Chinese community ties in north Queensland link to the Qing Dynasty
The multicultural town of Innisfail south of Cairns has always been a friendly home to settlers whether Indigenous, European or Asian. Chinese immigrants first arrived on north Queensland shores in the 1860’s and quickly established settlements across the region, stamping their mark in agriculture, mining and commerce. The recent restoration of two paintings depicting children from the See Poy family in Qing Dynasty era costumes exemplifies north Queensland’s significant Chinese cultural heritage. The conservation of these historic paintings came through a collaboration between the Queensland Art Gallery and the Innisfail and District Historic Society. The paintings can be viewed at the historical society’s small Innisfail Museum.
Image credit Innisfail Museum
Pioneering Chinese migrants followed the 1860’s trail of mineral discoveries with their sights set on Charters Towers gold fields initially. 1871 census data shows a population of 430 Chinese in Gilberton though Chinese migrants swiftly spread as far afield as Innisfail, Cooktown, Port Douglas, Cairns and Atherton. The Palmer River gold rush near Cooktown was the most significant event around this time with Chinese fortune seekers travelling overland by foot to the Palmer gold fields.
By 1875 a steamer shipping service brought fortune seekers direct from Hong Kong to the newly established port of Cooktown, swelling the Chinese population to outnumber Europeans three to one on the Palmer field. At the time, it was the largest Chinese community in Australia.
Image credit Innisfail Museum
So, it’s no surprise that Chinese heritage remains strong around the Cairns region thanks to longstanding ties from multi-generation Chinese Australians. Taam Sze-Pue was one such pioneer who sailed from his Chinese village to Cooktown with his brother and father. With his name Anglicised to Tom See Poy, Tom soon traded in the hard labour of the gold fields to become a successful store keeper in Innisfail. His descendants carried on his business with the See Poys becoming an integral part of the community. The Innisfail Temple, Lit Sing Gung, remains at the heart of the area’s Chinese heritage.
The Innisfail and District Historical Society are the custodian of some terrific memorabilia from the See Poy family which was donated after the death of Tom’s daughter Victoria May. The See Poy Portraits depict the young children of Tom and his wife Chan Han. In one painting the children wear costumes of the Qing Dynasty and in the other they wear Edwardian dress. The costumes signify the importance of both their country of cultural origin as well as the land in which they had become prosperous.
Image credit Innisfail Museum
In other parts of north Queensland Chinese cultural ties remain equally strong. The entire month of February is set aside to celebrate the Cairns Chinese New Year Festival, culminating in a street parade and fireworks on the Cairns Esplanade. There’s a full program of cultural events which is popular with Chinese international students, their families and visitors who, like their predecessors, still travel from Hong Kong and mainland China to Cairns.
Cairns is an important destination for Chinese international students too. World-class educational institutions are the main attraction but so too is studying in a modern multicultural city that has always welcomed visitors from across the globe to its tropical shores.