Scattered Legacy

Nature of Treasure: Building (former), Market Garden Huts
Keywords: scrub cutting (bush clearing), Agricultural (sheep/wool), labour
Region: Central West (NSW)
Place: Young
Year: 1860

Ruins of Chinese worker's dwellings located on Olde Milong.

Workers dwelling, Young

Image Courtesy of: Ray Hampton Christison

The Chinese single-jian dwelling located on Olde Milong is an important artefact of the Chinese presence in the Young district following the gold rush of the 1860s. The building and a similar nearby structure were evidently constructed as dwellings for Chinese workers engaged local rural properties. These ruins have the potential to provide information on the siting and construction of Chinese rural dwellings in the region in the late 19th century. They also have the potential to link the Tubbul district to Chinese occupation sites recorded in other places in Australia and around the Pacific Rim. The Chinese single-jian ruins are an extremely rare example of this type of dwelling recorded in New South Wales. They are representative of the role of Chinese workers in developing rural properties in the late 19th century. The ruins have local historical significance and state significance in relation to their technical/research potential, rarity and representativeness. They have a moderate degree of integrity.

Source: NSW Environment and Heritage

No explanation is given as to why this structure is referred to a "single-jian" i.e. "singe room" using a word from a language unknown to the builders.