Events

Further information about social events, including a tour of Melbourne's Chinese heritage sites, will be added as arrangements are finalised over the coming months:

Golden Dragon Museum, Bendigo

Experience a living history of the Chinese people in Bendigo from the gold rush of the 1850s to the present day at the Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo, 150km north of Melbourne:

Loong, the oldest imperial dragon in the world, appeared in Bendigo in 1892 and annually paraded in the Bendigo Easter Fair Festival until he retired in 1970. In 1901 Loong travelled to Melbourne to celebrate Federation and in 2001, Loong made the journey back to Melbourne to march in the Centenary of Federation parade. In 2007 Heritage Victoria added Loong to the Victorian Heritage Register, receiving the state’s highest level of heritage protection.

Sun Loong, the longest imperial dragon in the world, stretches his legs annually at the oldest continuous fair in Australia – the Bendigo Easter Festival Gala Parade. Parading on Easter Monday, over 120,000 people line the streets to watch him weave his magnificent Imperial body through Bendigo’s CBD.

Located at the entrance to the museum and part of the Chinese precinct of Bendigo are the Yi Yuan Gardens, the Kuan Yin Temple and the new Dai Gum San forecourt.

Tour program

The program will include a tour of the Golden Dragon Museum, breaking for a yum cha lunch, recommencing with a tour of Yi Yuan Gardens, Kwan Yin Temple and Dai Gum San.

The set lunch menu will include char siu bao, pork siu mai, shark fin dumpling, stir-fried vegetables and sticky rice with Chinese tea. Any dietary requirements must be booked in advance.

The lunch and tour will take approximately 2.5 hours, allowing time to catch the 2:26pm train from Bendigo back to Melbourne for the start of the Dragon Tails 2011 conference at 5:30pm.

Train times are liable to change, so please check with VLine (136 196 or www.vline.com.au).

What: Tour of the Golden Dragon Museum, Yi Yuan Gardens, Kwan Yin Temple  
Where: 1–11 Bridge Street, Bendigo
When: Friday, 11 November 2011 at 11.30am  
Bookings: phone +61 3 54415044 or email info@goldendragonmuseum.org  
Cost: $30 per head
How to get there: From Southern Cross Station in Melbourne, catch the train to Bendigo. From the Bendigo station you can walk, catch a bus or catch a taxi to the Golden Dragon Museum.

See Yup Temple, South Melbourne

Dragon Tails delegates are welcome to visit the See Yup Temple in South Melbourne. The temple is the community and religious centre for the See Yup Society and is the oldest place of non-Christian worship in Australia.

The first See Yup Temple was built on the South Melbourne site in 1856. A new temple building, designed by leading Melbourne architect George Wharton, was built in 1866. By the turn on the century the temple had outgrown this building too, and a second memorial hall was built – this one was designed by reknowned architect Harold Desbrowe Annear.

The temple holds over 13,000 wooden ancestral tablets, each showing the name and village of birth of a deceased member of the society.

What: See Yup Temple
Where: 76–80 Raglan Street, South Melbourne (tel: 03 9699 7388)
When: Daily, 9am to 4pm
How to get there: From the city, take the no. 112 tram from along Collins Street or it's a 10-minute taxi ride.
Cost: Gold coin donation

Download the See Yup temple brochure:

Special Preview of Dr Sun Yatsen, Republic Revolution and Chinese-Australian history

Conference delegates will have the opportunity to get a sneak preview of a new exhibition being developed by the KMT called Dr. Sun Yatsen, Republic Revolution and Chinese-Australian history: a special exhibition. The exhibition will officially run at the KMT headquarters at 109 Little Bourke St from 20 to 27 November 2011. Delegates can view it during the conference on 12 and 13 November by prior appointment with Dr. Mei-fen Kuo.

What: Special preview of forthcoming exhibition
Where: 109 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
When: Saturday or Sunday, 11-12 November 2011 by appointment
Bookings: email Dr. Mei-fen Kuo    
How to get there: From the Chinese Museum walk out into Cohen Place, 109 Little Bourke Street is on the other side of Little Bourke Street on the corner of Market Lane just down from the square.

James Ng, 'Recent Research in Cantonese Chinese History in New Zealand', Melbourne Chinese Studies Group presentation, Melbourne CBD

James Ng recounts categories of recent or impending publications and film on the New Zealand Cantonese, with many of the works assisted by the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Fund. They have a broad range of subjects, and exemplify how one significant work acts as a springboard for another. Presently the works have reached a volume and depth amply sufficient to support the Cantonese as a longstanding ethnic minority of value which arrived early in goldfield times and have a rightful place in New Zealand. However, one cannot say that the Cantonese story has been comprehensively told, particularly as to how they lived in China and early New Zealand. Also poorly told is their thinking as sojourners and when they changed from sojournism to settlement in New Zealand. Until these aspects are clarified, effectiveness in their purpose and as a people cannot be fully ascertained. This will require more writings on and by them, especially of a biographical nature.

James Ng of Cantonese origin is a retired family doctor from Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand. Between 1993-1998 while still working in his practice he published the 4 vol. Windows on a Chinese Past, which recorded Cantonese history in New Zealand. The late Henry Chan told the story of his hitch-hiking in inland Otago in 1960 and being picked up by Jim who was searching out Chinese ruins and graves on his honeymoon! Jim is credited with publicising the recognition of the Chinese role in southern New Zealand. To commemorate the importance of the early Chinese, he initiated the building of Dunedin’s acclaimed Chinese Garden which was completed in 2008. In 2005-2010 Jim was appointed the founding Chairman of the Government-funded Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Fund which aims to encourage Cantonese language, literature, history and heritage. From this perspective he will present an overview of recent research in New Zealand-Cantonese history and general literature.

The talk is open to the public and will be followed by an informal, inexpensive meal in a nearby Chinatown restaurant.

What: Lecture
Where: Hayden Raysmith Room, 4th Floor, Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (between Swanston and Elizabeth Sts)
When: Monday 14 November 2011, 6pm, 1 hour + half hour for questions and discussion.
How to get there: 20-minute walk from the Chinese Museum.
Cost: $2 donation

Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours, Immigration Museum, Melbourne CBD

Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours is a major new exhibition at the Immigration Museum. This exhibition is about identity – who we are, who others think we are, and what it means to belong and not belong in Australia.

The exhibition focuses on how our cultural heritage, languages, beliefs, and family connections influence our self-perceptions and our perceptions of other people – perceptions that can lead to discovery, confusion, prejudice and understanding.

Engaging personal stories, intriguing objects, compelling images and interactive multimedia experiences invite visitors to find connections with others, as well as challenge the assumptions we make about each other every day. Visitors are encouraged to share their own stories, affirm their own identities and celebrate diversity in our community.

For more information visit the exhibition website: http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/discoverycentre/identity/about-the-exhibition

What: Exhibition
Where: Immigration Museum, Old Customs House, 400 Flinders Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000
When: Daily, 10am to 5pm
How to get there: http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/visiting/getting-here or it's about a 30-minute walk from the Chinese Museum.
Cost: Adult $10, Concession and Child (3–16 years) free entry

AAI4: The 4th Asian Australian Studies Research Network Conference: New Communities, New Racisms, University of Melbourne

This conference brings together Asian Australianists from around Australia and colleagues from the US and Canada. Also? You can't say no to Poh (Ling Yeow)! Or Ghassan Hage, Meaghan Morris, Benjamin Law, Alice Pung, Tom Cho, Adam Bandt, Tsebin Tchen, Peta-Jane Madam, Dai Le, Maria Vamvakinou, Shabbr Wahid, Cam Nguyen, Soo-lin Quek, Vincent Chow, Kee Pookong, Tammi Jonas, Jane Wong, Phil Lees, Billy Lee, Belinda Smaill, Olivia Khoo, Chris Pang, Heng Tang, Christian Were, Mark Cummins, John Sinclair, Gao Jia, and many others...!

For more information about this conference and the Pre-Conference Postgraduate and ECR Workshop and the Asian Australian Film Forum see the conference website - http://asianaustralianidentities.org/.

What: Conference
Where: University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000
When: 10-11 November with other conference events on 9 November and 12-13 November
How to get there: See conference website.
Cost: See conference website.

 

Educating the Nation: The Humanities in the New Australian Curriculum: 42nd Annual Symposium of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, University of Melbourne

 Key themes

·    What experience of the humanities is envisaged for our future citizens?

·    What interest in the humanities will be stimulated among Australia’s young people?  What skills will they bring to university, further training or the workforce from the disciplines, and the discipline, of the humanities?

·    Who are Australia’s future scholars, researchers and teachers in all the disciplines of the humanities, and what encouragement is being offered to them to pursue a widely based and rich encounter with human knowledge? 

·    How has the Australian nation been formed through schooling and how does this compare internationally?

Registrations close Friday, 11 November - http://www.humanities.org.au/Events/AnnualSymposium.aspx

What: Conference
Where: University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000
When: 17 November 2011
How to get there: See conference website.
Cost: See conference website.

Cultural Tourism in Australia: A National Conversation presented by Australia & International Tourism Research Unit (AITRU)

While in past decades Australian tourism policy has been directed towards stimulating demand, investment in well resourced, attractive tourism product is now viewed as essential. The government’s National Long-Term Tourism Strategy states that ‘the future of tourism will depend on ensuring the industry provides compelling and sustainable experiences to consumers’ and that the value of natural, cultural and heritage assets is ‘likely to become increasingly important as consumers actively seek sustainable and authentic tourism experiences’. According to the federal government, these experiences are drawn from four broad themes which differentiate Australia in the current international market; indigenous culture, landscapes, sophisticated cities and regions, and the ‘Australian people’.

This challenging context for tourism in Australia means that an examination of the current and future state of cultural tourism in the nation has never been greater. Can the existing cultural tourism industry in Australia rise to the challenges that currently assail all developed destinations in terms of changing markets and demand? What changes in policy are needed to aid its adaptation to new markets, new technologies and the demand for the ‘unique and exceptional’ which underpins the experience economy? Do these conditions provide the impetus for rethinking the way Australia has performed cultural tourism in the past?

Presenters will include historian Dr Richard White - University of Sydney, Associate Professor Louise Johnson – Deakin University, Dr Tim Winter Senior Research Fellow - University of Western Sydney and Mr Mark Wang – Deputy Chairman of the Museum of Chinese Australian History.

Please RSVP to Ms Amber Thomas – amber.thomas@monash.edu or +61 3 9903 4073 by Monday November 7, 2011. Note - this event is free of charge. Places are limited so please reserve your seat asap.