Hou Wang Temple facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Atherton Chinese Temple
Atherton Chinese Temple, 2010
Location	Herberton Road, Atherton, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia
Design period	1900–1914 (early 20th century)
Built	1903

Queensland Heritage Register
Official name: Hou Wang Miau, Atherton Chinese Temple, Joss House
Type	state heritage (built, archaeological)
Designated	21 October 1992
Reference no.	600010
Significant period	1903 (fabric) 1903–1970s (historical)
Significant components	carving, hall, store/s / storeroom / storehouse, kitchen/kitchen house, residential accommodation – staff quarters, objects (movable) – religion/worship, temple, furniture/fittings, fence/wall –perimeter

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The Hou Wang Temple is a special old building in Atherton, Queensland. It used to be a Chinese temple and is now a museum. It was built in 1903, making it one of the oldest Chinese temples outside of China and one of the very few left in Australia and New Zealand. People also call it the Hou Wang Miau, Atherton Joss House, or Atherton Chinese Temple.

It's special because it's one of only a few temples outside China built for the god Hou Wang. It's also the only old temple in Queensland made from wood and iron. Inside, you'll find many original items. Most of these were made in China in the late 1800s and early 1900s, especially for this temple. This includes a bell made around 1895 and beautiful carved wooden panels.

The temple was once a very important place for over 1,000 Chinese people. They worked as timber cutters, market gardeners, and maize farmers in the area. A group of Chinese families bought the temple and the land it stands on. They then gave it to the National Trust of Queensland to protect it.

The temple was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. Its restoration was finished on 15 September 2002. Now, it also has an art gallery and a visitor centre. The temple and gallery are open to the public six days a week, but they are closed on Mondays.

The Temple's Story
Temple Features
Why It's Special
See Also

The Temple's Story

The Atherton Chinese Temple was built in 1903 by the Chinese community in Atherton Chinatown. They used local wood for building and ordered special decorations from China. This temple became a social and spiritual hub for more than a thousand people in the town and nearby areas.

Chinese Settlements in Australia

Atherton Chinatown was one of many small towns that grew in Australia during the 1800s. These towns were homes for Chinese travelers who came to Australia. Many arrived to work on the goldfields. Most of these Chinese people were men from poor areas in southwest China. They planned to work until they had enough money to return home.

To help each other and stay connected to their homeland, they lived and worked together. This led to the creation of Chinatowns within or near European settlements.

Gold Rush and New Beginnings

Chinese gold miners came to north Queensland in large numbers in the 1870s. This happened after gold was found on the Palmer River and in the Hodgkinson. Europeans often viewed them with suspicion and dislike. Chinese miners were even stopped from working on newly found goldfields.

Because of this, and as the Palmer River goldfield became less important, most Chinese people moved south. They looked for other ways to make a living.

Farming in Atherton

They arrived in the Atherton area in the early 1880s. There, they worked with European timber cutters. They set up a camp across Piebald Creek from a small European settlement called Prior's Pocket. In 1885, this area was officially named Atherton.

Land was sold, and even though Chinese people couldn't own land, many leased it from Europeans. They started farming fruits and vegetables to sell to nearby towns. They also became pioneers in growing maize (corn) in north Queensland. Maize soon became a very important crop for the area. Chinatown grew to serve the Chinese people in and around Atherton. By 1897, it was a busy place with homes and businesses.

Building the Temple

In the 1890s, the community decided to build a temple. They collected money, and special items for the temple were ordered from China. In 1903, the temple was built using local cedar and black bean wood, and corrugated iron. Temples in Australia were usually built from brick. The front wall of this temple was painted to look like brick. This suggests the community would have preferred brick if it had been easy to get.

The temple complex included the main temple for the god Hou Wang. It also had a feasting hall, a kitchen, and a store. There were living quarters for a caretaker. It also provided a place to stay for people visiting the temple from outside the town. In the 1900s, when Chinatown was at its busiest, the temple was a social and spiritual hub for over a thousand people.

Decline and Preservation

After the First World War, Chinese leases on farmland in the area were taken away. This land was then given to soldiers returning from the war. During the 1920s, most people from Chinatown and the surrounding farms moved south or to towns closer to the coast. Many buildings in Chinatown were torn down, and some materials were reused.

A caretaker stayed at the temple, and a few older men still used it for worship. Without a large community to support it, the temple slowly fell apart. A cyclone in 1956 blew away the pagoda, which was replaced with a simple lean-to roof. Water leaks also caused damage. In the 1960s, some items were taken from the temple, including the statue of Hou Wang and other gods. Some of these items have since been returned.

The temple was used for worship off and on until the early 1970s. It still has items from this later period. In 1965, several local Chinese families bought the land where the temple stands.

In 1975, the National Trust of Queensland became aware of the temple. They received money to start looking into its history and condition. In 1977, the area was surveyed. The Fong On family offered the temple to the Trust to make sure it would be saved. Around the same time, they started listing all the remaining items in the temple. The temple was officially given to the Trust in 1980. Work then began to preserve the buildings. Today, it is a museum that tells the story of the past.

Temple Features

Interior of the Joss House in Atherton, 1929

The temple complex is located in an open, grassy area where the old Chinatown used to be. Its position suggests that geomancy (an ancient Chinese practice of choosing lucky locations) was used. This was to find the best and most fortunate spot for the buildings. The complex includes a temple, a hall, a kitchen, and a store. They are built from corrugated iron and local wood in a traditional Chinese style.

The buildings are separated from the street by a decorative picket fence and gate. These have been rebuilt using old photos and clues found in the ground. The temple building has a pagoda at the front. This is the top part of the original roof placed on a new base. Inside, the space has an entrance area. Doors separate this from the area with the altar and a "heavenly well." This well is a raised section of the pagoda roof. It lets in light and allows incense smoke to rise from the large burner below. It has glass to keep out rain. The posts supporting it are purposely a bit uneven. This is to show that humans are not perfect.

The inside of the temple is lined with unpainted cedar wood. It is decorated with carvings, painted metal wall panels, and temple furnishings. These items were brought from China. Much of the carving is painted with red and gold colours.

On the left side of the building, as you face the altar, a door leads to the community hall next door. This hall is simpler and more practical. It has a bedroom for the caretaker and a room for meetings and special banquets. It has a clerestory (a raised section with windows) similar to the one in the temple. You can still see old Chinese notices and drawings on the unpainted walls. Behind the hall are two small buildings that used to be a store and a kitchen. Both are made of wood, unpainted inside, and have dirt floors. The kitchen has a metal fire pit. Much of these two buildings has been rebuilt.

The buildings are raised on strong wooden stumps. The main support beams are made of black bean wood (Castanospermum australe). The ceilings, wall linings, and wooden fittings are made from red cedar (Toona australis). For any rebuilding work, Red Penda (Xanthostemon youngii) and Kalantis wood were used. These woods are very similar in look to the original ones, which are now rare.

You can still see paths edged with upside-down bottles. There's also a dip in the ground where a pig roasting pit used to be. Other old items found in the ground also remain. Items that were stored away are being put back in the temple as they are cleaned and preserved. These include carvings, carved banners, and the temple bell on its stand. There are also many other historical items found during digging.

Why It's Special

The Atherton Chinese Temple was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. It met several important requirements:

It shows how Queensland's history developed.

This temple complex served a large Chinese settlement and farming community. It shows the important part Chinese people played in developing north Queensland.

It shows rare or endangered parts of Queensland's history.

It is the only old temple in Queensland made from wood and iron. It is also the only temple outside China known to be dedicated to Hou Wang. It still has many of its original items.

It can help us learn about Queensland's history.

It can help us understand the daily life and beliefs of Chinese travelers who came to Queensland.

It is beautiful and important.

The community values its beauty. It shows the cultural traditions that Chinese people brought with them to Australia.

It has a strong connection to a community.

It has a special link with the Chinese community of Atherton. This community made a big difference in the development of farming in the area.

It is connected to important people or groups in Queensland's history.