Chinatown, Melbourne
Encyclopedia
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
is located within the Melbourne Central Business District and is centred near 37.8118°S 144.9676°E around the eastern end of Little Bourke St
Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Little Bourke Street in Melbourne's CBD runs roughly east–west within the Hoddle Grid. It is a one-way street heading in a westward direction...
. It extends between the corners of Swanston
Swanston Street, Melbourne
Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Australia. It is historically one of the main streets of central Melbourne, laid out in 1837 as part of the Hoddle Grid, the layout of major streets that makes up the central business district...
and Spring Streets
Spring Street, Melbourne
Spring Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south, and is the easternmost street in the Hoddle Grid. The street travels from Flinders Street in the south, to La Trobe Street and the Carlton Gardens in the north...
.
History
Melbourne's Chinatown was established during the Victorian gold rushVictorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
in 1851 when Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
prospectors joined the rush in search of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. It is notable as the oldest Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the oldest continuous Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
settlement in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and the second longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world, only because San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
's Chinatown
Chinatown, San Francisco, California
San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. Since its establishment in 1848, it has been highly important and influential in the history and culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants to the United States and North America...
was nearly, but not completely destroyed by the 1906 earthquake.
In 2010, the ground floor of the Chinese Museum
Chinese Museum, Melbourne
The Museum of Chinese Australian History Inc. is an Australian history museum located in Melbourne's Chinatown. The Museum was established in 1985 with a charter to present the history of Australians of Chinese ancestry. An extensive refurbishment funded by the Victorian Government was completed in...
was remodeled as a visitor centre for Melbourne's Chinatown.
Other Chinese communities
Other than the original Chinatown in the CBDCentral business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
, several newer Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
communities are found in the suburbs of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, such as Box Hill
Box Hill
Box Hill or Boxhill may refer to:*Box Hill, New South Wales, suburb of Sydney, Australia*Box Hill, Surrey, England well known beauty spot in the North Downs**location of Box Hill & Westhumble railway station...
(Carrington Road). Immigrants from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
have established there. Centro Box Hill is the primary shopping destination in Box Hill
Box Hill
Box Hill or Boxhill may refer to:*Box Hill, New South Wales, suburb of Sydney, Australia*Box Hill, Surrey, England well known beauty spot in the North Downs**location of Box Hill & Westhumble railway station...
as there are many shops focused on Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n products and service.
Similar Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
communities can be found in Richmond
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
(Victoria Street
Victoria Street
Victoria Street is the name of several streets in various countries:In Australia:* Victoria Street, Kings Cross* Victoria Street railway station, New South Wales* Victoria Street, Melbourne, Victoria...
), Springvale
Springvale
Springvale may refer to:In Australia:* Springvale, New South Wales, a suburb of Wagga Wagga* Springvale, Victoria, a suburb of MelbourneIn Canada:* Springvale, Haldimand County, Ontario* Springvale, Lambton County, OntarioIn England:...
and Footscray
Footscray, Victoria
Footscray is a suburb 5 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Footscray had a population of 11,401....
. These areas have businesses owned by some ethnic Chinese from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, with most run by ethnic Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
, and include associations
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
as well as a range of grocers, shops
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
and eateries offering Chinese and Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
food and merchandise.