Chinatown, Melbourne facts for kids
Chinatown (Chinese: 墨爾本華埠) is a special area in the heart of Melbourne, Australia. It's found at the eastern end of Little Bourke Street. This vibrant area stretches between Swanston and Spring Streets. It is full of interesting laneways, alleys, and arcades.
Chinatown started in the 1850s during the Victorian gold rush. It is famous for being the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western world and the oldest Chinatown in the Southern Hemisphere. Melbourne's Chinatown has been very important for Chinese immigrants in Australia. It still has many Chinese restaurants, cultural places, shops, and places of worship. Today, it's a big tourist attraction. People love its old buildings, yearly festivals, and delicious food from China, Thailand, Japan, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Korea.
Outside of the main Chinatown area, Melbourne's Chinese community also lives in other parts of the city. Places like Box Hill are growing. A big new development called "New Chinatown" is even being built there. Chinatown is also home to the Chinese Museum.
Contents
History of Melbourne's Chinatown
How Chinatown Began
Melbourne's Chinatown has a long and interesting past. It was created in 1851 during the Victorian gold rush. Many Chinese prospectors came to Australia looking for gold. By late 1854, the first Chinese lodging houses appeared on Little Bourke Street. This spot was handy for new Chinese immigrants and for sending supplies to the goldfields.
Melbourne's Chinatown is the oldest in Australia. It is also the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western world. This is because San Francisco's Chinatown was destroyed by an earthquake in 1906. When the gold rush slowed down, many people moved to Melbourne. Little Bourke Street already had many Chinese residents, so more people settled there.
Chinese settlers became shopkeepers, importers, and furniture makers. They also worked as herbalists and in fruit, vegetable, and restaurant businesses. Christian churches were built, and Chinese political groups and newspapers started. Many Chinese people who lived elsewhere would meet friends in Chinatown. The area also helped new immigrants. By 1859, about 45,000 Chinese people lived in Victoria. This was nearly 8.5% of the colony's total population.
Some businesses run by people of European descent were also in Chinatown. For example, the offices of Table Talk magazine were there in the 1880s. Chinatown was busiest in the early 1900s. However, a law called the 1901 Immigration Restriction Act slowed things down. Many businesses and people also started moving out of Melbourne's city center.
The famous Dim Sim was invented in Chinatown in 1945. William Wing Young created it at his restaurant Wing Lee. It is now a very popular snack in Australia. In the 1930s, people from Melbourne and university students started eating at Chinatown restaurants. This made Chinese food more popular. This popularity grew even more in the 1960s and 70s. The beautiful archways you see today were built after a request from a Chinatown businessman, David Neng-Hsiang Wang.
Chinatown Today
The first Chinese people in Melbourne brought Southern Chinese food to Australia. Now, Northern Chinese food is also common. Chinese food was the first international food to become popular as take away food in Australia. In the 1970s and 80s, old immigration rules changed. This allowed more people to come from places like Indochina, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China.
In 2010, the Chinese Museum's ground floor became a visitor centre for Chinatown. In 2011, a statue of Dr Sun Yat-sen was put outside the Museum. This was to celebrate 100 years since the Republic of China was founded. The traditional Chinese New Year Lion Dance always ends here now.
Culture and Festivals
Chinese New Year Celebrations
Chinese New Year is mainly celebrated in Chinatown. It usually happens on the first Sunday of the new Lunar year. This is the main place for Melbourne's Chinese New Year festival. However, the festival has also grown to other places in the city, like Crown Casino. The celebrations include traditional and modern Chinese activities. There are dances, Chinese opera, singing, and karaoke contests. You can also find many food stalls, arts and crafts, Chinese chess games, and calligraphy. There are special events for children too.
The exciting Dai Loong Dragon Parade and the main Lion Dances start around 10 am on the Sunday after New Year. They usually finish around 4 pm. The Dragon parade begins and ends at Melbourne's Chinese Museum.
Asian Food Festival
The Asian food festival usually takes place in Spring. It celebrates Asian cuisine with food tasting, stalls, and cooking shows.
Other Chinese Communities in Melbourne
Besides the original Chinatown in the city center, new Chinese communities have grown in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. These include Box Hill, Glen Waverley, and Springvale.
There is also an older Chinese community in the city of Bendigo. This community has been there since the 1850s gold rush. Bendigo is about 150 km north-west of Melbourne.
Chinatown in Books and Films
Many artists and writers have shown Melbourne's Chinatown in their work. Tom Roberts, a famous Australian painter, drew scenes of Little Bourke Street in the 1880s. During World War II, artist Eric Thake created paintings of Chinatown shops. These are now in the State Library of Victoria.
Fergus Hume's book The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886) is a well-known mystery novel. It is based on what the author saw in Little Bourke Street, including the Chinese Quarter. A scene in the 1911 silent film The Double Event also takes place in Melbourne's Chinatown.
The 1997 Hong Kong action film Mr. Nice Guy, starring Jackie Chan, was filmed in Melbourne. Several scenes were shot in Chinatown.
Heritage Sites
Archways
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Exhibition Street
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Russell Street
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Swanston Street
Images for kids
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Westward view of Chinatown
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The Num Pon Soon building, built in 1863
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Chinese Museum
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Entrance of the Chinese Museum
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Statue of Sun Yat-sen
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The Tianjin Garden on Spring Street
