Abstract

Cultural tourism has become one of Australian tourism's most lucrative sectors, and the regional location of many of its prime sites and events means that increasing numbers of visitors are travelling beyond the major cities for ‘authentic’ local experiences. This paper focuses on Nundle's ‘Go for Gold Festival’, which is held annually over the Easter weekend. For its first six years, the festival had no relationship with Chinese heritage but in 2004, the seventh festival was rebranded as the ‘Go for Gold Chinese Festival’ and the event experienced something of a revival. Its transformation into a festival celebrating Chinese history and heritage has helped it develop into a major regional event, second only to Tamworth's Country Music Festival. What, however, are the finer-grained circumstances and consequences of these initiatives for Nundle's identity? What might it mean for ‘Chinese heritage’ to be mobilized in this way, and for Chinese Australian representation in the region?

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