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Accepted Paper:
Chinese history, mixed ancestry and connections to country to Northern Australia
Richard Martin
(University of Queensland)
Paper short abstract:
Many Chinese and other Asian men travelled to the north of Australia in the 19th Century, often producing children by Aboriginal woman. This paper examines the lives of these men, and the contestations over belonging that relate to their complex legacy.
Paper long abstract:
Northern Australia has long been seen as a 'polyethnic' space, marked by the long presence of Chinese and other Asian migrants. This paper examines the complex legacy left by these migrants, many of whom lived the remainder of their lives in Australia and created families of mixed Chinese and Aboriginal as well as European descent. The politics of such mixed identity reveals ambiguities about indigeneity in settler societies. In exploring these ambiguities through case studies from northern Australia's Gulf Country, this paper contributes to discussions about belonging to place and connecting to 'country' in Australia.