42
The earliest date of burial, still readable in the Chinese section of the Southern Cemetery, is 1877. The majority of burials took place in the 1880s and 1890s. From the 1920s it is likely that burials took place at the Anderson s Bay Cemetery.
Unlike Europeans whose burial plots might contain a large number of members of one family, Chinese pioneer burials involved the burial of one person in one grave.
There is reason to believe considerable numbers of Chinese were buried in the Southern Cemetery from 1871 but these individuals have no headstones. One grave in the general section of the cemetery indicates Pong One Kay (shown left) died in 1870. He was born in Jung Seng County, Sar Boy Village. His age is not known. Nor do we know anything further of this man.
From 1877, or thereabouts, a special area was set aside for Chinese burials. In 1985 when the Genealogy Society undertook a transcription of the Chinese section of the cemetery there were some 114 headstones that could be identified. It was estimated then that there could be up to 100 burials in this area alone.
An accurate plan of Chinese burials with block and plot numbers has never existed. An official cemetery plan shows that Bock 114 was a Chinese area and an extension of this has no Block numbers. It is assumed that the extension area is Blocks 113 and 112. A map of the area is available as a student worksheet.
The burial register contains Chinese records, chronologically recorded with all other burials. European sextons and other office clerks found difficulty in accurately recording Chinese personal details. Deciding what was the surname (family name) and what were the given names was difficult. Also European spellings for spoken Chinese caused names to be recorded differently.
The headstone for Pong One Kay supplies the date of death as 1870. This headstone can be found in Block 12A Plot 11 in the General Section of the cemetery.
Fact Sheet: Background
Pioneer Chinese at Dunedin’s Southern Cemetery
Layout of information on most Chinese headstones
Fact Sheet: Reading Chinese Gravestones (Stele) or ‘seats’
Both the county and village are often recorded for place of birth.
Date of Death
These two stones show the age (lonegevity). Some stones do show birth year here.
The central characters offer information about the deceased. Surname or family name - YUET
First given name Sheer
Second given name Long
This headstone belongs to YUET Sheer Long
Mun Goon was born in Poon Yue County Tai Bol Village. He was 65 years of age when he died. This headstone was badly damaged and has recently been replaced.
Character is like the English ‘s. Means ‘belongs to’
Character for ‘Gravestone’
Character for ‘elder’
8
Month ( 14th) 10
4 Day
Died
Reading Yuet Sheer Long’s Gravestone
Fact Sheet: Reading Chinese Gravestones (Stele) or ‘seats’
Date of Death – These are lunar dates.
These characters show the age or (lonegevity).
This headstone belongs to YUET Sheer Long. His headstone tells us that he died in on the 14th day of the 8th month in the year of the rabbit. He was 56 years old. The year of the rabbit equates to the Western calendar year of 1903.
The central characters offer information about the deceased.
Surname or family name - YUET
First given name Sheer Second given name Long
Character is like the English ‘s. Means ‘belongs to’
Character for ‘Gravestone’
Character for ‘elder’
5 10 Aged 56 6 Age
Year of the rabbit. (Died 1903)
Activities: One and Two
Chinese headstones offer a fascinating insight into the origins of the individual buried beneath the stone because of the importance individual Chinese placed on recording their place of birth. Why it was important to record this information is a question that will become clearer as students progress through this unit. Collectively the stones provide a unique opportunity to undertake a demographic study of the pioneer Chinese whose bones remain in New Zealand. Along with primary and secondary historical resources we can learn much about New Zealand s Chinese heritage.
Activity One - Cemetery Visit
A visit to the Chinese section of Dunedin s Southern Cemetery is recommended. The purpose of a visit would be to provide a visual experience of the Chinese graves, and to locate other Chinese headstones in the cemetery. All headstones (except Choie Sew Hoy) have personal details written in Chinese characters. Some have the individual s name only written in English lettering along the base of the stele. The following map provides a trail showing the locations of stones for the Chinese section and for others located in Dunedin s Southern Cemetery. It is suggested that students take the trail map and the datasheets with them on the visit. Students can try and recognise some of the more common Chinese characters.
Activity Two – Analysing the transcribed information about the Chinese section
When students return to school they can use the translated data sheets to analyse the demographic makeup of the individuals who have marked stones. Students can work out percentages for and graph the following information,
1. Counties of origin 2. In Poon Yue County students can analyse villages of origin 3. Gender 4. Graph numbers of deaths occurring decade by decade over the five decades of burials that are evident in the cemetery 5. Graph age against decade. It would be a good idea to compare age at death by decade with a block of headstones in the Anglican or
General sections of the cemetery and encourage students to notice the differences that can be seen between the makeup of the Chinese population that lived in Dunedin and other nationalities
Encourage students to raise questions about the Chinese population and consider some of the consequences for individuals of such a skewed population demographic.
Who were the Chinese? Where did they come from? What can we learn about the early Chinese immigrants who came to New Zealand from a study of the local cemetery?
Cemetery locations for Chinese graves – Southern Cemetery
Kum Poy Block 26P Plot 13 Also Memorial to Choie Sew Hoy
Pong One Kay Block 12A Plot 11
Ing Ah Yeaw Block 12A Plot 11
Chinese Section Blocks, X, 114 and 115
Mun Goon Block 114 plot 25
Yuet Sheer Long Block 114 plot 66
The Southern Cemetery map portion was sourced from Dunedin City Council: Location of Dunedin’s cemeteries URL http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/location-pdfs
Cemetery Map : The Chinese Section
This plan was drawn by Ngaire Ockwell in 1985, with the assistance of Chinese students from Singapore recording the Chinese characters. The numbers are assigned as reference numbers for the Genealogy Society and are not plot numbers. If you check the City of Dunedin cemeteries database the plot numbers will not be the same.
Ngaire Ockwell. (1985). Southern Cemetery Dunedin. Vol 5. Jewish and Chinese Portion. Member of the New Zealand Genealogy Society. Dunedin.
Summary of translated details from Chinese headstones in Southern Cemetery - p.1
Grave/map # Name Given Names County Village Gender Date of death Age
1 Lowe Sheer Soong Duct County Tang Chun Village M 24. 7. 1887 42
2 Choie Yaat Soong Duct County Tai Leong Village M 3. 9. 1886 -
3 Lou Sing Nam Hoi County Sha Pol Village M 26. 8. 1886 68
4 Youn Man Chun - - M 14. 2. 1877* 42
5 Leong Wah - - M 18. 9. 1878* 33
6 Wong Youn Leong Sun Ning (Now called Toi Shan) County
Koy Shang Village 19. 2. 1880 -
7 Leong Yeng Wah Sun Woy County Koy Shang Village 16. 10. 1881 58
8 Chung Ly Kong Sun Woy County - M 18. 1. 1893 85
9 Kwan Shun Hok Hoi Ping County Gee Mee Village M 1 12. 1881 55
10 Lymburner Margaret Not Chinese F 1878 76
11 Ng Gee Sun Ning* County Shong Foong Look Yuen M Aug 1878
12 Lowe Sing Fook Poon Yue County Park Tong Village M 26. 1. ? -
13 Wong Adolph Tape No Chinese Characters on stone 1880 1
14 Tser Gee Way Poon Yue County Har Leong Village M 13. 2. 1913 53
15 Chung Sai Tam Dong Goon County Kong Nam Village M 1911 -
16 Yuen Yun Sun Woy County Chart Bo Village M 16. 1. 1909 49
17 Shue Yoe Gee Jung Seng County Shang Shu Village M 29. 3. 1908 64
18 Cheong Gool Chuen Poon Yue County Too Kong Village 18. 10. 1905 67
19 Low Wah Hem Poon Yue County Too Kong Village M - -
20 Wong S-om - - M - -
21 Lai Toong Soon Poon Yue County Shack Ma Village M 1906
22 Unknown - Sun Ning* County Sam Hop Village 8. 4. 1907 22
23 Tser Yoe Poon Yue County Shack Woo Village M 24. 4. 1897 23
24 Unknown - English at base reads London 1906(?) - 1906 24
25 Mun Goon Poon Yue County Tong Chuen Village M 5. 6. ? No year 65
26 Shen Woon Ying Poon Yue County Tong Chuen Village M 1896 43
27 Gin Kum Tai Dong Goon County - M 1905 27
28 Chiu Hong yun Sun Ning County Fo Shack Village M - -
Summary of translated details from Chinese headstones in Southern Cemetery - p.2
Grave /map # Name Given Names County Village Gender Date of death Age
29 Ho Mok Nam Hoi County - M 1897 29
30 Chan Paul Chin No details of Chinese origins M 1 Aug 1908 48
31 Ng Chan Fok Choong Far County Kwai Shen Village M 23.5.1903 85
32 Lai Aw Poon Yue County Law Kong Village M 1906 62
33 Wong Bong Soong Duct County Chun Choon Village M - -
34 Kip Koy Poon Yue County Ah Woo Village M 1909 -
35 Tai Moo Hee Poon Yue County Gow Jing Village M 3.7.1906 -
36 Wong Doo Sew Jung Seng County - M 22 Jan 1912 55
37 Tso Ah Too Poon Yue County Fong Shak Village M 1.2.1912 -
38 Leong Kong Poon Yue County Shang Kong Village M 6.5.1906 -
39 Tser Gee Harm Poon Yue County Har Leong Village M 1913 53
40 Choie Chung Sun Ning* County Sam Hop Village M - -
41 Wong Mole Shang Poon Yue County Shack Ma Village M - -
42 Lee Yook Fong Jung Seng County Bark Shack Village M 22.6.1899 37
43 Yee Wun Chung - - M - -
44 Choie Yi Sing Poon Yue County Buk Chuen Village M - - 45 Stone is too weathered to read
46 Gee Ping Poon Yue County Too Kong Village M 1907 46
47 Soo Chong Poon Yue County Pong Woo Village M 20.4.1907 47
48 Tung Kay Jung Poon Yue County Law Kong Village M 10.7.1907
49 Lee Shu Teng Poon Yue County Law Mok Village - 8.10.1907
50 Yip Say Chong Dong Goon County - M 17.10.1907 76
51 Loo Chay Yeen Dong Goon County Mong O Tai Village M 15.4.1901 60
52 Joe Yuet Gee Poon Yue County Nam Chuen Village M 28.7.1908 63
53 Yip Kum Poy Poon Yue Ah Woo M 3.9.1908 -
54 Yip Lee Kim Poon Yue Sing Ping M - -
55 Tser Ng Choy Poon Yue Har Leong M 17.6.1911 - 56 Tser Sheer Poon Yue Har Leong M 27.12.1912 -
57 Tso Cho Yuen Poon Yue Ah Woo M Died in the reign of Soon Toong (1909-11)
-
Summary of translated details from Chinese headstones in Southern Cemetery - p.3
Grave/map # Name Given names County Village Gender Date of death Age
58 Kong Chung Tai Fa County Ping Shan Village M - -
59 Tai Chou Mo Poon Yue County Gow Jing Village M 19.9.1906 -
60 Chan Ah Waan Poon Yue County Tai Leck Village M - -
61 Wong Gee Yee Poon Yue County Ching Woo Village M 8.11.1913 -
62 Joe Sheer Gow Poon Yue County - M 29.4.1912 -
63 Soo Yun Poon Yue County Cheong Kong Village M 1911 52
64 Choi - Poon Yue County - M - -
65 Tso Say Poon Yue County Ah Woo Village M 3.8.1903 -
66 Long Yuet Sheer Poon Yue County Sheun Sun Village M 14.8.1903 56
67 Chan Mon Fong Sun Ning County Sam Hop Village M Dec 1903
68 Fung Hung Shum Poon Yue County - M 12.11.1903 56
69 Mun Ah Sun On (Boa On County) - M 1904 -
70 Wong Yun Wa Poon Yue County Shack Ma Village M 1904 -
71 Tser Gee Poon Yue County Shack Woo Village M 7.4.1909 -
72 Tso Ching Kee Poon Yue County Ah Woo Village M 12.9.1909 56
73 Gee Houn Cheong Poon Yue County Too Kong Village M 23.2.1913 -
74 Tser Or Haw Poon Yue County Sha Teng Kong Village - 1.5.1910 -
75 Lai Kum Gee Poon Yue County Shack Ma Village M 5.10.1910 -
76 Wong Wing Teen Poon Yue County Cheng Woo Kong Village M 13.10.1911 59
77 Lok Yook Poon Yue County Gow Jing Village M 27.6.1909 72
78 Lai Ah Lung Poon Yue County Shack Woo Yeng Village M 10.12.1918 70
79 - - Poon Yue County - - 1909 69
80 Yip Goo Jay (means Tall Boy) Poon Yue County Yop Jong Village M 18.8.1918 66
81 Tao Quay Hee - - M 27.7.1918 78
82 Chan Len Foon Hueng Shan (Now Chung Shan County)
- M 30.6.1918 72
83 Stone too weathered
84 Lee Hong Ying Poon Yue County - M 8.5.1916 79
85 Pang Kang Fai Hueng Shan County Jang Kok Village M 20.2.1916 74
Summary of translated details from Chinese headstones in Southern Cemetery – p.4
Grave/map # Name Given Names County Village Gender Date of death Age
86 Loong Kwai Lum Poon Yue County - M - -
87 Wong Jool Yow Jung Seng County Shar Too Village M 7.11.? (No year) 62
88 Only the base (plinth) of the stone remains
89 Joe Chun Wing English wording at base of stone reads Chun King M 2.12.1915 -
90 Lowe Way Cheng Poon Yue County - M 27.7.? (No Year) 76
91 Yip Yuen Chong Sun Ning County Sam Hop Village M - -
92 Young Mon Cheu Poon Yue County For Chap Choey Village M 1.10.1910 68
93 Tser Lang Yin Poon Yue County Har Leong Village M 12.9.1914 60
94 Young Lai Chew Poon Yue County For Chap Choey Village M 30.9.1916 65
95 Lai Len King Poon Yue County Shack Ma Village M 16.9.1916 71
96 Lowe Kor Muk Poon Yue County Tai Woo Village M 23.5.1916 -
97 Chin Leung Sing Sun Ning County - M 8.2.1917 73
98 Kan Ying Gee Jung Seng County - M 13.5.1917 75
99 Wong Sheer Yen Toi Shan County - - - -
100 Lowe Yoe Dun Poon Yue County M 19.8.1917 72
101 Lai Joe Chee Poon Yue County - M - -
102 Lee Ah Chin Poon Yue County - M 4.5.1918 63
103 Wong Ng Fook Poon Yue County M 3.11.1918 79
104 Loo Saam Yee Poon Yue County Park Tong Village M 16.10.1917 61
105 Lowe Gee Yoe Poon Yue County Pang Bar Village M 20.4.1920 69
106 Fung Yue Jek Poon Yue County Tai Kong Village M 18.1.1920 74
107 Tser Leen Foo Poon Yue County Har Leong Village M 14.10.1919 77
108 Gee Yat Fong Poon Yue County - M - -
109 Young Ying Bun Poon Yue County Pong Woo Village M 11.8.1917 -
110 Sue Hem Poon Yue County Pong Woo Village M 28.?.? -
111 Fung Book Chen Choong Far County - M - -
112 Louey Ah Hook Toi Shan County - M - -
113 Young Yum Den Poon Yue County Pong Woo Village M - - 114 Wong Ah Foo Poon Yue County - M - -
The tables on the previous pages were compiled from data recorded in Ngaire Ockwell. (1985). Southern Cemetery Dunedin. Vol 5. Jewish and Chinese Portion. Member of the New Zealand Society of Genealogy. Data is recorded with the assistance of Chinese students from Singapore recording the Chinese characters on remaining readable headstones.
Activities: Three and Four
Activity Three - Where did the Chinese come from? Mapping activities When students have completed their analysis show them the following maps (1 and 2) and have students draw the region of Guangdong province on an outline map. The activity should give students a sense of the small area of China in which the pioneer Chinese originated and even the small area of Guangdong province.
Activity Four – What were the causes of the Chinese leaving their homelands? In this activity students investigate the reasons why the Chinese left their homelands and where they went.
James Ng in “Windows on a Chinese Past” (Vol. 1 p.87) describes the area of Guangdong Province (Map 1) prior to 1840 as having been a rich and famous province in Imperial China, renowned for educational academies, and exquisite crafts and artisans skilled in carving weaving, metal-ware, glass, paintings and furniture production. The city of Guangzhou, located on the Pearl River, had been a major South China port for centuries exporting Chinese goods including tea and silk and importing foreign goods. The Cantonese had a stable, developed society and a high sense of culture. What happened that changed all this? Show or have students browse the following websites,
The First Opium War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_first_opium_war
The Red Turban Rebellion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Turban_Rebellion
The Second Opium War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Opium_War
Natural disasters included a drought in 1847, and disastrous floods in 1852. Guangzhou had severe economic recession in 1853 as a result of the wars and the opening of other trading ports in China especially Shanghai. Extreme poverty, and crumbling government were to generate large-scale emigration from the 1860s. These people are now regarded today as part of the greater Chinese Diaspora that comprises an estimated 50 million ethnic Chinese living outside China.
Suggested activity: Develop several questions about the ethics of the British actions and ultimate consequences for the people that were the result of the First Opium War and have students develop an opinion proof chart http://www.readingquest.org/strat/opinion.html from which students could develop a panel debate, and draw parallels to more recent events.
Who were the Chinese? Where did they come from? What can we learn about the early Chinese immigrants who came to New Zealand from a study of the local cemetery?
Map 1: Location of Guangdong Province China
Map available at About.com http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.m%2Dw.com/cgi%2Dbin/nytmaps.pl%3Fchina1
Map 2: Location of counties of immigrants from Guangdong Province
Counties in Guangdong Province
1. Poon Yue (Map on next page shows dotted area)
2. Nam Hoi 3. Soong Duct 4. Hueng Shan (Now called Chung Shan) 5. Sun Woy 6. Sun Ning
(Now Called Toi Shan)
Guangdong Province
Guangdong Province
South China Sea
Juangsi
Hunan Jiangsi Fujian
10. Dong Goon 11. Sun On (Now Boa On)
Chaoan
Sharnto
Macao Kowloon Hong Kong
Waiyan
Shumchun
West River
North
River
East
River
Chang
Seilhing
Shaoguan
Map adapted from Southern Cemetery Dunedin. Vol 5.Chinese Portion, Headstones & Burial Register – Ngaire Ockwell. Further edited by Leslie Wong
Guangzhou
Many of the Goldseekers villages are no longer on the maps of China. What does exist, after a lot of deciphering has been given Mandarin (official first language of China) names or if the original name still exists, is now transliterated from Mandarin. For example on Map 3 (next page)
Village number 5 was called Pong Woo in the mid 1860s. It is now called Panwu.
Village number 13 was called Tai Leck, and is now called Taihe.
Jung Seng County is now called Zencheng “County”.
The locations of the villages in Map 2 are approximate in many cases. If students search for Poon Yue (Mandarin Panyu), they will be directed to Lower Panyu. Lower Panyu is the location of the present “county seat” according to our elder. It is the administration centre. North or Upper Poon Yue is not on the map and this is the area where a great number of the original goldseekers came from.
In the old days of the 1860s most of our gold seekers of Poon Yue origin came from Upper Poon Yue. That is the area north of the city of Canton or Guangzhou. Their villages are located here.
Map 3: Location of Poon Yue (Panyu) in Guangdong Province
Sketch Map of POON YUE County As shown in the dotted area on the previous map
Guangzhou City
Fa County
Beijing G
uangzhou
Lo Hon Tong
Too Kong
Gool Jing
Ah Woo
Pong Woo
Kong Chuen
Shek Ma
Nam Chuen
Har Leung
Shek Woo
Buk Chuen
Pak Tong
Tai Leck
Sar Teng Kong
Tai Kong Ling
Lor Kong
Names of Villages
Nam Hoi County
Jung Seng County
Wong Bool Zone
Pearl River
Choong Far County
County Boundary
Villages
Railways
Roads
Legend
Guangzhou/Kowloon Railway
Map adapted from Southern Cemetery Dunedin. Vol 5.Chinese Portion, Headstones & Burial Register -Ngaire Ockwell. Further edited by Leslie Wong.
Map 4: Location of villages of immigrants from Poon Yue
British Columbia 1880s 25,0000
California 1882 80,0000
The Rocky Mt States 1882 15,0000
Destinations and dates for migrations of the Chinese Gold Seekers
New Zealand 1874 – 1881 5,000
Victoria 1858 42,000
New South Wales 1862 42,000
Queensland 1877 17,000
Western Australia 1910 - 11 2,000
Northern Territory 1880 - 81 4,000
Transvaal South Africa 1894 from North China. 1700 from Canton
Info
rmat
ion
from
C.A
.Pric
e T
he G
reat
Whi
te W
alls
are
Bui
lt
Small set of Chinese gold scales
Map 5: Chinese goldseeker migrations during the 19th Century
Activity Five:
The Chinese were not the only ethnic group to leave their homelands due to poverty and or because of religious, cultural, or political persecution.
Activity Five 1. Display the cartoon/sketch (thumbnail at left) available from the Timeframes website at http://timeframes.natlib.govt.nz/ using the search term “Dunedin Tradesmen”. Discuss with students some of the perspectives that are intimated by the cartoon/sketch, which was created in 1884.
You may find the question sequence that follows useful,
What mood is created in this image and caption? What has been drawn and written that creates the particular mood? Which visual features work together? What essential features did the cartoonist predominantly use? What are the main ideas conveyed by the image? And by the captions? What ideas does the visual text contain that the written text does not and vice versa? What is the combined effect of the visual and written texts? What has been the intention of the cartoonist?
Has it worked? If so how well?
2. Discuss with students the fact that every family has had migrant ancestors who came to New Zealand at some time in the past. Students can ask at home and find out who their migrant ancestors were, where they came from and when they came to NZ. Graph the class results on a decade-by-decade basis. What percentage of students are themselves descendents of people who are part of a diaspora?
What is a diaspora?
Fact Sheet: What is a diaspora? (2)
Have student investigate the meaning of the word “Diaspora”
The following are examples of various ethnic Diaspora and is not a complete list. Small numbers from each of these groups have come to New Zealand at various times and have contributed to the makeup of New Zealand today.
Chinese Diaspora - number over 50 million worldwide. The largest overseas Chinese communities are in Asia. Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar (in descending order of ethnic Chinese population size) have at least 1 million ethnic Chinese each. Two countries outside Asia, namely the United States (esp. States of California, Hawaii, New York and Washington State) and Canada (Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver) have populations over 1 million in size. Other sizable communities may be found in Japan, Cambodia, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, each with over 100,000 ethnic Chinese.
Cornish people migrated from Cornwall to other parts of England and countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Mexico. The diaspora was caused by a
number of factors, but due mainly to economic reasons and the lack of jobs in the 18th and 19th centuries when many Cornish people, or “Cousin Jacks” as they were known, migrated to various parts of the world in search of a better life.
Scottish Diaspora - includes the Auld Alliance and the Scottish Wars of Independence, which led countless Scots to emigrate to mainland Europe to escape persecution and hardship. The Highland clearances which depopulated large parts of the Scottish Highlands and had lasting
effects on Scottish Gaelic culture; the Lowland Clearances which resulted in significant migration of Lowland Scots to Canada and the United States after 1776; the Ulster-Scots, descended primarily from Lowland Scots who settled Ulster during the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century and subsequently fled to the Americas in mass numbers throughout the 18th century due to religious and cultural persecution as well as other socio-economic factors. Other Scots and Ulster Scots went to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and a smaller but important community in Argentina.
Jewish Diaspora - in its historical use, refers to the period between the Roman invasion and subsequent occupation of the Land of Israel beginning AD 70, to the establishment of Israel in 1948. In modern use, the 'Diaspora' refers to Jews living outside of the Jewish state of Israel
today. Not all Jews, though, regard themselves as part of a diaspora community.
[The above information No 1 – 4 comes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diasporas. The newspaper clipping comes from the Taranaki Herald, 6 June 1874.]Papers Past website http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
Activities: Six
Why did the Chinese come to New Zealand?
Activity Six Gather together a collection of early photographs of the pioneer Chinese gold-seekers and show the class on a data projector or have students undertake to gather picture collections relating to the early Chinese in New Zealand and ask them to assemble a collection of 4 or 5 photographs (stipulate photos only) that intrigue them into a PowerPoint file. Students use a 3-2-1 approach to consider the photos and write these in the notes section of the PowerPoint file or list them on a 3-2-1 chart if you are doing this as a whole class activity. (Allow students to also consider the information that comes with the photos).
Write 3 interesting things you notice about this photo
Write 2 things you found out from this photo
Write 1 question you still have
The following websites offer excellent picture collections,
• Timeframes http://timeframes.natlib.govt.nz/ A simple search using the terms “Chinese Otago” for instance will find an excellent collection of photographs for a picture study.
• Te Ara http://www.teara.govt.nz/en Choose “Browse the Encyclopaedia”, “Immigrant groups”, “Chinese”. The picture collection of pioneer Chinese can be found from the links to the “first immigrants” under the tab images and media and also to the link called “later settlement”
Have students select best questions and share these with the class. Discuss questions where answers may have already been covered in work completed. Questions that have not yet been answered need to be put aside and considered in future activities.
Have students read the background stories on “First Immigrants” available on Te Ara http://www.teara.govt.nz/en
Chinese Gold Scales
Activity: Seven
What was life like for the pioneer Chinese on the goldfields?
Ask students to speculate what life might have been like for the pioneer Chinese in New Zealand given what they have already learned about the population demographic from the cemetery information and the photographs. Have students read Discovering Chinatown. School Journal 1988. Pt 4 No1 (pp 9-16).
Paul Butler in his book called Opium and Gold includes a number of excerpts from the Annual Inland Tour Diaries of Alexander Don that describe the life of the gold-seekers. Use some quotations from Butlers book or the following quotations used here and have the students consider further the life of the Chinese gold-seekers in New Zealand again using an opinion proof chart http://www.readingquest.org/strat/opinion.html
“My companion is much moved by the loneliness and grievousness of the gold-diggers lot. He said, “I can see now that it is really hard. I used to think it was only pretended; for we said in China that if their lot was really so grievous they would return home sooner and not remain away for so long.“ He said that home folk have no idea how difficult it is to get the gold from the earth. They rather think it is like digging for peanuts – that the ground is shallow and the gold in lumps” (Contents of a letter from home –Rev Alexander Don Annual Inland Tour Diaries, Butler p.50)
“ “Despicable” (Translated name of miner) is a digger far up on the Lammerlaws, nine miles form a township and twenty-five from a doctor. For seven months of last year he suffered from an immense abscess in his right cheek, which is now almost covered by a scar. He applied three tins of a usually effective ointment – he showed me the empty tins - with no good result. Finally he made a poultice of samples of every growing thing grass scrub, moss fern and herb. These he put together and chopped and mashed them quite fine and applied to the abscess. At once he told me that the great discharge of pus lessened, in two weeks ceased, and a week later the part was skin-whole.”(Butler p. 47)
“Rich Treasure” (Translated name of miner) is 65 years of age and has been in New Zealand forty-two years. His wife is aged fifty-two so that she was only ten years of age when he left home. He has never seen her, but at the age planned for the marriage, she left her clan for his people. Such a marriage is called a live fowl marriage. Throughout the ceremonies a “live cock” represents the absent husband: while the same rights and feasts are observed as if he were present. Such a wife is often called a “wild fowl dame” (Butler p.53)
I find their average earnings may be set down from 15s to 20s per week clear of all expenses – that is they save 15 – 20s. Thus they can live for about 8s – 10s per week. They do not amalgamate in any way with the Europeans, but exist entirely by themselves;…They have simply one object and that is to save what money they can and return to China. (Butler p. 43)
Activity: Seven (Continued)
What was life like for the less successful pioneer Chinese Gold Seekers?Although many Chinese were able to save enough from the gold diggings in New
Zealand to return to China, there were also a number who were not able to do
so. As the availability of gold on the goldfields declined the miners moved
northwards and into the cities, many were to start up small businesses as market
gardeners growing vegetables and running fruit and vegetable shops but
integration into European society was hampered by language differences. Many
Chinese who shifted to the towns often congregated in one area where there
would be boarding houses, shops, opium dens, and gambling houses. In
Dunedin the Chinese area was in Walker Street (Now Carroll Street). Excerpts
from an article printed in the Otago Witness are included at left and below which
describe a little of what Chinese life was like in the cities in mid 1900 from a
European perspective. The article is called Untitled, Otago Witness, Issue 2414, 14 June 1900, Page 9 available at
…It will probably be
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
The whole article is recommended for teachers.
Benevolent Societies or mutual
aid societies were established
by leading Chinese merchants.
One of the functions of these
societies was to pay the fares of
the sick and elderly men and
repatriate exhumed bodies back to China.
There are a number of excellent cartoons available on the Timeframes website http://timeframes.natlib.govt.nz/ that would be useful for class or group discussion about the level of anti Chinese prejudice that existed. Use keywords “Chinese Free Lance” to access the above cartoons. An additional very useful cartoon to use with students is the Mongolian Octopus featured in Ng, Book 1, page 106.
The following questions are suggested for interpretation of visual sources cartoons
What mood is created in this image and caption? What has been drawn and written that creates the particular mood? Which visual features work together? What essential features did the cartoonist predominantly use? What are the main ideas conveyed by the image? And by the captions? What ideas does the visual text contain that the written text does not and vice versa? What is the combined effect of the visual and written texts? What has been the intention of the cartoonist? Has it worked? If so, how well?
Activity Eight: Anti Chinese prejudice
Using cartoons from the past
Activity Eight (Continued)
Anti Chinese Prejudice
Using Newspaper articles from the past Although there was much support for the Chinese there was also much newspaper reporting that was very derogatory. Scurrilous and vicious tales were often telegraphed and printed throughout the pacific goldfields countries. An example is provided at left. European bullying of the Chinese often went uncondemned. (Ng, 1993a (1), p104) Note the comment in the following excerpt from the article describing the funeral of Mow Tai in Dunedin.
Feature Film
Show students the movie Illustrious Energy (1988). This beautifully crafted movie tells the story of two late 19th century Chinese gold miners in Central Otago. This 100 minute long feature-film is available from various film archives around New Zealand. Otago Witness, Issue 971, 9 July 1870,
Page 15 Papers Past website
For full article see CHINESE BURIAL. Otago Witness, 6 December 1873, Page 4. Papers Past website http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
Fact Sheet : The Poll Tax
Chinese miners were originally welcomed to New Zealand as a solution to a shortage of labour. By 1871 there were calls for Chinese immigration to be restricted and New Zealand followed the lead provided by Canada and Australia, and the Chinese Immigrants Act of 1881 introduced a poll tax of £10 refundable if the individual left within 3 years with no debt or fines owed. The act also imposed a restriction on ships passengers – one Chinese passenger per 10 tons of cargo.
In
1896 the ratio was reduced to one passenger per 200 tons of cargo, and the poll tax was increased to £100. No other ethnic group was subjected to such restrictions or to a poll tax. A relative, village elder or prospective employer usually advanced the fare and also the poll tax. It usually took immigrants some years to repay the debt. Further restrictions were made on Chinese entry over a number of years.
In 2002 the New Zealand Government officially apologised to the Chinese for the suffering caused by the poll tax; it was the first nation to do so. [The government supported the establishment of the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust with a seeding grant of $5,000,000. The returns from investments are to be used for the objectives of the Poll Tax descendant community for cultural, language and heritage preservations. The trust allocated $25,000 to begin the restoration of the site and the neglected and vandalised Chinese headstones in the Southern Cemetery. For further information see Helen Clark s Speech reproduced in full at the Chinese in New Zealand Website Poll Tax or click on http://tiny.cc/ClarksSpeech
Blomfield. Still they come. [Free Lance, 7 January 1905] Available Timeframes http://digital.natlib.govt.nz/get/36625?profile=thumb
An image of a poll tax certificate is available at the Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand Website.
[North Otago Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2806, 16 June 1881, Page 2] Papers Past website http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
Activity Nine: Reflection Activity
In this activity students use a fishbone organiser to think about some of the positive and negative impacts of the early Chinese had on early New Zealand society and reflect on the reality of the issues raised by the anti Chinese “lobby”.
Fact Sheet
Funeral customs of the pioneer Chinese
An excerpt from an article describing a funeral in Lawrence is reproduced at left.
Another article describing the funeral of Mow Tai who was buried in Dunedin s Southern Cemetery is available from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ The article is called CHINESE BURIAL: Otago Witness, Issue 1149, 6 December 1873, Page 4. Look it up!
Ask students to go back to the burial lists reproduced at the beginning of the unit and try to find a listing for Mow Tai.
Otago Witness, Issue 971, 9 July 1870, Page 16. Papers Past website http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
Not there! Hmmmm! So what might have happened to Mow Tai?
Fact Sheet
Otago Witness, Issue 2537, 29 October 1902, Page 14. Papers Past website http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
The shipping away of deceased Chinese to their homelands
A second function of the Chinese Benevolent Society was to pay for exhuming of Chinese remains and shipping them back to China to be buried in family plots.
Some excerpts from the fascinating account of the exhumation are included here and the whole story can be followed up in the Otago Witness online at http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
It is possible that Mow Tai was involved in the exhumations. But there are also many Chinese goldseekers who now lie in unmarked graves in the Southern Cemetery.
Fact sheet
The foundering of the SS Ventnor
Have students read Bizarre Shipwreck. School Journal 1991, Pt 3, No2 pp 48-54.
At left is a clipping from a long article in the Otago Witness describing the foundering of the SS Ventnor.
The sinking of the Ventnor caused great consternation among the Chinese. For although the bodies on board were exhumations the Chinese believed their friends had died twice. One grief-stricken miner explained to an inquiring policeman the reason for his loud grief. “Him gone down in ship – him go hell very quick now.” (Ng, (1)1993, p.68). Other comments included, “Those deceased friends had bad luck” said exactly as about living persons. (Butler, 1977, p 101)
The insurance money, said to be some £5,000, was paid out to the Chinese Splendidly Good Society (The Cheong Shing Tong) who had organised the exhumations, and was used to help repatriate many of the living elderly and
sick to China.
Many elderly Chinese also found their own way back to China after 1900. Between 1907 and 1914 departures totalled 2,914 and explains why so few pioneer Chinese remain buried in New Zealand cemeteries.
The Ventnor carrying the bodies of 500 Chinese who died in New Zealand, struck a reef south of Cape Egmont on 27 October 1902 and sank the following day. These two lifeboats reached Omapere on 29 October, and ten other survivors on a third lifeboat were rescued by the steamer "Energy". The fourth lifeboat, carrying the captain and 15 others, was lost. This image is available from the Timeframes website (search for Ventnor).
Otago Witness, Issue 2538, 5 November 1902, Page 30 Papers Past website http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
Fact Sheet
What might have happened to Mow Tai?
The answer, like so many details in history, is that we really don t know. Researching what happened to many of the pioneer Chinese gold seekers is difficult and often extremely frustrating.
Much of what we know about the Chinese gold seekers in Otago is due to the work of the Rev Alexander Don (See the Fact Sheet at end of this unit) who for many years visited the old miners in Central Otago each year on his annual trek. His purpose was to Christianise the non-Christian Chinese. The Rev Don had limited success at this task but he could speak and write the language of the Panyu district and kept meticulous records of who was mining where, and where and when individual miners left and returned to China.
But even with Don s records we do not know about many of the Chinese. There are many reasons for this including language difficulties experienced at the time and difficulties with language experienced by researchers and descendents of these men today.
Mow Tai was not one of the exhumations to be returned on the Ventnor. He is not listed. In fact we cannot be sure who Mow Tai was. The newspaper reporters may well have his name incorrectly recorded. This was very common where Europeans struggled with the strangeness of the names and often wrote down what they thought they heard. They mixed family names with given names. Nicknames were often recorded instead of actual names.
There were also many burials in the Southern Cemetery before the Chinese portions was allocated. It is possible that like many other Chinese gold seekers, Mow Tai s remains are in the Southern Cemetery still but we do not have any knowledge as to where he may be.
Fact sheet : While many deceased left, many also remained
Chinese Cemetery burials in Otago – By Leslie Wong
In the 1860s Chinese men had come to New Zealand from China, Australia and America (California) to look for gold in the rivers and valleys of Central Otago. When they arrived here, they received a very hostile reception from the European miners. They were segregated to live in their own Chinese camps. Gold was hard to find and many reworked the tailings that the Europeans had left behind. Very few succeeded in those harsh conditions. By the early 1900s, gold had all but run out. Many either returned to China or moved to the cities.
Burials Because of segregation, Chinese were not allowed to be buried in the conventional cemeteries unless they had done deeds that were favourably seen by the locals. Wasteland outside the cemetery boundary was given to the Chinese for a fee.
In some distorted way, the Chinese were fortunate. They had their own burial ground and could bury their dead in their own traditional way. It was not till about 1950 that Chinese burials were accepted in the mainstream cemeteries.
Chinese prefer to be buried on high ground overlooking the sea or water and ideally facing east. The belief was that the spirit was free to greet the morning sun and to roam the heavens till dusk. The headstone is placed at the head end of the grave. The feet of the deceased point towards the water. Chinese burials are different to European burials as shown in the diagram to the right.
Fact sheet : While many deceased left, many also remained
Chinese Cemetery burials in Otago (2)– By Leslie Wong
If at all possible, shelter from the harsh afternoon sun was desirable. This could be from trees or an embankment.
Now that Chinese are buried among the Europeans, the preferred plots are still chosen to have the feet pointing to the east or towards water. What makes the Chinese graves stand out is the ornate writing.
This integration has been successful.
It has been a Chinese custom not to have your headstone facing the afternoon sun or to have your plot face the cold winds of the north east. Good Fung Shui is important.
Above: View of the segregated historic Chinese section of the Lawrence Cemetery. A stream runs along a gully to the right of the picture. Below: Segregated Chinese section Cromwell Cemetery
Above: Remains of partially preserved headstones (5 in all), segregated section Naseby cemetery.
Fact sheet : While many deceased left, many also remained
Chinese Cemetery burials in Otago (3)– By Leslie Wong
Some restored headstones in the Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin. These are in what was once waste-land, but is historically significant today. The headstones are at the head end of the coffin. East is to the right (picture at right). Unfortunately, the view of the sea is obstructed by a small hill. The significance of restoring these headstones was that they belonged to elderly miners, labourers and market gardeners from 1920 to 1950. They were the lost generation that linked the goldfields to the community of today. 48 broken stones were found in the overgrown rubble and the project took 6 years to restore.
Photo left: The lower end of the restored group of headstones. Now that the site is fully visible to the public, the City Council had maintained the lawns. Among this collection of stones, five of them still have living family links in Dunedin and flowers are placed there from time-to-time and at Ching Ming, the first weekend in April.
Fact sheet : While many deceased left, many also remained
Chinese Cemetery burials in Otago today(4)– By Leslie Wong
Photos below and right: Chinese burials in mainstream cemetery plots among Europeans.
These headstone pictured are on elevated ground and face the sea. The view from the back (below) shows the sea just above the trees. It is still rare to find Chinese burials on the rows backing this stone with the feet pointing away from the sea.
As time moves on and the later generations become less aware of the traditional customs, Chinese burials will become just another burial without any thought of the spiritual wellbeing of the departed.
Fact Sheet: Choie Sew Hoy c1836 - 1901
Merchant, Chinese leader, Gold dredger
Choie Sew Hoy was a well known Dunedin merchant and exporter, an Otago Gold dredger,
gold sluicer and a benefactor. He was born about 1836 to a farming family in Sha Kong Village north of Guangdong. Sew Hoy went with other Chinese goldseekers first to California, then to Victoria and arrived in New Zealand in 1868 – two years after the arrival of the first Chinese gold mining groups. He soon opened a store in Dunedin (1869), which he developed into a highly successful business importing and even some exporting of Chinese goods, financing the gold-seekers, letter writing, interpreting and acting as a social centre for the Chinese miners. Sew Hoy became a prominent leader of the Chinese miners and because he could also speak English he was able to mix in the greater Dunedin Community and became well known for his “interest in public affairs.” And successfully straddled both Chinese and European cultures. He became a naturalised New Zealander in 1873 and Freemason. He also established a life with Eliza Ann Prescott and had two children.
Sew Hoy s company built the world s first successful gold dredge and were very successful. He acquired 140 acres at Big Beach on the Shotover River, formed the Big Beach Shotover Mining company in 1888, ordered a dredge similar to the one that was widening and deepening the Otago Harbour, and established a commercially-feasible highly profitable dredging operation. The success of the company sparked off a good dredging boom in New Zealand. The company expanded under the Sew Hoy name. Choie Sew Hoy brought one of his sons from his Chinese marriage, Kum Poy to New Zealand. Choie Kum Poy also became a prominent Dunedin merchant. A second son Kum Yok worked in the business from the China. From the mid 1890s Sew Hoy and Kum Poy had established the profitable Nokomai Hydraulic Sluicing company near Garsten in Northern Southland.
There are some superb photos of Choie Sew Hoy available on the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography and Timeframes websites.
Above: The Sew Hoy building still stands in Stafford Street today.
Fact Sheet: Choie Sew Hoy 1836 - 1901
Merchant, Chinese leader, Gold dredger (Continued)
Books and Pamphlets
Ng James, (1993). Windows on a Chinese Past. Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. Otago Heritage books. Dunedin. Volume 4 contains Don s records written in Chinese and is difficult to analyse in spite of the English index.
Ng James, (No Date) Choie Sew Hoy. Pamphlet available from the Arrowtown Information Centre and Museum. Arrowtown Central Otago.
Websites
SEW HOY, Charles (c. 1837–1901) at Te Ara the Encyclopedia of NZ http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/S/SewHoyCharles/SewHoyCharles/en Sew Hoy, Charles (c. 1836-1838? – 1901) Dictionary of New Zealand biography, updated 22 June 2007 http://www.dnzb.govt.nz
Choie Sew Hoy was a benefactor to the poor and elderly Chinese miners. The Cheong Shing Tong operated from his store. In 1883 this benevolent society was responsible for the mass exhumations of 230 Chinese dead and transporting them back for the second burial in their home villages in Guangdong. Choie Sew Hoy died on 22 July 1901 and was buried in Dunedin s Southern Cemetery. His body was disinterred in 1902 during a second mass exhumation organise by the Tong and placed on board the S.S.Ventnor. The ship was wrecked off Hokianga. His, and the remains of 499 other Chinese, were lost.
As James Ng (1993) notes, Choie Sew Hoy had contributed much to the progress of the province of Otago. He was unique in that he was able to fit successfully into both Chinese and European worlds. While he was to remain faithful to his Chinese roots and traditions, still “it is fitting that family have remained in Dunedin through six generations.”
Kum Poy died in 1942 and is buried in Dunedin s Southern Cemetery. His grave is not with other Chinese in the Chinese sector but is on the slope near the upper Eglington Road entrance. Kum Poy, like his father, was also a man of two worlds. Their headstone and memorial plaque do not have Chinese writing.
Fact Sheet: Sham Tseung Chim (Shum Jim) 1853 - 1914
Websites Shum Jim 1853–1914 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Updated 22 June 2007 URL http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/ There is a photograph of Shum Jim and Alexander Don taken in 1902 outside Shum Jim s Cottage in the Ida Valley at the above link.
The story of Shum Jim, Chinese gold-seeker, is an interesting one because his experiences in New Zealand are similar to many other Chinese who came to New Zealand but his life was also to take quite a different turn. Shum Jim, like so many of his compatriots, was born in a small village in Upper Poon Yue County in rural Guangdong. He was a second son and had received some 4 years of education.
In 1870 his father gave him 36 taels of silver (about £12) to emigrate, with nine other men from the village, to the Otago Goldfields. Shum arrived in New Zealand in 1871 after a three-month journey with 330 other Chinese. His ship was one of six bearing nearly 2,000 Chinese to Otago that year.
After being outfitted in Dunedin he went to work with a sizable group of men from his own and an adjoining village on a gold claim in Pipe Clay Gully near Bannockburn (Cromwell). He was a man of great physical stamina and over the next four years worked hard on a number of claims, several provided such good results that he was able to return to China in 1875 with over £100 saved. He married but within a few months had left his wife and home and returned to the Otago Goldfields. Refinanced into his second venture by Choie Sew Hoy he preferred to work claims as the sole owner and spent 11 years working a claim in Maori Gully in the Ida Valley. Gold was becoming worked out and life was becoming increasingly difficult for miners. He was also an argumentative man and may have been unpopular with his compatriots. He was baptised into the Christian faith by Rev Alexander Don in 1896 and he and Don became good friends. Don visited him on his inland preaching tours many times. It is through the writings of Alexander Don that we know so much about Shum Jim today.
Shum Jim s wife had a despairing letter written, begging him to return home but he had been unable to save enough money before she had died. However, by 1902 his financial situation had improved and he returned to China. He married in 1906 and joined the Canton Villages Mission of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand who were operating a mission hospital in Upper Poon Yue. He worked as a hospital steward and his wife as a nurse. Shum died in China in 1914. He had shunned friends, compatriots and family.
Chinese Gold Miner
Presbyterian Minister, Missionary and Writer
Fact Sheet: The Rev Alexander Don
The map of the Southern cemetery shows the location of the Reverend Alexander Don s gravestone. It is not far from the Chinese section, which is shown circled.
Most of what we know about the early Chinese in New Zealand is a result of the Rev Alexander Don and the diary of his annual travels around the Chinese miners in the Central Otago Goldfields.
Alexander Don was born on the Australian goldfields and was the eldest of 10 children. He left school at age 9 but eventually trained as a schoolteacher. Don first arrived in Otago in 1879 expecting to take up a position as a missionary in Vanuatu but found the position filled when he arrived in Otago. As an alternative he took up a position as Presbyterian missionary to the Chinese gold-seekers. He was sent to Guangzhou China where he learned some Cantonese in close cooperation with the America Presbyterian mission.
He returned to Dunedin in 1881 and began training for the ministry. In 1882 he was stationed in Riverton, to convert the Round Hill Chinese miners, but the mission failed to prosper. In 1886 he was transferred to Lawrence and the Tuapeka goldfields area, and he was ordained later in1886. However again the mission failed to prosper.
He was instructed to undertake inland circuits of the Chinese, he started his annual summer preaching tours. In the course of these he was eventually to cover some 16,000 miles on foot. (Ng, 1993b)
Alexander Don Block 137 Plot 18
Presbyterian Minister, Missionary and Writer
Fact Sheet: The Rev Alexander Don
From 1889 Don was based in Dunedin. His understanding of the Chinese language had improved, and in 1897 he opened the Chinese Mission Church in Walker Street (Carroll Street) to cater for a small Chinese congregation. He conceived of and established a Presbyterian mission in the upper Panyu district, and returned to China to help establish what became the Canton Villages Mission. He involved himself in raising money for the mission and later for famine relief in China.
Alexander Don ultimately achieved only limited success as a missionary, however his writings and the meticulous records he kept of the early Chinese are without precedent and today provide the chief source of our knowledge of the early Chinese gold-seekers in New Zealand. (Ng, 1993b)
More information about the Rev Alexander Don can be found on the Dictionary of New Zealand Biology database at http://dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/
Chinese gold miners and Reverend Alexander Don at the Kyeburn diggings, Otago. Part of the McNeur Collection : Photographs of Chinese goldminers who worked in Otago and Southland gold fields (PAColl-5135). Alexander Turnbull Library Reference number: 1/2-019156-F. Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
An Octagonal Graphic Organiser
This unusual graphic organiser has been chosen because of its shape. It is an octagon and represents the heart of Dunedin . For the early Chinese who were first invited to come to the goldfields, Dunedin was a lucky and auspicious town because of the eight-sided octagonal shape of the centre of the town.
In this “describe and reflect” activity students think over what they have learned from the unit in relation to the Social science curriculum strands.
Students cut and paste the octagon into workbooks for individual work or onto large charts if this is a group activity. Students list their examples gleaned from what they have learned over the course of the unit and their reflections in all four areas.
Teachers can use develop an assessment rubric based on the four strands.
Students can pick one of the four areas and develop a one-page essay on the topic. e.g. In what ways and to what extent did the early Chinese gold seekers sustain their identity and culture in Colonial New Zealand?
Continuity and change: List examples
of and reflect on the long-term impact of political upheaval for the Poon Yue Chinese and the affects on families of sending husbands and sons to the goldfields of foreign countries from which many did not return with the hoped for rewards.
Place and environment: Describe and reflect on the physical conditions under which many of the Chinese gold seekers lived out their lives on the goldfields. Consider some of the privations and also the skills and personal attributes required of individuals in order to lead such an austere lifestyle.
Identity Culture & Organisation:
Describe examples and reflect on ways in which the early gold seeking Chinese sustained their identity and culture in early colonial New Zealand and what the consequences were for the Chinese.
Further reflections and drawing conclusions
The Pioneer Chinese
Gold Seekers
The Economic World: Describe examples and reflect on the ways and extent in which the early
Chinese participated in developing local, regional, and national prosperity.
.
Activity Ten
Resources for Students
Information Websites
Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand has a site dedicated to the New Zealand Chinese with articles contributed by Manyip Ip
The Chinese http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/NewZealandPeoples/Chinese
The First Immigrants Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/NewZealandPeoples/Chinese/2/en
Later settlement http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/NewZealandPeoples/Chinese/3/en
The Chinese in New Zealand is a website dedicated to the New Zealand Chinese with articles contributed by James Ng.
The History of the Chinese in New Zealand http://tiny.cc/HistoryChineseinNZ
Chinese settlement in New Zealand, past and present http://tiny.cc/ChineseinNZ
Family Histories http://tiny.cc/ChineseFamilyHistories
Other sites Chinese miners - Arrowtown N.Z. http://www.arrowtown.org/chine.htm
[Note: Teachers are encouraged to make these websites available on the school intranet for students. Students using the websites as part of homework activities may find it easier to search for the particular items rather than type out very long URLs].
Resources for Teachers
Books and Pamphlets Ng, James. (1993a). Windows on a Chinese Past. Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. Otago Heritage books. Dunedin. [Volume 4 contains Don s records written in Chinese and is difficult to analyse in spite of the English index]. Ng, James (1993b). Don, Alexander 1857 – 1934 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Volume Two (1870-1900), 1993 Ng, James. (No Date). Choie Sew Hoy. Pamphlet available from the Arrowtown Information Centre and Museum. Arrowtown. Central Otago. Butler, P. (1977). Opium and Gold: A history of the Chinese Goldminers in New Zealand. Alister Taylor, Waiura, Martinborough, New Zealand. Ockwell, N. (Ed). (1985). Southern Cemetery Dunedin. Vol 5. Jewish and Chinese Portion. Prepared for The New Zealand Genealogy Society. Dunedin. The sketch maps included in this unit of Guangdong province, Poon Yue villages and Southern Cemetery Chinese headstone map are from this publication. So is the database of Chinese headstones. Maps used with permission. Evans. J. Discovering Chinatown. School Journal 1988. Pt 4 No 1, pp 9-16. Corner, M. Bizarre Shipwreck. School Journal 1991, Pt 3, No 2, pp 48-54.
Movies / DVDs Illustrious Energy. This film, made in 1988, tells the story of two late 19th century Chinese gold miners in Central Otago who scratch a living by gold mining. Trapped in New Zealand because of lack of money, they dream of returning to China. It is hard to obtain copies of this movie but is well worthwhile if you can. Copies can be borrowed from various film archives throughout New Zealand. Site/Shelf Location,
• Film Archive, Wellington 1994.1141 • Dunedin Public Art Gallery FEA (X) and Otago Settlers Museum FEA (Copy catalogued but missing)
Acknowledgement The writer of this unit would like to acknowledge the assistance of Mr Leslie Wong, Dunedin, in the development of this unit. His help with information and editing has been much appreciated. Southern Cemetery maps used in the resources are from City of Dunedin Cemetery database. The Southern Cemetery map portions were sourced from Dunedin City Council: Location of Dunedin s cemeteries http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/location-pdfs
