Urban Characteristics, Identities, and Conservation of Chinatown Melbourne (original) (raw)
Related papers
Melbourne Chinatown as an Iconic Enclave (2016)
Proceedings of the 13th Australasian Urban History/ Planning History Conference (UHPH). Edited by Caryl Bosman and Ayşin Dedekorkut-Howes, 39-51 Gold Coast: Australasian Urban History/ Planning History Group and Griffith University, 2016.
Melbourne Chinatown as an Iconic Enclave, pp: 39-51/UHPH2016
Chinatowns as iconic enclaves exist in several Australian cities. Among them, Melbourne Chinatown is the oldest, which dates back to the gold rush in the 1850s. Early Chinese migrants settled along the Little Bourke Street on the outskirts of the city, which served as a staging post on their journey to goldfields. Lodging houses were established providing cheap accommodation for sojourners. Gambling houses, opium shops, and brothels also emerged, resulting in the notorious reputation of this ethnic precinct. It was common for the general public to stigmatize this area as a fearful slum. This paper examines the transformation process of the Melbourne Chinatown from a ghetto in the past period of segregation to a well-received popular tourist destination nowadays. The distinctive characteristics and rich heritage of the urban fabric are regarded as a symbol of difference and a valuable asset to multicultural Australia.
Melbourne Chinatown as an Iconic Enclave
2016
Chinatowns as iconic enclaves exist in several Australian cities. Among them, Melbourne Chinatown is the oldest, which dates back to the gold rush in the 1850s. Early Chinese migrants settled along the Little Bourke Street on the outskirts of the city, which served as a staging post on their journey to goldfields. Lodging houses were established providing cheap accommodation for sojourners. Gambling houses, opium shops, and brothels also emerged, resulting in the notorious reputation of this ethnic precinct. It was common for the general public to stigmatize this area as a fearful slum. This paper examines the transformation process of the Melbourne Chinatown from a ghetto in the past period of segregation to a well-received popular tourist destination nowadays. The distinctive characteristics and rich heritage of the urban fabric are regarded as a symbol of difference and a valuable asset to multicultural Australia.
This paper develops a critical analysis of Chinatown redevelopment schemes undertaken by State government in Victoria and New South Wales since the early 1970s. This period marks a transition in Australian management strategy toward minority groups from one of assimilation/discrimination to cultural pluralism. At the local level, this shift has been marked by efforts on the part of planners and politicians to promote Chinatown for its perceived contribution to ‘Multicultural’ Australia. The paper argues that the Melbourne and Sydney schemes share with similar projects in other Western countries, long-standing assumptions about ‘a Chinese race’. This has implications both for the conceptualization of ‘Chinatown’ and for public policy relating to ethnic relations.
Sydney's Chinatown in the Asian Century
2016
The researchers would like to thank the City of Sydney for its participation and funding support for this project, especially Mr Steve Hillier and Mr Phil Raskall from the Research, Strategy and Corporate Planning Unit; Ms Robyn Simon from the City Business and Safety Unit; and all the City of Sydney councillors and officers who have participated in the interviews for their time, commitment and expertise. The researchers would also like to acknowledge the support and assistance of the Haymarket Chamber of Commerce and the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. This research would not have been possible without the help of a large number of informants who have taken part in the interviews, focus groups and survey questionnaire. The researchers would like to express their sincere gratitude for these participants' time, openness and insightful responses to our questions.
Sydney’s Chinatown in the Asian Century: From Ethnic Enclave to Global Hub
2016
The researchers would like to thank the City of Sydney for its participation and funding support for this project, especially Mr Steve Hillier and Mr Phil Raskall from the Research, Strategy and Corporate Planning Unit; Ms Robyn Simon from the City Business and Safety Unit; and all the City of Sydney councillors and officers who have participated in the interviews for their time, commitment and expertise. The researchers would also like to acknowledge the support and assistance of the Haymarket Chamber of Commerce and the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. This research would not have been possible without the help of a large number of informants who have taken part in the interviews, focus groups and survey questionnaire. The researchers would like to express their sincere gratitude for these participants' time, openness and insightful responses to our questions.
Claiming Chinatown: Asian Australians, Public Art and the Making of Urban Culture
Journal of Australian Studies , 2017
Chinatowns have traditionally functioned as ethnic enclaves that were despised by the dominant Western culture, while functioning for Chinese immigrants as a refuge from the hostile white society they were surrounded by. In today’s globalised world, the meaning of Chinatowns has been transformed, as they have become more open, hybrid and transnational urban spaces, increasingly interconnected within the broader Asia-Pacific region. For Asian Australians, Chinatown may be a site of conflicting memories of Australia’s racist history and of cultural marginalisation and ethnic survival, but it is also—in today’s multicultural and cosmopolitan age—an area to be claimed for the expression of new Asian Australian identities. In Sydney’s Chinatown, public art projects by Asian Australian artists such as Jason Wing and Lindy Lee articulate some of the complexities and ambiguities of what it means to be Asian in Australia today.
Chinatowns in Australia: power at stake versus urban responses, Queensland case studies
2014
Dupre, K. & Xu, B. 2014, ‘Chinatowns in Australia: Power at stake versus urban responses, Queensland case studies’, Proceedings of the the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE) Conference 2014, 14-17 December, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The new Gold Coast Chinatown: stakeholders’ development preferences
International Journal of Tourism Cities, 2015
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between culture-based tourism development and cultural sustainability in the established tourism destination of Gold Coast, Australia. It seeks to contribute to the debate on local development and tourism through evaluating the development of the newly-born Gold Coast Chinatown. Design/methodology/approach-Two types of analysis were developed for this study. The first one aims at assessing the general features of the case study site. It was done by the urban analysis of the precinct, the count of the shops associated with the identification of their function (e.g. retail, services, etc.), street visual survey, and the assessment of ethnic expression/representations. The second analysis aims at assessing place-attachment, development impacts and cultural attitude. It was done by questionnaire surveys. Findings-The analysis evidences mainly two findings. First, tradition, authenticity or ethnicity are not perceived as key drivers, and tangible prerequisites do not appear as a priority for a culture-based tourism development. Second, correlation studies show the longer the length of residence the higher is the attitude towards positive perceived economic impacts and positive cultural attitudes. It is the opposite of what is usually found in literature review. As such, it challenges the concept of cultural sustainability, and helps us to reconsider the weight of the evaluative factors of community attachment, development impact and cultural attitude in tourism development. Originality/value-The recent creation of the Gold Coast Chinatown not only raises the question of the rationale of what is usually recognised as a community-based settlement, hence its cultural foundation and the legitimacy of transfer of cultural models, but also the processes at stake between cultural sustainability and tourism development. To the knowledge, no publication exists on this case study.
MA (Public History) thesis, Monash University, 2000
Chinatowns and the people who live and work within them have been subject to some powerful stereotypes and generalisations that obscure the diversity of experience and understanding of these areas. The objective of this thesis is to reveal the diversity of Melbourne’s Chinatown in the 1900 to 1920 period through a detailed examination of the lives and businesses of those who lived in the Swanston to Russell Street block of the eastern end of Little Bourke Street. This approach builds on a trend in recent research towards more detailed regional studies of Chinese communities across Australia. By understanding the minutiae of life in this block in the broader context of Chinese and Australian history it is possible to move beyond generalisations and create new understandings of Melbourne’s Chinatown. Sands and McDougall Street Directories were used to construct a spatial framework. The database created was part of my commissioned work with the Museum of Chinese Australian History. This spatial framework was overlain with a wide range of other primary sources. The use of electronic databases and a spatial approach for collecting and analysing material assisted overcome the particular difficulties of searching for Chinese names within English language records. Detailed vignettes of the lives of individuals and organisations at different times and locations emerged from this spatial overlay of information. These vignettes are discussed geographically like a walking tour. As the narrative progresses along Little Bourke Street the nature of the people and place emerges.