chinese

The names of the traditional instruments are: Erhu( left) and Yueqin( middle).

No one knows precisely when the first Chinese arrived in Australia. There were certainly some within the first 50 years of the colony and the 'Australian People' records at least 18 Chinese settlers before 1848. Two of the earliest known were domestic servants of Rev John Dunmore Lang in the 1820s. Before the goldrush swelled their numbers, most Chinese were brought over as servants, artisans, or general laborers, and were welcomed in heavily under-populated Australia. In the early days, the Chinese worked at all kinds of jobs: shepherds, farmers, hawkers, shopkeepers, cooks, artisans, boatmen, fishermen, and general labourers. Their major contribution, however, was in opening up the country. Using sweat and muscle, they cleared the bush and readied it for the farmer. They had traditional skills in managing water and land. They dug wells and irrigation ditches, introduced vegetables, fruits and crops, and turned desert areas into gardens of plenty. During the days of the gold rush period, some mining towns like Ballarat used Chinese as the second language of commerce. The town was practically bilingual, with everything from street signs to newspapers in both languages. Around the nation, Chinese stores, and restaurants, laundries, and furniture makers contributed to Australia's development. In the early years of the twentieth century, Chinese greengrocers and fruiterers had done well, especially in the wholesale and retail banana trade. They pioneered the banana industry of north Queensland, which was particularly strong in the Cairns-Townsville area. The bananas were then transported to the more populous regions and so began a vigorous trade with the southern cities from the 1890s. Some of the largest fruit companies in Sydney, such as the Wing Sang and Wing On, were formed at this time, and the Chinese fruiterer, Geraldton (named after its base in Queensland, later known as Innisfail), had outlets in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. While the number of Chinese fruiterers in both New South Wales and Victoria in 1901 was just 531, the lucrative banana trade brought prosperity to the Chinese Communities of Sydney and Melbourne. After 1901, some Chinese in Sydney developed banana plantations in Fiji, and the Song On Tiy company, founded by the Wing Sang, Wing On, and Wing Tiy stores, soon had 350 acres in Fiji growing bananas. Some 10,000 bunches were shipped fortnightly to Sydney. Chinese traders held over half of the banana trade in both Sydney and Melbourne in the 1900s, and also distributed the fruit to country towns. Competition between Chinese growers and traders was keen, but with the average price for a bunch of Queensland bananas in 1899 at two shillings, rewards were high. The Wing Sang is said to have netted £36,000 sterling annually just from the Queensland banana trade. The success of the Chinese later stimulated increased Australian cultivation in northern Queensland, but the Chinese remained dominant until the First World War. Source: www.multiculturalaustralia.edu.au/doc/yimei_1.pdf

Many thanks for adding The Surfers Paradise Cafe Cathay to CRWDP!

Have tagged for the pool-index :-)