Collections - Museum
Date Published
State Museums - specialist Museums - Local Museums - the good the bad and the ugly.
Items related to Chinese–Australian history are scattered across the country. Some remain in private collections, but most are accessible in local history museums, state-based museums, and, of course, within a few national collections. Only a handful of institutions could be called specialist Chinese–Australian museums — notably the Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo, the Chinese Museum in Melbourne, and the Wing Hing Long Museum in Tingha.
Most local history museums include the Chinese presence only as a small part of their broader displays. The quality and depth of interpretation vary enormously. Many exhibits still tend to reinforce familiar stereotypes — portraying Chinese people chiefly as hardworking market gardeners or victims of racism — but with little nuance or sense of complexity.
There are some notable exceptions. In several regions, particularly in the Riverina, individual local historians and curators have taken it upon themselves to research deeply and present more sophisticated accounts. Much of this progress owes something to the influence of professional Chinese–Australian historians such as the late Barry McGowan, whose work on the Riverina remains foundational.
One of the aims of the Scattered Legacy project is to help bring these dispersed materials into a clearer historical perspective — to connect the local with the national, and the particular with the broader patterns of Chinese–Australian experience. Even the larger state institutions, for all their resources, can struggle to move beyond the old stereotypes and narratives. Yet together, across all these collections, can be seen a rich and revealing picture of the contribution of Chinese people within Australia’s history.
Examples - good
Examples - Bad
