Explain Why I Came To Australia In The Gold Rush
“I came to Australia in the Gold Rush”
Ever wondered what life was like for Chinese people in the Gold Rush? Read Jiang’s story to find out!
My name is Jiang. I am now eighty-two years old, but I came to Australia when I was only 19.
The reason I came to Australia was to take part in the Gold Rush, so I could look after my family. The Gold Rush started in 1851, but the news about it did not reach China until 1853. I wanted to come here the moment I found out about it, but my financial conditions at the time did not permit me to do so.
I lived in a small house with my mother and two younger brothers. My mother ran a business, in which she cooked noodles for people. She was a good cook, and people really liked the noodles she made, but we still struggled financially. All this stress seemed to make my mother weaker and weaker each day. My father …show more content…
passed away when I was 11. When he was alive, he and my mother ran the business together.
When I found out about the gold rush in Australia, I was so excited, because we had been suffering from years of war and corrupt behaviours of the Qing dynasty. My mother was not as excited, though. She said she was going to miss me, and that I could die before I even got to Australia. She also said that she has already lost her husband, and that she did not want to lose me as well. I wanted to come to Australia so I could earn more money for my family.
My brothers wanted to come with me. My family and I debated on who should go to Australia for hours every day. My mother did not want either of us to go. She said, ‘You may not come back, or you might die on the way to Australia. I may never see you again. I value you more than I value money’.
But, of course, my brothers and I knew better. In the end, we decided that I would go, because I am the oldest. I knew I could rely on my brothers to help our mother with the business.
Coming to Australia was not a joke.
I had to take a loan form a local trader, and agree to make repayments. I borrowed the money so I could pay to go on the ship. The trader said my brothers and I would have to work for him if I failed to pay off the loan. He also said that he would give the money I sent him to my family. I think I have been lucky to find him. He had plenty of money, so he never took the money I sent.
A few weeks after that, I farewelled my family and boarded the steamboat.
The journey to Melbourne was terrible! It took several months to get there. There were about 650 people on the boat when we departed, but when we got to Australia, there were only 400 remaining on the boat. That is because a lot of people died from diseases, like scurvy and rickets. I did suffer from a few fevers and a lot of colds, but at least I did not die or lose any limbs. Dead people and lost limbs were just thrown off board, but they were sometimes left lying around. It is really disgusting to trip over a dead body, and then fall on top of another – believe me, I know.
Luckily, I reached Australia in one
piece.
The boat obviously could not go inland, so I caught a coach that would take me into Melbourne. It really was satisfying to see Melbourne, as it looked much better than China. But then I realised I had to walk all the way to Bendigo. That was a 154 km walk. It took me 2 days and a few extra hours to walk all the way to Bendigo.
I eventually got to the gold field. It was so busy there – almost as busy as China! Horses, bullocks, carts and wagons were everywhere. It was crowded with people, and not one person was idle. There were people panning, washing gravel, digging, moving mounds of dirt or doing something I was not familiar with, because I have never been mining before.
The conditions were awful. I was sure that there would have been at least 40 000 people in that cramped space.
I also went to the place where miners lived. Some lived in tents, while others lived in small huts made from bark or slab. None of them could afford to buy a tent with their own salaries, so they had to share the prices with their friends or family. Water and food was scarce, and the prices were high, which meant that they had to share prices for those things as well. Toilets were holes in the ground, but I was used to that, so it was not a problem at all. Garbage was piled up everywhere – even around the diggings. The miners – who I am sure were used to the stench – seemed to be struggling to put up with it.
The moment I got there, I knew I would not like it very much. But I did not have much choice. Not only did I have the loan to pay off, but I had to look after my family. I know my family would be working hard too, so I suppose it would be fair if I did the same.
I spent the whole day finding appropriate equipment for digging up gold. I did not have much money, and I had to spend it all that day. I did not even get to buy all the things I needed.
I had to sleep under a tree that night. It was quite a nice tree, but the ground was really uncomfortable, as there were pebbles scattered all over it. The hunger in my stomach burnt like a ferocious flame, and my stomach responded to the burn by growling. I did not eat anything that day, and my blood sugar levels were low. As a result of that, I fell asleep quickly.
In the middle of that night, I was woken up by someone. The person was holding a lantern, and vigorously shook me to wake me up.
In Chinese, I told him to calm down. I could not speak English at the time – I could only say “hello” and “thank you”.
The person stopped shaking me and took the lantern out of my face. In Chinese, the man said, “Sorry, friend”. He seemed to be really friendly. I also realized that this man was from China, like me!
We had a long, open conversation. His name was Bao, and he was 20-years-old. He asked me if I would like to join him and his family to sleep in their tent. I said, ‘Yes, please’, but in Chinese.
Bao smiled, and said that he had a two slices of bread that he could give me. Apparently he and his family were saving it for a “rainy day”, but he thought I deserved it more. I think he realized how unnourished and thin I had gotten. I was very thankful.
Bao was the first nice person I had encountered in months. On the ship, people were selfish and rude, and the people I met on the gold field kept giving me judgemental looks. No one even talked to me. The people I got some tools from were quite mean as well.
I thought I was dreaming. All this seemed too good to be true, especially when I swallowed the delicious, stale bread (I was so hungry, the stale bread tasted good), and met his lovely sister. She was just as kind as Bao, and her name was Ling. I spoke to her for a while, and then we all went to bed.
At the time, I was not sure if I was dreaming, or if I actually fell in love with Ling. But then I realized that I actually fell in love with her, which I found was a bit awkward.
A few weeks later, I earned enough money to buy the tools I needed. Until then, Bao and his family kindly lent me theirs. Bao and I became really close friends, and Ling and I became friends too. But I never had the guts to tell Ling how I really felt about her.
I do not like to brag, but I was getting really good at finding gold. In fact, most of the Chinese people at the gold field were one of the better miners. But that was not the only thing that differentiated the others from us Chinese people. Our clothes, behaviour, language and ways of life were much different to everyone else’s. Because of this, other races would abuse us. Physically and verbally. We would get called “Ching-Chong”, “Noodles”, et cetera. Dirt was sometimes thrown at us. Life was really bitter at that time.
But things got really bitter when violent ‘Anti-Chinese’ riots struck. There was only one in Bendigo, but I am sure that there were many in other parts of Victoria.
The one I had to go through was a bit like this: A crazy group of European and American diggers started a “casual” and “subtle” uprising, as they were trying to get rid of all Chinese on the gold field. Luckily, the constables stopped it, by threatening to take the Europeans and Americans off the gold field if they continued to do it, or started another uprising again. It was a scary experience, but we knew we were better off than other Chinese people in other b=parts of Victoria.
I heard that the goldfield near Buckland River had a riot that was worse than ours. A reporter described the riot by saying, “The increasing number of celestials has been gradually creating a feverish and dangerous state of excitement”.
As the months went by, I also learnt a bit of English, hence I understood the cursing I received from white diggers and was able to stand up for myself.
Years later, I married Ling. We moved to a bark hut. Of course I still kept in touch with Bao, and Ling contacted her family as well.
There were already a lot of people at the gold field from China, but by 1861, there were approximately 42,000 Chinese people here. Of course, I did not get to know all of them – in fact, I barely got to know any. We Chinese kind of took over the gold field (population-wise; we were not dominating people, we were peaceful). There were many more men than women (there were 20,000 Chinese men and only 800 Chinese women).
However, that soon resulted in a lot of problems. There was not as much gold for many of us, including Bao and I. It also meant that the population on the gold field was so great, that the government grew frustrated and confused. They wondered if miners should be allowed to go wherever they liked and dig wherever they wanted. How policemen and other officials would get their salary. How miners could easily move around without causing any accidents or anything else. How they would get money for the coachloads of gold. They concluded by making miners buy licences. A licence costed 30 shillings a month. For us, that was a lot of money.
Of course, we all thought it was pathetic and unfair, but we had no choice. We were hardworking and determined to look after our families, so we saved up and eventually earned our licences, and were able to pay for them each month. But that was not the case for many other miners. Some could not find enough gold to be able to afford a licence. The people who could not get a licence had to leave the golf field and start other jobs, such as laundry, cleaning and gardening, because the officials would always check if miners had their licence.
This resulted in many Chinese people leaving Australia, although quite a lot still continued to come Between 1852 and 1889, 40,721 people came from China and 36,049 departed from Australia.
Every day, I would put my paddy hat on and used my bamboo pole to carry my tools. I would balance the tools on either end of pole. I continued to work hard every day, but I would never go too deep into the ground, as I did not want to offend the mountain gods. It was hard, as I had to live of mutton, bread and tea every day, very little water and I could not get enough sleep in the cramped tent. I did not have any shoes either. But I was believed I was lucky, as I was in a position to look after my family.
Bao and I became really close friends, and he accepted me into his family. But I still remembered my actual family, and continued to send them money.
Bao’s family are really close, and they worked together to support each other. Bao’s elder brother, Feng, is in charge, and he allotted jobs for everyone. The women cook and grow vegetables, the children would find water and help the women and the men go to the gold fields to work.
A lot of us became sick with illnesses, because we had to eat stale food, live in the deprived living environment and because we had to work outdoors in all sorts of weather conditions.
Unfortunately, I later received a letter from my brothers saying that my mother passed away. She had lived for a long time – considering she was sick – but it was still a tragic moment for me, because I had not seen her for years on end, and I knew I would miss her. In fact, I am now 82 and I still miss her! I was 55 when it happened, but I still worked through all the sadness I felt. My brothers also mentioned in the letter that they would not need the money anymore, as they have found other jobs, and the children earned money for them as well. So I just worked for my family and myself.
By that time, Ling and I had 5 children. We moved away to a farm, so our children would have a better place to grow up in. We were financially stable, and had no problems.
I was considering bringing my brothers to Australia. Unfortunately, I could not do so, because in 1901, the “White Australian Act” was declared. That meant that only white people (Europeans and white Americans) could enter Australia. This immigration law still exists, so I do not know if I will be able to see my brothers ever again.
But besides that, everything in my life was fine. My children were able to go to school and lead normal lives – although people are sometimes a bit racist to them – and our family had plenty of money. My children wen tot university. Each of them studied law, medicine, engineering, accounts and teaching, respectively. They now have decent jobs and are leading successful lives. Ling and I are still looking after the farm.
The gold rush was a tragic time, but it was worth coming to Australia, because I know I would still be struggling if I stayed in China.
Ever wondered what life was like for Chinese people in the Gold Rush? Read Jiang’s story to find out!
My name is Jiang. I am now eighty-two years old, but I came to Australia when I was only 19.
The reason I came to Australia was to take part in the Gold Rush, so I could look after my family. The Gold Rush started in 1851, but the news about it did not reach China until 1853. I wanted to come here the moment I found out about it, but my financial conditions at the time did not permit me to do so.
I lived in a small house with my mother and two younger brothers. My mother ran a business, in which she cooked noodles for people. She was a good cook, and people really liked the noodles she made, but we still struggled financially. All this stress seemed to make my mother weaker and weaker each day. My father …show more content…
passed away when I was 11. When he was alive, he and my mother ran the business together.
When I found out about the gold rush in Australia, I was so excited, because we had been suffering from years of war and corrupt behaviours of the Qing dynasty. My mother was not as excited, though. She said she was going to miss me, and that I could die before I even got to Australia. She also said that she has already lost her husband, and that she did not want to lose me as well. I wanted to come to Australia so I could earn more money for my family.
My brothers wanted to come with me. My family and I debated on who should go to Australia for hours every day. My mother did not want either of us to go. She said, ‘You may not come back, or you might die on the way to Australia. I may never see you again. I value you more than I value money’.
But, of course, my brothers and I knew better. In the end, we decided that I would go, because I am the oldest. I knew I could rely on my brothers to help our mother with the business.
Coming to Australia was not a joke.
I had to take a loan form a local trader, and agree to make repayments. I borrowed the money so I could pay to go on the ship. The trader said my brothers and I would have to work for him if I failed to pay off the loan. He also said that he would give the money I sent him to my family. I think I have been lucky to find him. He had plenty of money, so he never took the money I sent.
A few weeks after that, I farewelled my family and boarded the steamboat.
The journey to Melbourne was terrible! It took several months to get there. There were about 650 people on the boat when we departed, but when we got to Australia, there were only 400 remaining on the boat. That is because a lot of people died from diseases, like scurvy and rickets. I did suffer from a few fevers and a lot of colds, but at least I did not die or lose any limbs. Dead people and lost limbs were just thrown off board, but they were sometimes left lying around. It is really disgusting to trip over a dead body, and then fall on top of another – believe me, I know.
Luckily, I reached Australia in one
piece.
The boat obviously could not go inland, so I caught a coach that would take me into Melbourne. It really was satisfying to see Melbourne, as it looked much better than China. But then I realised I had to walk all the way to Bendigo. That was a 154 km walk. It took me 2 days and a few extra hours to walk all the way to Bendigo.
I eventually got to the gold field. It was so busy there – almost as busy as China! Horses, bullocks, carts and wagons were everywhere. It was crowded with people, and not one person was idle. There were people panning, washing gravel, digging, moving mounds of dirt or doing something I was not familiar with, because I have never been mining before.
The conditions were awful. I was sure that there would have been at least 40 000 people in that cramped space.
I also went to the place where miners lived. Some lived in tents, while others lived in small huts made from bark or slab. None of them could afford to buy a tent with their own salaries, so they had to share the prices with their friends or family. Water and food was scarce, and the prices were high, which meant that they had to share prices for those things as well. Toilets were holes in the ground, but I was used to that, so it was not a problem at all. Garbage was piled up everywhere – even around the diggings. The miners – who I am sure were used to the stench – seemed to be struggling to put up with it.
The moment I got there, I knew I would not like it very much. But I did not have much choice. Not only did I have the loan to pay off, but I had to look after my family. I know my family would be working hard too, so I suppose it would be fair if I did the same.
I spent the whole day finding appropriate equipment for digging up gold. I did not have much money, and I had to spend it all that day. I did not even get to buy all the things I needed.
I had to sleep under a tree that night. It was quite a nice tree, but the ground was really uncomfortable, as there were pebbles scattered all over it. The hunger in my stomach burnt like a ferocious flame, and my stomach responded to the burn by growling. I did not eat anything that day, and my blood sugar levels were low. As a result of that, I fell asleep quickly.
In the middle of that night, I was woken up by someone. The person was holding a lantern, and vigorously shook me to wake me up.
In Chinese, I told him to calm down. I could not speak English at the time – I could only say “hello” and “thank you”.
The person stopped shaking me and took the lantern out of my face. In Chinese, the man said, “Sorry, friend”. He seemed to be really friendly. I also realized that this man was from China, like me!
We had a long, open conversation. His name was Bao, and he was 20-years-old. He asked me if I would like to join him and his family to sleep in their tent. I said, ‘Yes, please’, but in Chinese.
Bao smiled, and said that he had a two slices of bread that he could give me. Apparently he and his family were saving it for a “rainy day”, but he thought I deserved it more. I think he realized how unnourished and thin I had gotten. I was very thankful.
Bao was the first nice person I had encountered in months. On the ship, people were selfish and rude, and the people I met on the gold field kept giving me judgemental looks. No one even talked to me. The people I got some tools from were quite mean as well.
I thought I was dreaming. All this seemed too good to be true, especially when I swallowed the delicious, stale bread (I was so hungry, the stale bread tasted good), and met his lovely sister. She was just as kind as Bao, and her name was Ling. I spoke to her for a while, and then we all went to bed.
At the time, I was not sure if I was dreaming, or if I actually fell in love with Ling. But then I realized that I actually fell in love with her, which I found was a bit awkward.
A few weeks later, I earned enough money to buy the tools I needed. Until then, Bao and his family kindly lent me theirs. Bao and I became really close friends, and Ling and I became friends too. But I never had the guts to tell Ling how I really felt about her.
I do not like to brag, but I was getting really good at finding gold. In fact, most of the Chinese people at the gold field were one of the better miners. But that was not the only thing that differentiated the others from us Chinese people. Our clothes, behaviour, language and ways of life were much different to everyone else’s. Because of this, other races would abuse us. Physically and verbally. We would get called “Ching-Chong”, “Noodles”, et cetera. Dirt was sometimes thrown at us. Life was really bitter at that time.
But things got really bitter when violent ‘Anti-Chinese’ riots struck. There was only one in Bendigo, but I am sure that there were many in other parts of Victoria.
The one I had to go through was a bit like this: A crazy group of European and American diggers started a “casual” and “subtle” uprising, as they were trying to get rid of all Chinese on the gold field. Luckily, the constables stopped it, by threatening to take the Europeans and Americans off the gold field if they continued to do it, or started another uprising again. It was a scary experience, but we knew we were better off than other Chinese people in other b=parts of Victoria.
I heard that the goldfield near Buckland River had a riot that was worse than ours. A reporter described the riot by saying, “The increasing number of celestials has been gradually creating a feverish and dangerous state of excitement”.
As the months went by, I also learnt a bit of English, hence I understood the cursing I received from white diggers and was able to stand up for myself.
Years later, I married Ling. We moved to a bark hut. Of course I still kept in touch with Bao, and Ling contacted her family as well.
There were already a lot of people at the gold field from China, but by 1861, there were approximately 42,000 Chinese people here. Of course, I did not get to know all of them – in fact, I barely got to know any. We Chinese kind of took over the gold field (population-wise; we were not dominating people, we were peaceful). There were many more men than women (there were 20,000 Chinese men and only 800 Chinese women).
However, that soon resulted in a lot of problems. There was not as much gold for many of us, including Bao and I. It also meant that the population on the gold field was so great, that the government grew frustrated and confused. They wondered if miners should be allowed to go wherever they liked and dig wherever they wanted. How policemen and other officials would get their salary. How miners could easily move around without causing any accidents or anything else. How they would get money for the coachloads of gold. They concluded by making miners buy licences. A licence costed 30 shillings a month. For us, that was a lot of money.
Of course, we all thought it was pathetic and unfair, but we had no choice. We were hardworking and determined to look after our families, so we saved up and eventually earned our licences, and were able to pay for them each month. But that was not the case for many other miners. Some could not find enough gold to be able to afford a licence. The people who could not get a licence had to leave the golf field and start other jobs, such as laundry, cleaning and gardening, because the officials would always check if miners had their licence.
This resulted in many Chinese people leaving Australia, although quite a lot still continued to come Between 1852 and 1889, 40,721 people came from China and 36,049 departed from Australia.
Every day, I would put my paddy hat on and used my bamboo pole to carry my tools. I would balance the tools on either end of pole. I continued to work hard every day, but I would never go too deep into the ground, as I did not want to offend the mountain gods. It was hard, as I had to live of mutton, bread and tea every day, very little water and I could not get enough sleep in the cramped tent. I did not have any shoes either. But I was believed I was lucky, as I was in a position to look after my family.
Bao and I became really close friends, and he accepted me into his family. But I still remembered my actual family, and continued to send them money.
Bao’s family are really close, and they worked together to support each other. Bao’s elder brother, Feng, is in charge, and he allotted jobs for everyone. The women cook and grow vegetables, the children would find water and help the women and the men go to the gold fields to work.
A lot of us became sick with illnesses, because we had to eat stale food, live in the deprived living environment and because we had to work outdoors in all sorts of weather conditions.
Unfortunately, I later received a letter from my brothers saying that my mother passed away. She had lived for a long time – considering she was sick – but it was still a tragic moment for me, because I had not seen her for years on end, and I knew I would miss her. In fact, I am now 82 and I still miss her! I was 55 when it happened, but I still worked through all the sadness I felt. My brothers also mentioned in the letter that they would not need the money anymore, as they have found other jobs, and the children earned money for them as well. So I just worked for my family and myself.
By that time, Ling and I had 5 children. We moved away to a farm, so our children would have a better place to grow up in. We were financially stable, and had no problems.
I was considering bringing my brothers to Australia. Unfortunately, I could not do so, because in 1901, the “White Australian Act” was declared. That meant that only white people (Europeans and white Americans) could enter Australia. This immigration law still exists, so I do not know if I will be able to see my brothers ever again.
But besides that, everything in my life was fine. My children were able to go to school and lead normal lives – although people are sometimes a bit racist to them – and our family had plenty of money. My children wen tot university. Each of them studied law, medicine, engineering, accounts and teaching, respectively. They now have decent jobs and are leading successful lives. Ling and I are still looking after the farm.
The gold rush was a tragic time, but it was worth coming to Australia, because I know I would still be struggling if I stayed in China.