Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the member for Bennelong's motion and I thank him for introducing this motion to reflect the significant importance of Chinese migration to the history and story of Australia.

The electorate of Ryan and the city of Brisbane, much like the electorate of Bennelong and the community in Sydney, has benefited greatly from Chinese migration to Australia. Brisbane's Chinese-Australian story began 164 years ago in October 1848, when the first Chinese migrants arrived in Brisbane as indentured labourers from Amoy aboard the sailing ship, the Nimrod. At that time, British settlement in the colony was expanding and the pastoralists were in need of cheap labour, as transportation of convicts had ceased. Between 1848 and 1853 about 1,000 Chinese labourers arrived in what is now Queensland and signed a five-year employment contract. They were employed as shepherds, labourers and servants and later as shearers.

The first group of 62 Chinese arrived in Moreton Bay a few weeks before the first load of free immigrants arrived from England on the Artemisia. The later discovery of gold was responsible for large numbers of Chinese coming to Queensland. The numbers were not great until gold was discovered on the Palmer River, inland from Cooktown in North Queensland. More than 18,000 Chinese migrated between 1875 and 1877 and, after the gold diminished, many moved to other areas of the colony, including Brisbane. They found work in many ways as merchants, land clearers, herbalists, cooks, furniture makers, hawkers, farmers and market gardeners.

In the electorate of Ryan, the Chinese established many market gardens along the creeks and watercourses and operated these during the latter part of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. They were the main providers of fresh fruit and vegetables to the expanding population. Similar activities occurred in nearly every settlement area in the colony. This was the beginning of a significant, productive economic contribution to Queensland and Australia, one that continues today.

In the electorate of Ryan, historical societies have been researching and documenting the history of the Chinese. The Chinese-Australian Historical Association is based in Ryan, established after the completion of the Chinese Club of Queensland's headquarters in Auchenflower in 1957. Like the rest of Brisbane, they suffered heavily during the 1974 floods, and the club did a lot of good work to support the wider Brisbane community at the time. They have recently erected a heritage sign in the original Chinatown of Brisbane in Albert Street. They take their story throughout the community with their travelling exhibition called 'Sojourners and Settlers—the Chinese in Queensland', which has toured the state.

There are many people in Ryan who have worked hard to document the history of Chinese migration to Brisbane. Desley Drevins from the Ashgrove Historical Society has documented the Chinese market gardens on Enoggera and Ithaca Creeks. Jeff Hilder from The Gap Pioneer & History Group has recently researched the story of the Chan brothers, who operated two market gardens at The Gap, and the Friends of Toowong Cemetery have translated and documented the information on the grave markers in the Chinese section of Toowong Cemetery.

I thank and pay tribute to Mr Ray Poon, who has worked tirelessly over the years to document the experience of Chinese immigrants to Queensland. Thanks also to the National Archives in Brisbane, whose many historical records have been preserved; to date they have digitised more than 15,000 records. I also acknowledge the hard work over many decades of the Chinese Club of Queensland, the current president, Mr Michael Chan, and Brisbane's living treasure Mr Eddie Liu, who has been deservedly recognised with the Order of the British Empire and the Order of Australia. The Liu family has been involved in the local community and Eddie is known as the 'father of Chinatown'.

I commend the member for Bennelong for drawing the attention of members to today's motion. The member for Bennelong is a strong community campaigner for his electorate and has developed a table tennis program to help students engage in sport and enjoyable exercise. I wish all the students who participate in the Bennelong Cup table tennis competition later this year the best of luck.

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