The Gum San Museum: Inclusion by Virtue of Otherness

Abstract

The Gum San Museum is a Chinese Heritage Centre located in Ararat, Victoria. It tells the story of the Chinese miners who 'founded' the town in 1857. This article examines the museum's representations of Chineseness. It will be argued that the museum Orientalises the town's Chinese heritage, and in so doing, excludes Chinese Australian communities. This will be shown by interrogating the museum's architecture, statues of the Chinese miner and other historical representations.