The
Chinese Connection
Gold!
It drew people from all over the world to sites
all over Victoria where they lived, worked,
celebrated and commiserated in the harsh conditions.
The gold fields were the site of legendary political
stands and very real ethnic friction.
In 1853 the Victorian government rushed a bill
through parliament imposing a £10 capitation
tax on all Chinese entering the colony. In order
to avoid the tax, ships began dropping off their
Chinese passengers in South Australia.
Although there was gold being discovered in
many places in Central Victoria, Bendigo was
a prime focus for many as it was (and still
is) a major gold producer for the world.
The
first ship carrying Chinese gold seekers to
arrive at the port of Robe was the "Land of
Cakes", an unusually named ship from Scotland.
There were 264 Chinese migrants on board. One
can only imagine the surprise of the townspeople,
who would see their small population of 200
double overnight and treble in the ensuing weeks,
when more Chinese arrived to seek out their
fortune.
In the mid 1800s, Robe was a comparatively small
portside town, comprised of a customs office
(manned by one staff member), several hotels,
banks, shops, churches and residences and whose
economy was based primarily on wool exports.
The townspeople, while no doubt awed by the
unusual sight of so many Chinese people milling
excitedly on the deck of the Land of Cakes,
readily seized on the opportunity to make a
profit on their need to reach the shore, The
fee for ferrying the passengers ranged somewhere
between four and five shillings, and once on
dry land, more money changed hands to obtain
the services of a guide to show them the way
overland to the Victorian gold fields. The Chinese
freely intermingled with the locals, trading
goods, bartering for supplies and gathering
information about the long journey that lay
ahead of them.
Generally, the local people seemed to accept
the presence of the Chinese but there were some
rumblings of disquiet when at the peak of immigration,
their ranks had swelled to approximately 3,000,
far outnumbering the local population. As a
result of this unrest, twenty-five Redcoat soldiers
were
dispatched
to monitor the situation. The locals’
fears proved groundless and the Chinese moved
around
the town in a peaceful fashion without any great
incident occurring.
A
traveller in 1854 described a group of Chinese:
"...between
six and seven hundred coming overland from
Adelaide. They had four wagons carrying their
sick, lame and provisions. They were all walking
single file, each one with a pole and two
baskets. They stretched for over two miles
in procession. I was half and hour passing
them …everyone behind seemed to be
yabbering to his mate in front in a sing-song
tone".
Determined
Chinese men walked over 4 million man miles
through swamp, desert, mountain and plain from
South Australian ports to the central goldfields
of Victoria Ararat, Ballarat, Castlemaine, and
Bendigo travelling in stages of about 20 miles
each day.
During
the journey they dug wells for fresh water and
purchased sheep for fresh meat. The Chinese
passed through many towns, leaving messages
for their fellow countrymen who followed, in
the hope of making the journey easier. Often
the messages contained the location of natural
water sources or of the well which had been
dug previously.
Some
of the guides proved to be dishonest and unreliable,
whereby after one or two days of travel they
would desert the Chinese leaving them stranded.
Even those who went most of the way with the
Chinese were reluctant to accompany them on
to the field due to the hostility of the Europeans
miners. The Chinese quickly learned from such
misfortunes. They marked the way by inscribing
Chinese characters in the bark of trees, leaving
a trail for their compatriots to follow.
Theirs
has become a journey that represents the determination
to extend the boundaries of the possible.
The beginning of the Robe to Bendigo Concept
 THE GOLDEN TRAIL - ROBE TO BENDIGO
A COMMUNITY PROJECT TO BUILD A 500 KM WALKING/CYCLING TRAIL THAT FOLLOWS THE ROUTE OF THE CHINESE GOLD SEEKERS OF THE 1850s
The year started with a real flourish on 17th January with celebrations in Robe to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the landing of the first 264 Chinese gold-seekers in 1857.
The beautiful and historic port of Robe marked the occasion in fine style with a re-enactment of the first landing, followed by a procession through the town led by Hoey Sang, the town’s very own Chinese dragon, recently constructed by a group of Robe residents.
A delegation from the Adelaide Chinese Chamber of Commerce attended, and after a welcome from Mayor William Peden, a Chinese lunch was served in specially-produced commemorative rice bowls donated by the Bendigo Bank. The bowls were sold as the ‘ticket’ for the lunch which gave everyone a unique souvenir of the event to take home. (It also left the venue looking noticeably tidier than events where disposable plates are used!)
 After lunch, we had a great opportunity to introduce The Golden Trail project in the Robe Institute Hall. Wearing our Golden Trail T-shirts (printed specially for the committee to wear on the day and not available for sale, unfortunately – there were many requests!) we were delighted to see a full hall of interested listeners.
From the large numbers of enquiries afterwards (we distributed our whole supply of brochures) and people just wanting to comment generally, we got a strong sense that the idea of long distance trails ‘treading the path that others have trod’ really strikes a chord with many people.
Our presentation was followed by the ‘Women in Black’, a local performing group who stage re-enactments of a woman’s-eye view of Robe’s history – the often neglected voice in traditional history books. The events of the whole day were faithfully recorded by documentary film-maker Julianne Deeb and cameraman Roger Unger. Julianne has undertaken a fairly long-term work in progress; she is filming a ‘making of the Golden Trail’ documentary called ‘A Shared Path’. A short clip of this was entered in the ABC’s Australian Story competition last year (and can be seen on the website). Julianne hopes to complete the project this year, which will provide a detailed record of the building of The Golden Trail.
ABC Radio Southeast’s Stan Thomson ran a morning program of interviews with everyone involved with the celebrations, including Golden Trail committee members, local historians, President of the Robe Tourism & Traders Association and finally, the Chinese chef responsible for the lunch for over 350 people!
 The following day (18thJanuary) President Pete Dingle, Vice President Karoline Klein and two other friends set off from Robe to cycle back to Bendigo. Their purpose was two-fold: to complete an inaugural trail to mark the anniversary and to do some much-needed research of possible routes and facilities along the way.
Eleven days and 660 kms later they have gathered a wealth of information and made lots of valuable contacts with interested people on the way – landowners, history enthusiasts, people who enjoy cycling and walking, and other admiring local residents!
Apart from the excitement of the anniversary celebrations and subsequent long bike ride home, TGT has been generating quite a bit of press coverage, including a detailed article in the December issue of Parks & Leisure Australia magazine, which can be viewed on the website.
Plans are now under way for the route to be walked this year in order to establish a suitable walking trail (not always the same as the cycling one), and we hope this will also be filmed for the documentary. The Golden Trail as such already exists and can be done by anyone who is interested. What we are now working towards is consolidation of the route with supporting infrastructure and signage to encourage more people to consider this historic trail. We are also continuing to work with the local authorities and residents who form a part of this chain of linked communities.
With best wishes from The Golden Trail Committee
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