5Lchinese2

=__Chinese immigration__=

The chinese started coming into Australia in the 1750's for trading.They continued coming until the gold rush when the Europeans started to be unfair.

In the gold rush the Europeans were ignorant about Chinese customs and culture. The Europeans were suspicious and resentful of the Chinese methods of mining. The appearance of Chinese and their religion made them the target of a great deal of racism and prejudice. Chinese were generally hardworking, honest, quiet and law abiding. On several occasions European miners violently lashed out at the Chinese camps in an attempt to drive them away. In some instances, full scale rioting resulted as angry Europeans attacked the Chinese diggers. To limit the amount of Chinese at the goldfields a law was passed in 1885 that any Chinese person entering Victoria would pay a ten pounds tax and one pound protection fee to live in Victoria.

Some Chinese returned home after the gold rush, but many stayed. They found jobs, set up market gardens, restaurants and laundrys, they also bought their families to Australia. Gradually the Chinese became a respected group in Australia. Today the Chinese are respected as who they are and there are no fees for them to come into the country. By Radhika.R & Kirsten.T