Post #2491329

From Goldfields to Gardens: The legacy of Aboriginal–Chinese enterprise Our Story: Aboriginal Chinese People in Australia, at the National Museum of Australia, documents over 170 years of connection between Chinese migrants and Aboriginal Australians. Supported over five years by Fortescue along with government and community partners, the exhibition brings together oral history, archival records, family photographs, and artworks. It reveals how families and businesses were formed in the face of colonial exclusion and discrimination. Chinese migration increased during the gold rushes of the 1850s. By 1901 about 30,000 Chinese people had arrived, most of them men. After the goldfields declined, many remained in Australia and turned to small business and agriculture. Zhou Xiaoping, the artist and curator of the project, explained that market gardens were a central point of connection. "Every family we interviewed talked about the gardens," he said. "They were not only businesses but places where Aboriginal people were employed and where families lived side by side. You can see how those working relationships turned into long-term relationships." Zhou's installation Chinese Cabbage Leaves uses more than 100 glass leaves to reference the gardens. "We can show old photographs of gardens from 170 years ago," he said. "But with art I want to bring that history into the present so people can feel it." Relationships between Chinese men and Aboriginal women were common through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Zhou said, "At that time both groups were treated unfairly. Aboriginal and Chinese people were both discriminated against, so they came together. They lived in the same areas and found similarities in how they cared for families and children." https://nit.com.au/07-05-2026/24145/from-goldfields-to-gardens-the-legacy-of-aboriginal-chinese-enterprise?fbclid=IwY2xjawRv28BleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEefjHj_cDx7GLrtliyarEqZxwXCtz7MCg2PJXmrAcDkSOio9dcZpZUkLQC8PA_aem_UY6n535I4fnkdAYMm5_aKw&brid=YWdncwGD3ENKIoysw0pChNk2dsMQ