Scattered Legacy
澳華僑海集珍
A national digital project preserving and reconnecting the objects, places, and stories of Chinese-Australian history.
Scattered Legacy 澳華僑海集珍 is a national digital project preserving and reconnecting the objects, places, and stories of Chinese-Australian history.
The Chinese Australian Historical Society’s ground breaking Scattered Legacy project has commenced the task of uncovering the hidden depths of Australia’s rich Chinese heritage. Scattered Legacy is pleased to be a National Foundation for Australia-China Relations grant recipient.
Thousands of priceless treasures from Chinese Australian history are scattered across Australia, waiting to be discovered (or rediscovered). From dusty old artifacts in local museums to hidden gems in the hands of descendants, the history of the Chinese in Australia is both fascinating and far-reaching. A Treasure might be a shop sign, a migration document, a temple photograph, a cemetery inscription, or a family letter. Scattered Legacy 澳華僑海集珍 brings together hundreds, and eventually thousands, of items to not only share their history but also to connect them to a diverse range of thematic essays. These essays guide visitors on a journey through the rich, diverse, and often overlooked story of Chinese-Australian heritage.
Scattered Legacy is not presented as the finished product of historians and researchers but rather as an ongoing research tool for all interested in Chinese Australian history and heritage. Many Treasures therefore will have only sketchy mentions as we invite you to add to our knowledge and do your own research.
Together, these Treasures will help to reshape how Australia understands its shared past.
We invite you to support Scattered Legacy as it uncovers the past and reveals the true extent of Chinese influence on Australian history. If you know of any items — including artefacts, documents, photographs, sites, or landscapes — that are relevant to Chinese-Australian history, we warmly encourage you to notify us and help grow this national collection.
For more information please write to: scattered.legacy@gmail.com
Objectives
The objectives of the Scattered Legacy project are not to function as a museum in the conventional sense, although it can certainly be used as one. Rather, its purpose is to use objects — which Scattered Legacy refers to as Treasures — in the broadest possible way. These Treasures allow everyday lives, movements, and connections to be recovered in ways that formal archives often cannot. Treasures may include physical objects, documents, photographs, images, landscapes, and any other material that can be connected to Chinese-Australian history. A Treasure might be a shop sign from a remote town, a migration document, a temple photograph, or a family letter. Each treasure is described and its history provided where known. In addition, each Treasure is linked to its historical context through at least one short Thematic Essay, which provide background, interpretation, and broader meaning.
Historical Persons are also represented, as are Practitioners (local researchers, historians, archaeologists, descendants, etc) and Organisations (from the local to the National). Place and Region play a major role in this process, allowing Scattered Legacy to recover local histories that are often forgotten, misremembered, or overlooked, from Broome to the Gulf Country, from Tasmania across to Perth, as well as throughout the more frequently discussed eastern states of Australia.
Chinese translations are another major feature of the project. Wherever Chinese writing appears, translations are provided, linked, and searchable independently through the Chinese Text section. This ensures access for both English and Chinese readers and allows the original language sources to be explored in their own right.
The guiding principle of Scattered Legacy is as a continuing national overview built from many local points. It is therefore necessarily a thin network stretching not only across Australia but also back to China, and in some cases across the Pacific. It is thin rather than deep at present, but depth will continue to grow as more treasures and thematic essays are added. In every case, references to further, more detailed research are provided wherever possible.
It is important to note that Scattered Legacy is designed as a research tool for you to use rather than a finished passive presentation for you to learn from - though it can be both. This means that many entries will be partial and incomplete as our knowledge grows.
Contributions are central to the project’s future. Please do not hesitate to add any treasure related to Chinese-Australian history that you encounter. Suggestions can be made through the Submissions on the Scattered Legacy website menu.
Project Team
Project Manager - Michael Williams
Developer - Mu Zhang
Researcher - Alexandra Wong
Original Project Committee (CAHS subcommittee)
For more information please write to: scattered.legacy@gmail.com
Project sponsors
This project was established by a grant from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations, an Australian government initiative. This project is administrated by the Chinese Australian Historical Association. The opinions expressed in this project's outputs are those of the creators and do not reflect the official policy or position of the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.