Article The Forgotten Story of ... the Chinese Goldfields Aussie Rules leagues

[scribbs]

Nice story in UK Guardian this week

Every year 80,000 Chinese tourists travel to Ballarat in regional Victoria to visit the old goldfields of “Tsin Chin Shan” or “Land of the New Gold Mountain”. Their itinerary includes the Gold Museum, Chinese Cemetery, Mine Tour and Sovereign Hill’s recreated Goldfields Village. The tour buses never stop at Eastern Oval, the ground that over 120 years ago hosted a unique part of Australia’s sporting history.

In 1854, Ballarat had become a thriving Chinese colony and many were successful veterans of the great Californian gold rush. By 1890, the town had surrendered the last of its 20 million ounces of gold, and each member of the Chinese community faced a dark night of the soul: to stay or return home.

Locked out of key union jobs, the ones who stayed integrated into the community as market gardeners, herbalists, cabinet makers and laundry managers. These first Chinese Australians were a tough, resilient and adaptable community. And they loved Australian Rules football.

In his office at Victoria University, Dr Rob Hess, a leading historian of early Australian Rules Football history, regaled me with amazing tales of Chinese small town football pioneers: Chin Kit for Ironbark in 1882, Thomas Chin Chee for Inglewood in 1895

Read rest here -

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/25/forgotten-story-chinese-goldfields-aussie-rules

 

[Our Game]

What a great story about footys chinese hidden past.Those games played in Ballarat seem like a lot of fun.