Brooks Creek Chinatown

Brocks Creek Joss Hse

The Kwong Sing Di Temple was by far the most imposing building in the Brocks Creek area. It was built for worship and named for a great Chinese warrior and statesman who fought for justice and the oppressed and was known for his integrity and honesty. Kwan Yin, Goddess of Mercy, was also worshipped at the temple which is believed to have been erected in the mid to late 1890s. It was built of bush timber and clad and roofed with corrugated iron situated on a large concrete floor. Plinths, still visible on site, once supported two large stone lions which were imported from China and brought to the site by rail, having been purchased with donations from the local Chinese community. The lions now guard the Sing Goom Chinese temple in Darwin.

Although the Army appears to have destroyed the temple during the war, memories of the worship place still loomed large in the memories of many.

The Joss House was entered from a side door and not from the fretiel front entrance which was always kept closed. The inside of the Temple was embellished with brightly coloured banners, flags, silken scrolls and beautiful wood carvings. The main altar was dedicated to the God Kwan Ti as was customary in such temples and the religious items included incense urns, candle sticks, flower vases filled with peacock feathers and orchestral instruments. It had Chinese stone lions as guardians. Memories of early Chinese resident as recorded by I. Matrics in 1954

The Joss House was built of galvanised iron and had a slat with sand trays and the remains of burnt out tapers. The walls were covered in Chinese characters painted gold and they represented the names mostly of long departed individuals who had paid 25 pounds for the privilege of nominal enshrinement.

Col Adams, former NT Director of Mines, speaking (NT Archives, Oral History) c. 1980.

Image Courtesy of: David Bridgman Architects, Heritage Council, NT

Brock's Creek Chinatown was the largest settlement of Chinese in the Northern Territory reaching its peak in 1886 at a population of approximately 400. It is associated with the most important mining area in the Top End. Between 1894-1897 the Chinese Temple was constructed to worship Kwan Sing Di, a great warrior, statesman and fighter for justice and the oppressed and also Kwan Yim the Goddess of Mercy. The community was a prosperous one, as evidenced by the range of commerical businesses operating during the 1880s and 1890s which serviced the many miners in the township. Written evidence also indicates the prosperity of the township in relation to the decoration and size of the Temple and the commissioning of two stone lions which stood outside the Temple and which are now located outside the Chinese Temple in Darwin. The sites are of high historic and cultural value as they contain fabric of the former Chinese structures together with extensive artefact scatters which contain surprisingly intact examples of ceramic jars and bottles. The site has acquired social and cultural significance as the location of the largest in situ Chinese population in the Northern Territory during the 1880s and the 1890s and as a major centre of commerce and worship for the former Chinese community in the area.

Source: Heritage Council, NT http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/heritageregister/f?p=103:303::::NO:P303_PLACE_ID:23#

This site is characterised by a large number of structural remains and diverse artefact assemblage. Brocks Creek Chinatown contains terraced rock and earth floors, rock hearths, other raised hearths, temple foundations, iron and concrete fireplace, ships tanks and associated artefacts including tins, wire, nails, corrugated galvanised iron, glass, machinery fragments, Chinese porcelain and stoneware. The site also contains a large Chinese oven, about 2m high, constructed of stone mortared with termite nest material and lined on the inside with clay.

Source: Heritage Council, NT http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/heritageregister/f?p=103:303::::NO:P303_PLACE_ID:23#