A Chinese-Checkered History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Western Australia

It is believed that Dutch explorers found their way to the West Australian coast in the 1600s and settled there; Moon Chow is thought to have arrived in either 1828 or 1829. He was a boat builder and married a local woman named Mary Thorpe. He died in 1877 after being hit by a horse and cart.

Answer: Gold

Edward Hargraves, who had been in the California gold fields, submitted a sample of the mineral he found near the NSW town of Orange. Upon confirmation by the Colonial Geologist that it was indeed gold, Australia became the 'New Gold Mountain' - the name written in Chinese on the banknotes of the Commercial Bank of Australia.

Answer: Third

Apart from the English, the only country with more settlers in Australia than the Chinese was Germany. The Chinese began to arrive from 1793 onwards, until the mid-19th century.

Not all stayed, however - according to Australian government figures, between the mid- to late-1800s, 40,721 arrived from China, while 36,049 departed.

Answer: Hong Kong

Many of the arrivals from Hong Kong in the late 1850s were indentured to wealthy Chinese businessmen, and their families were essentially held hostage to ensure the return of the man and his booty.

A prominent board member of the Commercial Bank of Australia and prosperous business man, Lowe Kong Meng, had ships trading in both Chinese goods and passengers between Melbourne and Hong Kong in the 1860s.

Answer: Bilingual newspaper

"The English and Chinese Advertiser" was certainly the first bilingual newspaper in Australia. Bell helped the Chinese to educate themselves in understanding English numbers, among other things. However, the paper also gave information in both languages on government matters and local businesses and promoted cross-cultural integration. Sadly, once Bell was appointed the official government interpreter, the initiative lapsed and any understanding that had grown between the communities waned.

Answer: Robe

After the long trip to Australia, the Chinese then had to trek the 400-odd kilometers to the goldfields (depending on which route they took). It is estimated that around 16,000 people passed through Robe for that purpose. Some decided to stay in Robe to provide support for the trekkers, while others, weary of the travel and finding suitable soil along the way, put down roots and became market gardeners.

Many married locally and became part of the community. This has meant that much of the Chinese heritage has become absorbed into the general population.

Answer: Chinatown

Perversely, in the early years, the Chinese were criticised for forming enclaves, but were paradoxically forced to live in camps outside towns. They set up shops selling vegetables and other goods, laundries, eateries and other businesses (including opium dens) to support their communities. Eventually these were patronised by the general (non-Chinese) community, and many grew into the type of Chinatowns that we know today - mostly restaurants, but the occasional Chinese grocery or other business.

Answer: White Australia policy

This policy was rescinded many years later and Australia is now one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world. However, during this period, exceptions were made for chefs. In the Chinese community, this resulted in an influx of 'cooks' who happened also to be family members entering the country under a different name.

Historically, it is noted that by the mid 20th century, Chinese restaurants had opened in every city and many country towns. As a child in the 60s, I remember that the only local restaurant was Chinese; when travelling, it was always for possible to get a meal at the pub, or the local 'Chinese'.

Answer: First ethnic-Chinese to serve as a parliamentarian

O'Chee was born in Brisbane, Queensland, of a Chinese father and Irish/Australian mother. He has a long list of achievements, including being a councillor of the Scouting movement; he represented Australia in the sport of skeleton (a winter sport), and coached numerous teams in rowing.

Answer: True

Mei Quong Tart was the starter of the races of the League of Wheelmen, who participated in the newly introduced sport of cycling. Coming from Guangdong province, he had arrived in Australia soon after the Gold Rush, and was an extremely successful businessman.

He was considered the acting Consul for China in a time when there was no official representation. Interestingly, he was taken in by a family of Scots, and was known for his Scottish accent. His descendants still live in Australia.