The Historical Change of the Chinese Community in Australia

Abstract：In this paper，the author tries to give an account of the historical change of the chinese community in australia，hoping to sum up the basic pattern and structure of the Chinese community in Australia，as well as the historical contributions the Chinese Australians has made to promote Sino-Australian friendship and the prosperity of the two countries.

The paper can be divided into three parts. At the beginning，the author makes a brief introduction to the background of the formation of the Chinese community in Australia and the living condition of the Chinese Australians from 1848 to 1901. Later，the author explores the social state of the Chinese Australians under the White Australia Policy，with the intention to show the spirit of self-improvement of the Chinese. Then，at the end of the paper，the author points out the great contribution the Chinese Australians made not only for the motherland but for Australia，hoping to strengthen the cooperation and exchange.

Key words：The Gold Rush，Chinese Australians，White Australia Policy，process of adaption，contribution

1 the condition of the Chinese migration in Australia from 1848 to 1901

With regard to the cause of the huge tide to emigration，the worsening living environment was a compelling one. The frequent natural disaster and the regional wars made much of the land of the Qing Dynasty lie waste and plunged its people into an abyss of the misery. Besides，because of the impact of the western commodity economy on the entrenched natural economy in China，the traditional living pattern gradually broke up and there was some shrinkage in handicraft industry in a way. At the same time，the immigration policy promulgated by the Qing government became loose duo to the suppression from the foreign countries as well. Thus，given these reasons，ordinary people seek to live on through immigrating to Australia. Surely，apart from this，the Australian Gold Rush were the most appealing cause lured thousands of Chinese people to Australia. A Gold Rush was a period of feverish migration to an area to have a dramatic discovery of gold deposit. Therefore，considering Australia was dubbed the New Gold Mountain in the late 19th century，and the comparatively lower migration cost and fewer barriers to entry，nearly 11，493 Chinese people immigrated to there from villages of the Pearl River Delta in southern part of the China，with the intention of becoming abundantly wealthy almost instantly. Last but not least，the increasingly improvement of the transportation between the Hong Kong and Australia’s shipping industry stimulated the huge rush to Australia as well.

And personally，I think the Gold Rushes could not only spur a huge immigration that even led to permanent settlement in the new area and but also played a pivotal role in cultural communication and economic cooperation.

2 the social state of the Chinese immigrants under the White Australia Policy（1901-1973）

2.1The enforcement of the White Australia Policy and its influence

First of all，as for the origin of the White Australia Policy，it can be traced back to the early 1850s when large numbers of Chinese flocked to Australia during the gold rushes. However given the diligence and hard-working of the Chinese people might threaten the white labor in local，the newly self-governing colonies introducing restrictions on Chinese immigration. Then at the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901，its first piece of legislation，the Immigration Restriction Act was passed to limit the number of the people swarming to Australia. The immigration was closed to all those who were non-Caucasian. Because of the enforcement of this policy，the living condition of the Asian immigrant deteriorated and their freedom and rights were confined. By and large，the White Australia Policy was nationalization and systemization and legalization of the “White Australia” consciousness. And in reference to the underlying cause of the policy，so far as I am concerned，the principal force driving policies of racial exclusion in Australia was a sense of superiority among Anglo-Saxon. Since English dominated the world in 18th century，their arrogant，scornful and proud psychology was rooted. They made judgment of people based on their skin and racial background，viewing any colored race as ignoble. So，the Australian’s genuine fear of economic competition the Chinese labor brought just aggravated the hostility on Chinese. For example，Alfred Deakin，the most liberal-minded of Australian politicians，wrote："It is not the bad qualities，but the good qualities of these alien races that make them so dangerous to us. It is their inexhaustible energy，their power of applying themselves to new tasks，their endurance and low standard of living that make them such competitors." Later，with the intention to further the policy，a "dictation test" was introduced as a device for excluding unwanted immigrants.

While，personally speaking，I think the fears Australian had were not baseless. Considering the Australian continent had a population of 3.7 million in 1901 and there was a short distance from Asian countries where hundreds of million of people lived in conditions of great poverty，the belief that these people would "swamp" to European Australia and occupied the country if allowed was reasonable，but it was absolutely not wise and humanized to discriminated against immigrants. Besides，multiculturalism and self-protection can not be used as an excuse for imposing old hatred and intolerance，for they can only survive in an environment where all groups recognize the rights of others.

2.2 Gradual assimilation and adaptation during this time

As far as I am concerned，the final end of the White Australia policy was a significant reversal of the traditional migration pattern. Being a multi-racial and multi-ethnic country，Australia should show its greater acceptance of cultural diversity and more tolerance to the others. And only in this way，can it get flourished and attracting. What’s more important，the Chinese people underwent the process of adapting，adopting and assimilation during this period，making their efforts to be in harmony with the local society in economic，cultural aspect. When the Chinese people adapting to the culture of the mainstream society，on the one hand，they became the transmitter of the Chinese traditional heritage；on the other hand，they were gradually assimilated by the Australia and was prone to be the marginal man between the two cultures. For instance，the Chinese people diffused their folk customs and values by celebrating a variety of the traditional festivals，bringing in the Buddhism and running a newspaper in Australia. Thus，the local people can have an in-depth understanding of Chinese culture，linguistics and the religion. Besides，the transracial marriage was also a direct way to get in touch of the white people in social life.

Certainly，apart from this aspect，Chinese people strived to adapt to the local through other economic activities as well，like planting industry，farming，catering industry and business，proving their best service. By and large，the great effort of the Chinese and their changes were accepted by the Australian and they showed friendly terms with the Chinese. To sum up，I believe that the gap between the Australian and Chinese will be narrowed step by step. Australians has already adjusted to rapid changes in population and culture with a tolerance and they are devoted to developing a multicultural country.

3 Conclusion

To sum up，the discovery of gold had epoch-making significance in the history of Australia，which closely associated with the Chinese huge rush to there as well. Since the arrivals of the Chinese，a series of anti-Chinese agitation with the intention to reduce the number of Chinese people entering the colony occurred at the end of the 19th century..

However，even if confronted with this unfair treatment，the Chinese people strived to live on，making their best to be in harmony with the local society in economic，cultural aspect，and their good virtues and great effort were gradually accepted by the Australians. During this period，the remarkable contribution the Chinese people made both to the motherland and Australia can’t be bypassed. I believe that Chinese Australians are the significant cultural and economic transmitter among the two countries，doing their bit for the prosperity of the countries.

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