COUNtries and cultures
As we all know, many people from all corners of the globe came to the goldfield. There were several fights of everyone’s portion of land and of gold. So of course, there were many rebellions between their enemies, which were surprisingly different countries.
Amongst them was a Polish digger named Seweryn Korzelinski. He was surrounded by a million people from different countries, language and cultures. Whilst the night and day passed, he was repeatedly asked what country he comes from. When people found out of his Polish country, they would say: “You SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE POLISH!!” After many of these comments, he realised that others would either be mad or happy of your country.
Now, going back to the Europeans and Chinese. The news of the gold then spreaded all the way to China. Soon, Australia was flooded with Chinese people. Since people were leaving their jobs to try their luck, they ordered the Chinese to take over and do the job that was required. But that didn’t stop them from coming to the goldfield. In 1853 and 1854, there were about 2000 Chinese in Victoria. By June 1855,that number increased to 15,000, then in 1858 the population of Chinese reached its peak at 40,000.
As the Chinese came rolling in, the Europeans were in extreme fear of them. It is told that the Chinese were on the brink of taking all of their jobs. One reason for why the Europeans disliked the Chinese was because, their intention was to bring the gold that was found to their families, making them rich during the time of poverty and oppression. Although this was the same intention for the Europeans, they criticized them for not investing their gold in Australia, but hiding it away to take home.
Another, is because of the Chinese religion. During the goldrush, they practiced their religion of Buddhist or Taoist. This confirmed to the Europeans that they were heathens (a person who does not belong to a widely held religion, as they think they are) and idol worshipers.
Also, the Chinese dug for gold as a group, to have a better chance of receiving gold. But the Europeans described it in their a heads a lot more differently. They thought they were an immense horde trying to take over their area of the goldfield. Of course, the Chinese were not doing that at all.They were just working together trying to achieve as much gold as possible.
The Europeans also disliked the Chinese because of their appearance. Their usual appearance was a ponytail, with a string attached at the bottom and posh suit (but in this case, they would wear clothing that looked like old rags.). This derived the Europeans, but some followed the way Europeans were dressed, whilst some stuck to their countries appearance.
Finally, the gold that was found would usually attract women to Chinese men because of their wealth. The Europeans thought that they were playing a competition to see who would get the most gold and attract the European woman. But most of the times a relationship with a Chinese man and a European woman was short lived.
Amongst them was a Polish digger named Seweryn Korzelinski. He was surrounded by a million people from different countries, language and cultures. Whilst the night and day passed, he was repeatedly asked what country he comes from. When people found out of his Polish country, they would say: “You SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE POLISH!!” After many of these comments, he realised that others would either be mad or happy of your country.
Now, going back to the Europeans and Chinese. The news of the gold then spreaded all the way to China. Soon, Australia was flooded with Chinese people. Since people were leaving their jobs to try their luck, they ordered the Chinese to take over and do the job that was required. But that didn’t stop them from coming to the goldfield. In 1853 and 1854, there were about 2000 Chinese in Victoria. By June 1855,that number increased to 15,000, then in 1858 the population of Chinese reached its peak at 40,000.
As the Chinese came rolling in, the Europeans were in extreme fear of them. It is told that the Chinese were on the brink of taking all of their jobs. One reason for why the Europeans disliked the Chinese was because, their intention was to bring the gold that was found to their families, making them rich during the time of poverty and oppression. Although this was the same intention for the Europeans, they criticized them for not investing their gold in Australia, but hiding it away to take home.
Another, is because of the Chinese religion. During the goldrush, they practiced their religion of Buddhist or Taoist. This confirmed to the Europeans that they were heathens (a person who does not belong to a widely held religion, as they think they are) and idol worshipers.
Also, the Chinese dug for gold as a group, to have a better chance of receiving gold. But the Europeans described it in their a heads a lot more differently. They thought they were an immense horde trying to take over their area of the goldfield. Of course, the Chinese were not doing that at all.They were just working together trying to achieve as much gold as possible.
The Europeans also disliked the Chinese because of their appearance. Their usual appearance was a ponytail, with a string attached at the bottom and posh suit (but in this case, they would wear clothing that looked like old rags.). This derived the Europeans, but some followed the way Europeans were dressed, whilst some stuck to their countries appearance.
Finally, the gold that was found would usually attract women to Chinese men because of their wealth. The Europeans thought that they were playing a competition to see who would get the most gold and attract the European woman. But most of the times a relationship with a Chinese man and a European woman was short lived.