital city Guangzhou (Sam Yap). The eastern half of Little Bourke Street was considered convenient for these immigrants, as both a staging post and a place to pick up supplies en route to the goldfields in central Victoria. The earliest lodging houses were established in Celestial Avenue, off Little Bourke Street,[8] and by 1855, Chinese houses and businesses lined the majority of Little Bourke Street from Elizabeth to Russell streets.

It is notable for being the oldest Chinatown in the Southern Hemisphere,[9] and the longest continuous Chinese settlement outside Asia, owing to San Francisco's Chinatown's relocation following the 1906 earthquake.[10] The Victorian gold rush eventually waned, causing a shift from rural living and an influx of people migrating into metropolitan Melbourne, particularly Little Bourke Street, which already had a predominantly Chinese population.

Chinatown illuminated at night with decorations welcoming the arrival of Prince Alfred, 1867

The residents of Chinatown established themselves as storekeepers, importers, furniture-makers, herbalists and in the wholesale fruit and vegetable industries, with a strong presence at the nearby Eastern Market on Bourke Street. Christian churches were built and Chinese political groups and newspapers were subsequently formed.[8] Other members of the Chinese community who lived and worked elsewhere used Chinatown to congregate with friends. The area also provided further support to new Chinese immigrants.

Early in its history, Chinatown developed a reputation for "salubrious" enterprises including opium dens, gambling houses and brothels, but maintained a distinctly "entrepreneurial air".[11] By 1859, Victoria's Chinese population reached approximately 45,000, representing nearly 8.5% of the colony's total population.[12]

Australian colonial author Marcus Clarke wrote in 1869:

One-half of Little Bourke-street is not Melbourne but China. It is as though some djinn or genie had taken up a handful of houses from the middle of one of the Celestial cities, and flung them down, inhabitants and all, in the Antipodes. One almost expects to behold the princess on her way to the bath, or to meet that mighty potentate the brother to the sun, uncle to the moon, and first cousin to the seven stars.[13]

Despite the cultural divide, several community leaders with strong Chinatown connections became influential and well-regarded among Melburnians more broadly, including businessman Lowe Kong Meng and missionary Cheok Hong Cheong. Also during the colonial period, several businesses run by Australians of European descent were based in Chinatown, including the offices of Table Talk, for a time in the 1880s one of Melbourne's most popular magazines.

The facade of the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) Melbourne headquarters, remodeled by Walter Burley Griffin in 1921

Chinatown peaked in the early 20th century in terms of population and activity with businesses expanding into the nearby Little Lon red-light district, transforming it into a predominantly Chinese-owned area. This growth was hampered by the Immigration Restriction Act, implemented after the federation of Australia in 1901. Chinatown's subsequent decline was further exacerbated by a broader shift of businesses and residents from Melbourne's central business district (CBD) to the surrounding suburbs.[8]

In the 1920s, more Australians of European descent began frequenting Chinatown eateries, one being Chung Wah on Heffernan Lane, a haven for members of the University of Melbourne ALP Club.[14] This growing patronage helped pave the way for a distinctly Australian Chinese cuisine, which achieved mainstream popularity by the mid-20th century. The dim sim, a staple of Australian Chinese cuisine, was invented in Chinatown by William Wing Young, in 1945, at his restaurant Wing Lee, and has become a major snack food in takeaway outlets and supermarkets throughout the country. Young's daughter, Elizabeth Chong, became a television celebrity chef and Chinatown tour guide. Chinatown's potential as a tourist site was recognised in the 1960s by local entrepreneur and politician David Wang, whose push for the redevelopment of Little Bourke Street led to the archways of today.[15]

Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown

During the 1960s and 1970s, the White Australia policy was dismantled, resulting in a substantial increase in immigration from Indochina, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China. The demographics of Chinatown, as well as its culinary scene, greatly diversified as a result.

In 2010, the ground floor of the Chinese Museum was remodelled as a visitor centre for Melbourne's Chinatown. The following year, a memorial statue of Dr Sun Yat-sen was unveiled outside the museum's entrance, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China. The traditional Chinese New Year Lion Dance has always ended at this spot, but will now end with a blessing of the statue.[16][17]

The Chinese New Year is primarily celebrated in Chinatown on the first Sunday of the new Lunar year. It is the original and primary location of Melbourne's CNY festival, although the festival has expanded to multiple CBD sites in recent years, including Crown Casino. The celebrations feature traditional and contemporary Chinese cultural activities and festivities, dances, Chinese opera and singing, karaoke competition, numerous stalls of culinary delights, arts and crafts, Chinese chess competitions, calligraphy and children's events.

The Dai Loong Dragon Parade, as well as the main Lion Dances (performed by the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne, Chinese Masonic Society and Hung Gar Martial Arts School) begin at roughly 10am on the Sunday following New Year, and run till roughly 4pm. The Dragon parade begins and ends at Melbourne's Chinese Museum.[18]

The dim sim, a popular example of Australian Chinese cuisine, originated in Chinatown

The Asian food festival is typically held in Spring and celebrates Asian cuisine with food tasting, stalls, cooking demonstrations, among others.

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  Cohen Place
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  Russell Street
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  Exhibition Street
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  Swanston Street

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  The Num Pon Soon building, built in 1861
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  The Sum Kum Lee building, built in 1887, currently tenanted by the dumpling house Shanghai Village
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  Chinese Museum, located in a converted warehouse, built in 1890
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  Apartments, built in 1884

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  Statue of Sun Yat-sen
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  The Tianjin Garden on Spring Street
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  Street art in Croft Alley
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  Corrs Lane, the CBD's narrowest laneway