Digging up the Northern Territory’s Chinese past

DARWIN’S rich Chinese history will be the focus of new research, following the awarding of a scholarship

By the 1890s Chinese merchants were accepted as a vital part of Darwin's business community — they dominated this group of local businessmen. From left, rear — Hang Kim, P Kelsey, Cheong Wo, J McCorr, Chin Pack Sue, WCP Bell, Yuen Ng Kan, FE NIcholl, Ah Sang. Front row, from left — George McKeddie, Wing Wah Loong, A Cameron, Chin Yam Yan, VV Brown, Yet Loong, E Luxton, Wing Chong Sing.

DARWIN’S rich Chinese history will be the focus of new research, following the awarding of a scholarship.

The National Archives of Australia and the Australian Historical Association have awarded two new scholarships to support research into unexplored aspects of Australia’s history.

The latest winners of the twice-yearly joint scholarship are PhD candidates Natalie Fong from Griffith University in Brisbane, and Bethany Phillips-Peddlesden from the University of Melbourne.

Natalie Fong’s thesis focuses on Chinese merchants who were prominent in the then tiny multicultural community of Darwin between 1880 and 1920. She is a descendant of one of those she is researching, Wing Wah Loong.

“In the late 1800s to early 1900s Chinese merchants from the southern Guangdong region of China dispersed all over the world, thanks to the busy port of Hong Kong,” she said.

“One place that they established businesses was the NT where, by the late 1800s, they had become numerically and economically dominant.

“Chinese merchants capitalised on the long history of trade between Northern Australia and South-East Asia, as well as Darwin’s accessibility from Hong Kong by steamship to import and export goods.

“Important records held by the National Archives of Australia include family records of Chinese merchants, and correspondence between the merchants and Australian officials, including applications for staff immigration and protests against discrimination.”

For the second scholarship awarded, Bethany Phillips-Peddlesden is studying the ways women have participated in national parliamentary politics.