Abstract

From approximately 1850 to 1900, Chinese people played a crucial role in the development of Victoria's fishing industry. This research report uses evidence from the excavation of an 1860s Chinese fish curing site in Victoria's South Gippsland region to discuss the local colonial

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Thousands of Chinese gold miners entering Victoria during the 1850s increased the demand for fish, a Chinese dietary staple. During this period, Chinese people entered Victoria's commercial fishing industry. They fished, bought fish and supplied fresh and cured fish (a cultural preference) to their fellow Chinese countrymen.

Chinese fish curers provided a new and reliable fish market in areas distant from Melbourne such as Corner Inlet, Port Albert and Metung (Figure 1). This in turn encouraged European fishing activity in regions previously regarded as unsuitable for commercial fishing.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

This research report stems from ongoing academic research examining aspects of the Chinese involvement in Victoria's early fishing industry, and discusses preliminary excavation results from an 1860s Chinese fish curing establishment near Port Albert, Victoria.

East Victoria's Fishing History

Commercial fishing in Victoria began soon after European settlement in the mid-1830s when fishing people built huts at Fisherman's Bend on the Yarra River and fish were sold at the general market reserve (Bennett 2002:3). By the 1860s, expanding demand led to the opening of very fertile fishing grounds in Gippsland's coastal region (Lee 2002:4).

As commercial fishing activities moved further from Melbourne, transport of fish to market before the flesh putrefied became the main obstacle for Victoria's rural fishing industry--ice was unavailable before approximately 1880.

Chinese Involvement

Written histories and newspaper reports from the mid-1850s reveal that Chinese fish curers were operating on a large scale not only in Victoria, but also in Tasmania, South Australia, New South Wales and the Northern Territory (Sydney Morning Herald 1861; Newcastle Chronicle 1863; Jones 1990:35). Documentary evidence gives some insights into Chinese activities in Victoria's early fishing industry.

In 1861, H.W. Wheelwright, a naturalist touring Victoria, wrote:

   ... and if John Chinaman has benefited no one else in the
   colony, he had at least done some good the fishermen; for
   instead of being obliged now to run the fish to
   Melbourne, on every fishing station along the coast
   Chinamen are camped, who buy the fish from the boat ... Tons
   of fish are yearly sent up to the diggings for
   consumption by the Chinamen (1861: 248).

A writer for the Gippsland Standard on May 5th 1894 (described only as 'One Who Was There'), wrote:

   About the year 1860, the first of the Chinamen curers
   started to cure fish ... they came to Port Albert and Port
   Welshpool and were open to buy all the fish they could
   get ... the Port boats ... generally made a fair cheque out
   of them.

The Chinese also caught fish themselves and were considered hard working, successful and accounted by some to be the best fishers in Gippsland (Lee 2002:3). Shipping records for the early 1860s reveal that cured fish from Port Albert was sent not only to Melbourne but also to Singapore (Syme 1987: 321).

Fish putrefaction is a result of bacteria growing within or on the flesh. Curing fish flesh reduces putrefaction and allows fish to be eaten up to four months after processing (Gibbs 1922:107). Historically, fish curing methods include salting, pickling, sun drying, smoking or a combination of these methods (Jarvis 1950:1). The exact process used by Chinese people to cure fish in Victoria is still unknown with historians suggesting all the above possibilities (Glowrey 2000:27; Lennon 1973:196; Bennett 2002:9).

The Site

Chinaman's Point (formerly Long Point) is approximately 1.5 km east of Port Albert in Gippsland's south-east region (Figure 2). The Chinese fish curing establishment identified there is the only one located during extensive field research in eastern Victoria. It is currently the only known material evidence of Chinese fish curing activities in Australia.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Archaeological excavation of the site occurred throughout February 2004. After mapping the surface area, a ten-by-ten metre grid was set out over the entire site, including the artefact-littered tidal zone (Figure 3). From surface collections and four excavated areas, a good representation of domestic and industrial type artefacts were recovered.

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

Excavation

A gutter system approximately 800 mm wide, 600 mm deep, 68 metres long and forming two segregated areas, was the predominate surface feature of the site (Figures 3 and 4). The area immediately south of the site had been (before recent sea-level rise) a salt marsh swamp (PROV, VPRS 5357/P0000, unit 5899). A series of cross-sections cut through the gutter system revealed that the original trench base fell away from the swamp. This suggests the system was devised to continuously drain the swamp, effectively creating a dry working area for the fish curing establishment. This practice was and still is the custom in many regions of China (Knapp 1989: 68; Mote 1977:197). Excavation Areas 1 and 3 were located within the dry areas formed by the gutter system, while Areas 2 and 4 were located outside of the system (Figure 4).

[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]

Area 1. The remains of timber posts (approximately 50mm in diameter) and scatters of corroded metal fragments were the only artefacts from 10 one-by-one metre excavated squares. The timber posts were made of Tea-tree (Melaluca ericifolia), had been axed to a sharpened point and put in the ground with no clay or stone packing around the base for stabilisation (Birch 2003:557). The axed point with no stabilising material demonstrates the posts had been hammered into the ground and suggests they would not have stood higher than approximately 1.5 m. These post remains may represent stay posts for drying fishing nets or supporting other lightweight items.

Many of the metal fragments recovered from Area 1 display a uniform width (32 mm, 42 mm and 55 mm) and curvature and are associated with metal rivets. This is consistent with iron hoop bands used around nineteenth century timber storage casks designed to hold liquids (Staniforth 1987:21). Timber casks could be reused, fitted with tight covers and probably represent containers for brining fish (Ashbrook 1955:217). As no domestic artefacts were recovered from Area 1, it is thought to have been an industrial area of the site, possibly a fish brining and net drying area.

Area 2. Two one-by-one metre excavation squares revealed no sub-surface materials. The area was recorded and then abandoned.

Area 3. One hundred and forty six one-by-one metre excavation squares revealed the remains of 131 posts. Post circumference ranged between 50 mm and 150 mm. Teatree was the material used; the posts were cut by axe without a point, placed in a pre-dug hole and packed with clay from lower stratigraphic layers. Cross sections cut through the profile of three post remains reveal the posts were placed deep into the ground, the shallowest at 500mm and the deepest at over one metre.

The posts were arranged in four distinct rows, each approximately 1.5 m wide and 15 m long (Figure 5). Such solid timber foundations had been designed to support a great deal of weight.

[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]

An 1880s photograph of Shaving Point at Metung shows a very small portion of a Chinese fish curing camp in which long, low-level drying racks can be seen (Caire 1886).

Two references to Chinese fish curers at Port Albert state that:

   There were a number of Chinese settled at Long Point
   [now Chinaman's Point]. They bought fish at 7 pounds
   per ton, dried it on racks and sent it away by steamer
   (Olsen 1947:118).

   We boys delighted to walk to Long Point, to see the
   Chinamen fishing and curing fish. They had long tables
   on trestles, on which the fish, gutted and split open, were
   laid to dry in the sun (Gippsland Standard, 7 July 1944).

These accounts and the layout of the excavated post remains confirm that Area 3 represents the remains of an industrial sized, open air, fish drying rack. As no nails or fastening equipment were recovered within the drying rack area, the fish curers may have used traditional building techniques of mortice joints and lashed timbers (Dumarcay 1991:61). No fish scales and very few fish bones were recovered from the drying rack area, suggesting that fish were scaled before drying and, if displaced from the rack, were considered valuable enough to be picked up and not left to rot on the ground.

Area 4. Sub-surface layers in this area were particularly disturbed through bottle collector and artefact scavenging activities. Artefacts recovered from eleven excavation squares include bones of sheep, cow, chicken and fish, charcoal, metal, slate, nails, window glass, bottle glass, Chinese ceramics, opium smoking paraphernalia, cooking pot pieces and lead net sinkers. These artefacts predominately represent a domestic situation.

When compared to the rest of the shoreline, the section adjacent to Area 4 has an increased rate of erosion. Surface finds in this area included a broken, home made, hand held pick of a modern style.

The disturbed sub-surface layers, the increased bank erosion, the discarded pick, the recovered artefact types and the density of surface artefacts suggest that this area may have been a rubbish dump beside or behind the site's residential area.

Jetty remains. Within the tidal zone, a series of sub-surface post stumps were located, suggesting the remains of a jetty. The post stumps were a selection of milled hardwood (150 x 35 mm) and rough cut Tea-tree (from 50 to 80 mm diameter). The stumps were positioned past the swamp area towards the deeper channel water. A jetty in this position would have allowed fishing boats to moor and its occupants to walk over the swamp to the industrial site area. A number of marine-type copper nails and lead net sinkers were recovered from surface and sub-surface layers of the site. These reveal the Chinese fish curets probably had their own boats, fished themselves (with nets) and had the capacity to take delivery of catches from other boats.

Broader Perspective

Historical archaeological studies of Chinese people in colonial Australia centres mostly on mining activities and to a lesser extent, their role in urban development. For an example of such work see Gaughwin (1995), Comber (1995), McCarthy (1995), Smith (1998), Bell (1995), Lydon (1999) and Muir (2003). More general studies such as by Choi (1975) involve Chinese migration to Australia, and Macgregor (1995) has researched Chinese material heritage. Current research by S. Couchman, Z. Stanin, K. Reeves and A-L. Muir is continuing to further the understanding of Chinese activities in Australia.

In the United States, a wider range of archaeological and historical research has enabled a good understanding of colonial Chinese activities, initially in California's gold rush and later in other industries such as fishing, furniture making, market gardening, canned foods, retail and transport (Kemp 2004).

The current project on Chinese fish curers will help to build a deeper knowledge of the Australian situation, enabling 'an inside view denied us by standard historical accounts ...' and helping us to 'grasp the full nature of our colonial past' (Mackay and Karskens 1999). Uncovering this little known aspect of Australia's past and other early Chinese immigrant activities such as, the communities they formed, their organisational structures, how they participated socially and economically whilst competing against or working with other cultural groups, and their integration into Australian colonies is essential for constructing a more complete picture of Australia's colonial history.

Conclusion

This study confirms that Chinese fish curers arrived Victoria at the same time as the gold miners during the 1850s, fished with boats and nets, purchased considerable quantities of fish from European people, prepared and cured their fish using heavily constructed open air drying racks, and shipped their product to Melbourne and Singapore markets. In the Port Albert region, Chinese fish curers created a reliable market for European fishing people and helped sustain the industry until ice and fast, reliable transport became available. Importantly, as a result of this study, it is now clear that Chinese people played a larger role in Victoria's colonial fishing industry and in the Victorian economy more broadly than was previously known.

As the project progresses, further insights will be gained into the almost forgotten role of Chinese fish curers in Australian history. When considered with new and comparative research into minority groups in colonial Australia, this study will contribute to an understanding of the influences that helped shape Australia's present day society.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements deservingly go to the team of volunteer archaeology students from La Trobe University who assisted me with the excavation, and also helped catalogue the large number of artefacts recovered. Dr Susan Lawrence from La Trobe University helped with many aspects of the project. I am also grateful to Dr David Frankel and Prof Tim Murray for their comments on earlier drafts. I take responsibility for any errors.

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Newspapers

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Gippsland Standard--1894, May 5.

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The Sydney Morning Herald--1861, April 6.

Archaeology Department, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, 3086. julianc@ocean.com.au