'Chinatown Re-Oriented': A Critical Analysis of Recent Redevelopment Schemes in a Melbourne and Sydney Enclave (original) (raw)

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Urban Characteristics, Identities, and Conservation of Chinatown Melbourne

JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM

Many unique ethnic enclaves have been established in Australia due to the country’s rich and diverse immigration history. Chinatown Melbourne is one of the oldest and most iconic examples that date back to the gold rush period in the 1850s. Previous studies have examined many aspects of the precinct, such as its architectural styles and demography shifts. However, there is a lack of research investigating the enclave’s urban characteristics and the consequent urban identity. This knowledge gap can lead to unfeasible heritage conservation decisions with a lack of emphasis on the precinct’s unique identity. Hence, this study aims to scrutinize the precinct’s past urban evolution and its present characteristics to better understand its heritage value and enhance future urban policies. Qualitative data are collected using archival and literature review, map analysis, and field observation. Overall, by elucidating Chinatown Melbourne’s urban characteristics and key urban movements, the s...

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.

At Home in Asia? Sydney's Chinatown and Australia's 'Asian Century'

International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2015

It is widely recognised that the 21st century is seeing a geopolitical shift in global power relations towards Asia, particularly China. This has led Australia to officially embrace Asia as its regional home. But the neoliberal economic logic underpinning this embrace leads to a narrowly transactional conception of Australia’s relationship to Asia, governed by an opportunity/threat dichotomy. By contrast, this article describes Sydney’s Chinatown today as an increasingly hybrid, porous and transnational space of uneven and mixed-up, embodied Asian-Australianness. Juxtaposing the dynamic on-the-ground reality of this contemporary Chinatown with government discourse on Australia’s relationship to Asia, as exemplified by the 2012 White Paper Australia in the Asian Century, illuminates that Australia is not yet at home in Asia.

Contesting Chinatown: Place-making and the Emergence of ‘Ethnoburbia’ in Brisbane, Australia

GeoJournal, 2005

This paper juxtaposes the actual areas of settlement and settlement activities of Chinese migrants in Brisbane’s southern suburbs since the mid-1980s, with the concomitant, ‘government planned’ construction of the city’s Chinatown as an ‘exotic,’ ‘ethnic,’ and ‘cosmopolitan’ landmark. It argues that while the latter, as with Chinatowns in other Australian and world cities, has continued to appropriate the symbols of

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.