How you going?
Just asking you where your family originally came from.
Okay, well, my mum’s side I’m actually from the First Fleet so my sixth generation
great grandfather is Frederick Meredith.
Well, I was born in Sudan and also my parents were born in Sudan as well.
My family are Italian.
Switzerland.
From Thailand.
No idea, I’m European obviously but ...
I’m an orphan, sorry.
My dad’s Cypriot.
My mum’s Irish and apparently we’re related to Ned Kelly somewhere, so ...
Wow, the famous bushranger, Ned Kelly?
Yeah.
Um, the UK.
Okay, how long ago did they come here?
Erm ... Oh, they didn’t.
I came here.
Oh, you came here.
Okay.
Well, no Dad met Mum here when he was on R&R from Vietnam War.
Oh, so he came for love.
He moved here for love.
Yeah, he did.
Yes, people have their roots all over the world.
My parents came from India and England and Selby is going to find out about some early
Chinese immigrants who came to Australia in the 1850s.
Selby comes from Guangzhou in the southern part of China.
He’s only been in Australia for just over two months.
As an only child he misses his parents in China a lot and often chats to then on Skype.
In 2009, he graduated with a Bachelor degree from the South China Agricultural University.
I got the Bachelors degree in the discipline of animal science in China and now I’m studying
Agriculture Business at the University of Adelaide.
I study in the Waite campus and it’s a beautiful place.
I live in Toorak Gardens, one of the most beautiful areas, because you know,
in China I never see such a beautiful areas as so many plants and grass and something
like that.
My favourite hobby is snooker.
I have a Chinese name called Lu Jianyong, but in Australia people usually tend to call
me Selby
just because Selby is one of the most famous snooker players in Britain and I love playing
snooker.
That’s why I chose the name, Selby, as my nickname.
I’ve come to Sovereign Hill to find out more about how the Chinese people have to
experience the hardship in Sovereign Hill
and what they live and how did they work, that kinds of things.
I know that in Sovereign Hill it a very famous gold mine small town in Australian history.
It is reported that when the first ounce of gold has been digged out in Sovereign Hill
there were three thousands of Chinese people coming to Sovereign Hill in one day, seeking
their fortunes.
And so Selby you’re in the ... in Sovereign Hill’s re-creation of one of the Chinese
camps that were set up in the mid-1850s.
All right.
The camps were set up in order to control the Chinese population on gold fields,
Mm.
and to minimise racial tension.
Okay.
This tent over here depicts how new arrivals would have lived on the gold fields.
Uh huh.
So, as you can see, they’ve got all equipment, their travel equipment with them.
And they still have their Chinese clothing with them.
They’re yet to adapt to this Australian gold field society.
I know that most of them come from the southern part of China which is my home town, near
Hong Kong.
I have made the phone call to my mum and she said no-one of my relatives have ever come
to Australia for seeking gold.
This is the Chinese temple which was also a part of the Chinese Camp ...
Uh huh.
at the time.
The temple is actually I think just the only way that they can express their worships to
the ancestors.
Anna told me this place as well for them to gathering against a European protesters.
It’s a good place I suppose, really traditional Chinese style.
I don’t really understand what this say because they use the character that they actually
use 200 years ago.
But I know this one.
This one says ‘Fat pigs for sale’.
So Selby, to get you into the feel of the 1850s let’s go and get you into some 1850s
costume.
Would you like that?
Oh sure, I like it.
It’s interesting.
Good.
Come this way.
Just looking into here with a small smile for me.
Good morning.
How are you?
Good morning.
How are you?
Why are you dressed like that?
Ah, I’m pretending to be a miner.
And have you been gold panning yet or not?
No.
Not yet.
Later.
Well, this is actually the Redcoats marching along the main street.
And they say if you against the law, of the British law, they shoot you.
Ah, they have guns here.
I’m just wondering whether they shoot or not.
Out the way!
That’s my mound.
He shouts at me.
Citizens of the Ballarat, people of Empire ...
Squad, order arms.
Advance arms.
They would shoot.
Excuse me.
Hey, how are you?
Can I just take a photo with you?
Yeah, certainly.
Hello.
Now, I’m getting on a coach and heading towards the pan for the gold.
I suppose the horses has been trained.
Yes, yes.
And they know what you are asking them to do.
Yeah, they know where to go.
No, they’re pretty good.
Thank you, thank you very much.
Enjoy the rest of you afternoon.
I’m going to find some gold now.
Hmm, there’s not so much gold, maybe upstream.
I might just try down there.
I don’t think I can find any gold.
There seems just not ... no nugget here.
It’s just because my poor technique that makes me not finding any gold.
Ah hah!
Here it is.
I finally find it.
You see the big piece of nugget here?
It’s worth millions of dollars.
So here we go, placing the gold into water.
Amazing.
So here you are.
That’s three kilos of gold.
Wow, that’s pretty heavy.
It is heavy isn’t it?
Can I just take that away?
No, you’re not going anywhere.
Before this I haven’t heard about Sovereign Hill yet and
I don’t think Australia has such a period of history that the Chinese people will go
to Australia for mining
but after this I will think that Sovereign Hill’s is actually a very good place to
give the Chinese people,
as well those people from other countries, to give them some basic information of this
kind of history.
Ah hah!
Handsome boy.
Very handsome.
I like it, I like it.
I’ll just send back to my parents and see what their response are.
I suppose they will be very happy.
Oh certainly.
I’ll just weigh it for you.
When I see the poster I do remember that I have such an experience of finding such a
big nugget of gold.
Oh, this terrific.
Ah ‘Monster Nugget.’
‘Infamous gold digger’ in the town.
So Selby learned some Australian history and found some gold.
That sounds like a pretty successful day.
That’s it for the show.
Here’s what’s coming up next week.
Music lover Rif tries out the didgeridoo
Priya volunteers at Riding for the Disabled
and Raisa and her mum pamper themselves on a girl’s day out.
See you next time.