What Has the Chinese Got to do with This
Oct 31, 2013 3:25:36 GMT -5
Post by douglaslam on Oct 31, 2013 3:25:36 GMT -5
It is often said Australia's prosperity was riding on the sheep's back. It harks back to the days when the wool clip from Australia, not mineral export, which gave the country its high standard of living. The shearers who moved from station to station were romanticised as tough, hard working, they were and still are, and hard drinking Aussie stereotype. There is even a Shearers Hall of Fame dedicated to their honour and memory.
www.hay.nsw.gov.au/Museums/ShearOutback/tabid/100/Default.aspx
Earlier in the week, a mechanical shear belonged to the legendary shearer Jackie Howe was sold at auction for a large sum. In the 1980s, two of Howe's personal items, including a fob watch were auctioned for an even greater amount.
www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-29/howes-mechanical-shears-go-under-the-hammer/5056350
Who was jackie Howe? What has all that got to do with the Chinese?
www.jackiehowe.com.au/3.html
The article above gives a good account of Jackie Howe. But it did not say anything about how Howe got his start as a shearer.
Jackie Howe cut his teeth with a Chinese shearing gang. Yes, it was the Chinese shearers who showed him the ropes. My source for this piece of trivia is our national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I heard this on an oral history program a few years back.
Just like the railway builders in North America, the Chinese presence and influence in the early years of the country was downplayed. After the gold rush, in which few people had struck it rich, the Chinese were on to other occupations. They cleared land, grew fruit and vegetables, did tin mining, opened general stores, worked as cattle and sheep station hands, and of course shearers. In fact any job at all in which they were willing to put in long hours and hard work. Their contributions were often ignored, or forgotten. Just as you were unlikely to see Chinese railway builders to be celebrated and photographed when the last spike was struck, Chinese workers here were also left out in paintings and photos of the time.
But it did not escape the notice of New England University researcher Janis Wilton's notice. The historian and academic wrote a richly illustrated book on the Chinese in regional New South Wales. It is called Golden Threads. www.powerhousemuseum.com/publications/publications_item.php?id=58
I read this book a few years ago. It was an exceptional good read. It is about time I borrowed the book again.
Geoff, our long-time member who made a reappearance last week; his family was featured in one of the chapters of the book. Geoff, if you are reading this, please expand on it.
Now, back to the shearers and one of the best known song of all in the country.
www.hay.nsw.gov.au/Museums/ShearOutback/tabid/100/Default.aspx
Earlier in the week, a mechanical shear belonged to the legendary shearer Jackie Howe was sold at auction for a large sum. In the 1980s, two of Howe's personal items, including a fob watch were auctioned for an even greater amount.
www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-29/howes-mechanical-shears-go-under-the-hammer/5056350
Who was jackie Howe? What has all that got to do with the Chinese?
www.jackiehowe.com.au/3.html
The article above gives a good account of Jackie Howe. But it did not say anything about how Howe got his start as a shearer.
Jackie Howe cut his teeth with a Chinese shearing gang. Yes, it was the Chinese shearers who showed him the ropes. My source for this piece of trivia is our national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I heard this on an oral history program a few years back.
Just like the railway builders in North America, the Chinese presence and influence in the early years of the country was downplayed. After the gold rush, in which few people had struck it rich, the Chinese were on to other occupations. They cleared land, grew fruit and vegetables, did tin mining, opened general stores, worked as cattle and sheep station hands, and of course shearers. In fact any job at all in which they were willing to put in long hours and hard work. Their contributions were often ignored, or forgotten. Just as you were unlikely to see Chinese railway builders to be celebrated and photographed when the last spike was struck, Chinese workers here were also left out in paintings and photos of the time.
But it did not escape the notice of New England University researcher Janis Wilton's notice. The historian and academic wrote a richly illustrated book on the Chinese in regional New South Wales. It is called Golden Threads. www.powerhousemuseum.com/publications/publications_item.php?id=58
I read this book a few years ago. It was an exceptional good read. It is about time I borrowed the book again.
Geoff, our long-time member who made a reappearance last week; his family was featured in one of the chapters of the book. Geoff, if you are reading this, please expand on it.
Now, back to the shearers and one of the best known song of all in the country.
