In 1863 a European Australian observer of a Chinese Opera performance in Victoria described it as evidence that the Chinese were “a wrongly but highly civilised people”.
The British invasion of Australia was carried out largely on the assumption of a percived civilisational superiority. Here post-contact Australian history is examined with a focus on this contested assumption as perceived through the lens of Chinese Australian history.
Introduction – What is reflective history?
Chapter 1 – Before there was gold (pre-1788 to 1855)
Chapter 2 – From gold to artisans (1851 to 1881)
Chapter 3 – Merchants and the Qing (1881 to 1911)
Chapter 4 – A white Australia tested (1911 to 1936)
Chapter 5 – War and Revolution (1936 to 1949)
Chapter 6 – White Australia policy survivors (1949 to 1972)
Chapter 7 – Students of One Nation (1972 to 1997)
Chapter 8 – Sydney Opera House shines red (1997 to Present)
Conclusion – Still highly civilised and still wrong?