Humanities and Social Sciences

Asian Studies Program

Chinese Australia

To Stay or To Go?

by Jill Wilson

Introduction

As a group you're going to explore what it was like to be a Chinese person at the turn of the twentieth century. Each member of your team will become an expert in one of the roles or usual professions of the Chinese at that time. Then you'll have to come back together to answer a question that gets to the heart of 'what's the truth and who says so?' We want you to do a good job, so why not read the evaluation rubric for this WebQuest?

The Question

The main question you will be asked to find an answer for is:

How should the Chinese-Australians react (both on a personal and a political level) to the implementation of the 'White Australia Policy'?

Background Information

Before becoming an expert on one aspect of this topic, we'd better make sure that everyone on your WebQuest team knows the basics.

Go to the 'Faring Well or Fearing Federation' Knowledge Hunt to develop your knowledge of events which affected the Chinese in Australia prior to Federation.

Alternatively, you might choose a Subject Sampler to get started.

Before beginning this Webquest, all students need to have a working knowledge of the history of the Chinese prior to Federation in Australia.

The background links below will also help develop understandings. You should use them in conjunction with the URL's given for your role. Use them to think about:

• to what extent did the Chinese fit in easily with the fabric of Australian society (think about marriage, children, leisure activities)
• what might be advantages of being a single man (look at sites related to opium and gambling)
• did being single or married make a difference to the welfare of each Chinese person?
• how did white Australians view the Chinese? With fear? As competitition? As equals? As potential workers?
• what sorts of beliefs may have influenced a desire to return to China?(consider the information about deaths and burials)
• what stories of success in the Australian community exist? What are factors influencing success?

The background links listed below will also develop your understanding of general factors affecting the Chinese in Australia at the time of Federation.

• Good Info About the Gold Rushes
• Children of mixed marriages
• Banana Industry, competition for land
• Successful Chinese
• Successful Integration into Australian Community
• Protests against discrimination
• Chinese Community part of Australian Community
• Hardship
• Four Arguments which protest the treatment of Chinese in Australia
• Petition which outlines poor treatment of Chinese
• Notable Chinese protest their poor treatment
• Anti-Chinese leagues protest immigration
• Strong Anti-Chinese feeling expressed
• Reasons for leaving China. Open Part 1 and go to page 2
• Timeline
• Harvest of Endurance scroll: a timeline. Scroll through the site to the time period you want.
• Leisure / opium smoking
• Opium smoking
• Clothing
• Table showing migration patterns
• Intermarriage
• Going back to China
• Reasons to stay
• Staying alone
• Citizenship
• Sport

Individual Roles

Now that you have some overall background knowledge, it's time to return to the main question for this WebQuest. Questions this big and important are better answered when a few people are working on it at one time. Things work even better when a group of you decide to look at the question from different perspectives. This way team members can become experts on different aspects of the question and then come together to poll their learning. This is where team work pays off. So are you ready to divide and conquer this question?

Merchant

Use the links below to learn more about your role. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:

1. What are the positive aspects of being a Chinese merchant at this time in Australia?
2. To what extent are there opportunities in Australia which are not available in China?
3. List some of the challenges of living in Australia.
4. How do you feel about the implementation of the White Australia Policy?
5. What impact may it have on your life as a merchant? How will it affect your business?
6. You need to make a decision about staying in Australia or returning to China (either temporarily or permanently) What might you decide and why?

• The Guo Brothers: Businessmen
• Kwong Sue Duk: Businessman and Herbalist
• Wing Hing Long Store. Description of the business rather than people.
• Leong Har: Businessman & succession planner
• Businessman
• Ah Mouy - Successful businessman and activist
• Meng - Successful businessman and dispute settler
• Way Lee, Successful businessman, also great advocate for welfare
• Anger About Chinese Selling Grog
• Businessman's view
• Herbalists
• Shop-keeping

Woman

Use the links below to learn more about your role. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:

1. What are the positive aspects of your life as a Chinese woman in Australia?
2. What roles in society were open to Chinese women?
3. What was happening in China that may have attracted Chinese women to return or made them want to stay in Australia?
4. List some of the challenges of living in Australia.
5. How do you feel about the implementation of the White Australia Policy?
6. What impact may it have on your life?
7. You need to make a decision about staying in Australia or returning to China (either temporarily or permanently) What might you decide and why?

• Female Herbalist
• Mother
• Poon Gooey Incident
• Question of allowing Chinese women in
• A Christian's view of the question of female immigration
• Thomas Hoy Lees story, and of his mother and father [PDF]
• Women & dressmaking

Christian

Use the links below to learn more about your role. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:

1. What are the positive aspects of your life as a Christian in Australia?
2. How well were Christans accepted in China at that time?
3. List some of the challenges of living in Australia.
4. How do you feel about the implementation of the White Australia Policy?
5. What impact may it have on your life?
6. You need to make a decision about staying in Australia or returning to China (either temporarily or permanently) What might you decide and why?

• Australian-born Chinese Priest
• Christian Chinese
• Beliefs
• Christianity

Miner /Itinerant Worker

1. What are some of the jobs which fit within this role description?
2. What are the positive aspects of your life in Australia?
3. List some of the challenges of living in Australia.
4. How do you feel about the implementation of the White Australia Policy?
5. What impact may it have on your life?
6. You need to make a decision about staying in Australia or returning to China (either temporarily or permanently) What might you decide and why?

• Itinerant Worker
• Musicians
• Tin Miners, Opium Addicts, Merchants
• Cooks
• Carpenters
• Mining
• Itinerant work
• Musician

Market Gardener

1. What are the positive aspects of your life in Australia?
   Make sure you read the background information that relates to Leisure, Opium Smoking, Sport, Social Visits, Intermarriage and some of the sites which relate to life in China so you can make contrasts.
2. List some of the challenges of living in Australia. How do other Australians react to you?
   Make sure you read the background information that relates to Leisure, Opium Smoking, Sport, Social Visits, Intermarriage and some of the sites which relate to life in China so you can make contrasts.
3. How do you feel about the implementation of the White Australia Policy?
4. What impact may it have on your life?
5. You need to make a decision about staying in Australia or returning to China (either temporarily or permanently) What might you decide and why?

• Market gardens, European Competition
• Market Gardens

Furniture Maker

1. What are the positive aspects of your life in Australia?
2. List some of the challenges of living in Australia. How do other Australians react to you?
3. How do you feel about the implementation of the White Australia Policy?
4. What impact may it have on your life?
5. You need to make a decision about staying in Australia or returning to China (either temporarily or permanently) What might you decide and why?

• Furniture Making and Competition
• Difficulties in the furniture making business
• The argument about Chinese furniture makers

Group Synthesis

Congratulations! Your team is now full of expertise. Each person (or pair) has stepped into the role of a Chinese person at the time of Federation. But guess what, gathering useful information isn't the same as truly understanding a topic. What experts in the field of learning suggest is that you now use that information in a new and challenging way. Then you'll really know about this topic.

So with your team members all gathered together, carefully read and try answering the main question for this WebQuest. See where you all agree and where differences arise.

Firstly, see if your group can decide whether its personally worth staying in Australia? Is it possible to find consensus amongst your group or have different people made different decisions?

The second task is the big task. How should the Chinese react politically to the imposition of the White Australia Policy? Your job as a group is to design a float in the procession which is to celebrate Federation.

Look at the links below first.

• Processions
• Chinese participation in Opening of Fed Parliament
• Contemporary arches to mark Federation
• Report on the Chinese procession, 1901
• Image of the Chinese dragon in procession
• The arches
• Photos of Moomba
• Photos from the Sydney Olympics
• Description of the opening ceremony of the sydney Olympics and meanings attached to each section
• Description of the Federation Procession
• good advice about parades from a contemporary perspective

Now think about the sort of float you want to put together.

• Should it protest the treatment of Chinese in Australia?
• Should it celebrate the achievements of the Chinese in Australia?
• Should it educate the Australian public about China and Chinese culture?
• Should it be as similar to other floats as possible so as not to stand out?
• Maybe a combination?

Your group task is to design a float. You will need to:

1. Look at pictures of the 1901 Procession
2. Read descriptions of how the Chinese took up the challenge in 1901
3. Consider the purpose of processions or other symbolic icons like arches in 1901
4. Discuss how contemporary celebratory activities are used for a range of purposes (Sydney Olympics opening ceremony, Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras)
5. Think about your group's float
   • what impression do you want to give the watching crowds?
   • what slogans, decorations and activities should be added to the float
   • what parts of Chinese- Australian society will be included in your float? What parts will be excluded?

Conclusion

At the beginning of this activity, you were asked about the truth. Did you discover it? Was there only one? Did everyone on your team think so? How did you answer the main question for this WebQuest? Have you checked the evaluation rubric to guide what you did?

You deserve a lot of praise for all the work you've done. And so does your brain. You've sure put that gray stuff to the test. You gained background information, developed expertise in one particular area and got into some pretty expert analysis. At times, you must have felt confused with ideas spinning every which way. That's normal when you're building new mental connections. It's funny, with each link between what you already knew and the new learning going on, you broke another different kind of link, remember the intellectual slavery we spoke about earlier? You're free! How will you use these ideas and strategies as you continue to grow and learn? It's all up to you. Good luck.