Darwin Temple (Old)
Date Published
: Temples / Joss House
: Northern Territory
: Darwin
: c.1920 to 1974
Darwin Joss House was looted by soldiers during WWII before being restored and then destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974.
Darwin Temple (Old)
"Pictures of the joss, which last year brought luck to the houses in which they were kept, have been returned to the joss house at Darwin. They were borne in procession, while crackers exploded and drums banged. Rockets were fired by the chief priest outside the joss house, and the Chinese who found the sticks will have the right to keep pictures of the joss, with all the good luck they bring, for the ensuing year. Feasting continued all day."
Western Star and Roma Advertiser, 14 March 1934, p.2.
"Each throw yields points, which are allotted to the various members of the Chinese community. The person receiving the highest number of points is awarded the "Number One Joss," and the process is con tinued until all the Joss pictures are distributed. It is not chance, it is the voice of Shui Ding Park which governs the distribution."
The Sun, 23 Febuary 1936, p.19.
"No one he come now to pray," he said. "Temple long time no use. One time many use. War stop all that." He shrugged his shoulders and Willie Tye came to his aid with a good knowledge of English. Willie had been sleeping his meal off in a room just near the entrance to the joss house. His story was: Before the Pacific War, many of the older Chinese, came to the joss house, but, during the war, many were evacuated ' and there was nobody to look after it.
Troops thronged into Darwin and piece by piece the treasures of the joss house disappeared. The army authorities had placed the joss house out of bounds, but the five idols went off one by one, then the trappings and finally the only things left were the big marble slabs (too heavy to lift) and the two signs (too high to reach).
New generation. With the end of the war, the. Chinese community looked back on the joss house with dismay. The roof was damaged and some of the beams shaky, caused by bomb concussion. They did some patching up but a new generation was growing fast and the old joss house no longer held the interest it had. The older generation who subscribed for the erection of the joss house had nearly died out, and the £900 promised by the authorities to rebuild the joss house was not taken up.
Brisbane Telegraph, 15 September 1951 p.11.
THE DRAGON DOORS OF PAN KU Cavenagh Street, Darwin’s pre-war Chinatown. By ERNESTINE HILL
God, Darwin Temple
God, Darwin Temple
Darwin Temple (old), interior
Possibly image of temple in SA Library collection.
