Roots of Racism: The Chinese Experience in Early Brisbane, 1848-1860

Abstract

In 1842 Brisbane Town made a fresh start, as a free settlement. But because of the economic slump and immigrant dearth of the 1840s, the populace hardly exceeded 1000 by the 1846 census. Between 1848 and 1851 this was boosted by an intake of at least 641 convicts and 1818 immigrants, including J.D. Lang's shiploads of aspiring settlers and batches of less sober-minded orphan girls. Yet the 1851 census totted up a mere 2500 persons. The bulk of the newcomers to Moret?n Bay were naturally British born. Nevertheless at least 734 Chinese labourers arrived between 1848 and 1851, 23 percent of all immigrants, and another 50 in 1852 to 1853.1 Considering the scholarly and community concern in recent years about racism, this burst of Asian immigration could be quite significant. Whereas Australian racism has been generally attributed to the incursion of Chinese during the southern goldrushes and developments in mining, labour and nationalism thereafter, this particular influx into a small, isolated, frontier settlement of northern New South Wales pre-dated those events. Consequently this paper first pieces together the way the colonists experienced their contacts with the Chinese in Brisbane and secondly their prevalent attitude towards these newcomers during the late 1840s to 1850s, before finally reviewing historical assumptions about roots of Australian racism in the light of this Brisbane case-study. During those early years the Chinese were imported as indentured servants to satisfy a specific local need?to alleviate the scarcity of labour while providing the maximum profit for employers and merchants. Being 'at their wits end', a meeting of the squatters' Labour Association at Brisbane in 1847 considered the possibility of indentured servants from Amoy or the South Sea islands. In the following year the Sydney branch was determined to obtain a shipload of Chinese 'on trial' after the New South Wales governor refused to admit Indian coolies. Consequently the first batch of 56 Chinese labourers arrived at Brisbane via Sydney in 1848, engaged as indentured servants for a pittance of six pounds per annum, their rations and two suits of clothing on repayment of passage money.2 Further Sydney shipments and direct shiploads of Chinese were landed at Brisbane until 1853, though the peak of 469 arrivals was in 1851. Judging by the extraordinary census figure in that year of 153 foreigners (7%), including 132 mahomedans and pagans in religion, a large number of Chinese remained about the town. Though type-cast as shepherds, hutkeepers and menials in the country, some Chinese, apart from those unemployed, were engaged as servants in Brisbane itself. Their masters were a miscellaneous lot including: Richard 'China' Jones of New Farm and the interior, better known for his commercial and squatting empire based at Sydney before the financial crash; William Thornton, the customs official of North Brisbane; Albert J. and Henry Hockings, storekeepers and timber-merchants of South Brisbane; the ubiquitous agent and merchant, Henry Buckley; Dr Frederick K. Barton of Brisbane Hospital on North Quay; Thomas Grenier, publican of the Brisbane