Cairns Chinatown

Cairns Chinatown was the largest and longest running Chinese community outside Brisbane from the 1880s until the mid 1940s.

Sandi Robb, Cairns Chinatown: a heritage study

Image Courtesy of: Sandi Robb, Cairns Chinatown: a heritage study

"Grafton Street, Cairns was the historical site for Cairns Chinatown - the largest and longest running Chinese community outside Brisbane from the 1880s until the mid 1940s. Supporting a diverse population of Chinese settlers, entrepreneurs, women and families, ..." (Robb, 2012: title page)

"From the early 1880s when the Lily Creek Chinese camp moved into Sachs Street, Chinatown was a busy and thriving community. According to Cathie May, the social structure of the community was divided according to place of origin with storekeepers on the eastern side of Sachs Street predominantly Sze Yap, and Chung Shan storekeepers and merchants on the western side. Nearly all Chinese immigrants to Cairns were from Guangdong Province in the Southern Delta area of China. Most came from Loong Dou, a small distinct district in Chung Shan, with a smaller group from Sze Yap or the "Four Districts" in Toishan. Some also came from Sam Yap or "Three Districts." " (Robb, 2012: 18)

As the 20th century progressed the Cairns Chinatown declined. "Australian Born Chinese showed little interest in maintaining the Chinese enclave. Many were westernized having at least one European parent or grandparent, or had themselves grown up assimilated into the broader Cairns community through their experiences at school. Neither cultural tastes, nor race relations, provided an incentive for Australian born Chinese to remain living in Chinatown. The barriers causing racial residential segregation were removed and many families lived outside Chinatown." (Robb, 2012: 87)

Sandi Robb, Cairns Chinatown: a heritage study A history of the Cairns Chinese community, Cairns & District Chinese Association Inc, 2012.

Law, L. (2011). The ghosts of White Australia: Excavating the past(s) of Rusty’s Market in tropical Cairns. Continuum, 25(5), 669–681. https://doi-org.ezproxy.sl.nsw.gov.au/10.1080/10304312.2011.605519

Cairns Chinatown map, Sandi Robb, North Queensland's Chinese family landscape: 1860-1920. PhD Thesis, James Cook University. 2019, p.244.

Image Courtesy of: Sandi Robb, North Queensland's Chinese family landscape: 1860-1920. PhD Thesis, James Cook University. 2019, p.244.