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Chinese migration

Illustration of goldfields with figures dressed in Chinese-style clothing working.

Chinese on the goldfields

By the early 1850s, news of a gold rush in Australia sparked an influx in Chinese migration to Australia.

Gouache painting of the waterfront at Guangzhou, China. The hongs or factories shown in this view are those rebuilt after the fire of 1841. This view is dated by the Protestant (Anglican) church erected in 1847.

Celestial City: Sydney’s Chinese Story

As Sydney celebrated its centenary in 1888, several boats carrying Chinese immigrants sailed through Sydney Heads into a crisis that would shape the nation. ‘Celestials’, as Chinese people were known at the time, had been arriving in Sydney under organised immigration schemes since the 1840s

This is a black and white photograph of an empty street with shopfronts and covered awnings.

King Nam Jang: A Sydney Dynasty

Boarding house, kitchen, general store and ships’ providore – King Nam Jang was a family run business that catered to the transient and permanent Sydney Chinese community for nearly 60 years

View of exhibition Celestial City with showcases and large wall mounted graphic panels lining either side of a timber floored corridor

The registrar's challenge

Exhibition loans registrar Bronwyn McKenzie discusses the many challenges of managing objects in exhibitions and provides tips on recording, storing, handling, repairing and caring for special things that go on display in our various exhibition spaces