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Chinese Presence In Australia By Andrew Tran

Decent Essays

Chinese Presence in Australia by Andrew Tran

During the late 1800s, many Chinese came to Australia in search of freedom and wealth. However, when the Chinese arrived to Australia, they were treated with great hostility, racism and resentment from the European society. This was due to the very strange and unusual Chinese customs that the Australians/Europeans saw. Soon, the Australian government introduced the ‘White Australia Policy.’ The origin of the policy can be traced back to the Lambing Flat Riots which were anti-Chinese acts that occurred around the Lambing Flat gold fields. As such, the Europeans responded extremely poorly to the presence of Chinese people.
The Chinese’ arrival incited discrimination and they were targets of a great deal of racism and prejudice. This was due to the fear of the unknown and unfamiliar that was among the white-Australians and the fact that they were not accustomed to the way the Chinese dressed, ate and worked. Chinese miners often worked in groups (usually families) and preferred to re-mine the ground abandoned by Europeans, while the Europeans worked alone and would go to and mine on new grounds. In 1861, the Chinese numbered over 40,000 which made up 3 per cent of the population. The overwhelming number of Chinese working in the minefields created a very tense atmosphere …show more content…

Around the 30th of June, a mob estimating 3000 Europeans forced on 1000 Chinese to abandon their encampment. The Europeans destroyed and looted everything that the Chinese had in their possession. The main cause of the riot was simply because of racism. The overwhelming number of Chinese created much tension for the European since they thought that the Chinese were going to take their jobs. This event only further provoked anti-Chinese behaviours which soon lead to the establishment of the ‘White Australia’

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