Mountains of Gold (and a Few Croissants): Our Chinatown Excursion
McClelland College
Tucked away in a little laneway off the main street of Chinatown, where you’d walk straight past it if you didn’t know it was there, sits the Melbourne Chinese Museum. On Monday 26 October, Mr G, Miss Pate and Lani led both our History classes there to bring our study of the Qing Dynasty to life. (Or at least out of the textbook and into a laneway.)
It turns out the Qing Dynasty isn’t just something that happened a very long way away. While Qing emperors were ruling China in the 1850s, thousands of Chinese men were packing up and sailing to Victoria in search of the “New Gold Mountain.” Many arrived wearing the long braided queue that Qing law required, which led to some very serious discussions about whether certain members of our group could pull off the look. (Verdict: no.)
Students learned how Chinese miners were made to pay a hefty landing tax in Victoria, and how many chose instead to land in South Australia and walk hundreds of kilometres to the goldfields rather than pay it. A few of us did the maths on that walk and immediately stopped complaining about the stairs at school.
The highlight for many was crawling through a tiny (pretend) mine entrance to get a sense of what life underground was like on the goldfields. It was cramped, dark and not built with Year 9 legs in mind. Some emerged with a new appreciation for the miners; others emerged mainly with a new appreciation for standing up. Either way, the point was made.
And then there was the dragon. Enough said. You had to be there.
After all that history, we headed to the Paramount Food Court for lunch, where we sampled such traditional Chinese delicacies as croissants, KFC and Subway. We’d like to report that everyone embraced the cultural experience, and in fairness, some brave souls did tackle the noodles. Chopsticks were attempted. Chopsticks were, in some cases, abandoned. Forks were quietly fetched.
A huge thank you to Mr G, Miss Pate and Lani for organising the day, and to the museum staff for sharing such a rich and often overlooked part of Melbourne’s story. We came home a little wiser, a little more cramped, and in at least one case, still holding half a croissant.