Rediscovered Past

Chinese Tropical Australia

Sandi Robb & Kevin Rains, Editors
Published by
Chinese Heritage In North Australia Incorporated
Rediscovered Past: Chinese Tropical Australiais the fourth, exciting publication by CHINA Inc. that presents selected papers from the biennial Rediscovered Past conference 2012. From the pearl and beche –de-mer fields of the Torres Straits to the sugar fields of the Lower Herbert district, this publication takes a look at little researched aspects of North Australia’s Chinese industry, its entrepreneurial individuals and the communities and Chinatowns which developed. A eulogy to former president, founder, and friend Kevin Wong Hoy completes the 52 page book. This publication promotes “the important work of reporting on and disseminating the research into the involvement of early Chinese settlers with the development of northern Australia, largely during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”
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CONTRIBUTORS

Dr Kevin Rains is an archaeologist, heritage manager and history researcher. He completed a PhD in archaeology from the University of Queensland in 2005, and his thesis examined the Chinese social landscape of early Cooktown. He has worked since 2001 in the general field of heritage management and archaeological research for consultancy firms and state and local government. He has attended and presented papers at various conferences on Chinese Australian history and heritage, and is a founding member of the research association, Chinese Heritage in Northern Australia Inc. Recently he has written a biography on one of Queensland’s early Chinese Australian families, Cedars of the West: the Ah Foo Family Story.

Dr Janice Wegner is a Senior Lecturer at the Cairns Campus of James Cook University and teaches and researches various aspects of North Queensland history and heritage. She has published a variety of books and journal articles on North Queensland’s history including histories of Local governments Etheridge and Hinchinbrook Shires and journal articles on mining history. She is currently researching a history of tropical Queensland weeds. Jan is a volunteer at the CairnsHistoricalSocietyMuseum and has undertaken a Significance Assessment study of the mining machinery museum collection for the Croydon Shire Council. As chair of the Far Northern branch of the National Trust of Queensland she has also sat on several State and Council committees and is a past committee member of the Queensland Heritage Council.

Sandi Robb is a historian and cultural heritage consultant who specialises in Chinese family history, cultural heritage management and interpretive projects. As a PhD candidate at JamesCookUniversity, she is researching and writing her thesis Chinese Families in North Queensland, and works full time as a Senior Heritage Officer for the Qld Government. Sandi has presented at various conferences on Chinese Australian History, published articles in books and journals and published CairnsChinatown: A Heritage Study. An active committee member of the Townsville Chinese Club, she is also a founding member and current president of the Chinese Heritage in Northern Australia Inc. (CHINA INC).

Julia Volkmar is a retired public servant with a Masters Degree in Public Policy from CharlesDarwinUniversity 1994. She has lived in Cairns for 10 years and an active member of Cairns Historical Society, Chinese Heritage in Northern Australia Inc and Cairns and District Chinese Association Inc. She was attracted to the history of the Hap Way Co through creative expression and an artist which was encouraged by historian Kevin Wong Hoy. Julia undertook a compelling journey into Cairns’ earliest history to commemorate Cairns’ significant Chinese sugar industry pioneer. Julia’s inclusive approach utilised over 100 community members, historians and archivists to collaborate and research information which led to a memorial plaque being erected in the heart of the former plantation. The Hap Wah Company plaque was unveiling in January 2013 at Stockland Shopping Centre, Earlville.

Melissa Dunk is an MPhil candidate at University of Queensland and is currently studying overseas Chinese Archaeology specifically the relationship between the overseas Chinese and their material culture in maintaining Chinese identity. She studied her Bachelor of Archaeology (Honours) at La Trobe University on the artefact assemblage of Atherton Chinatown. Melissa works as a cultural heritage advisor for a national gas pipeline company. She is also passionate about Chinese history and heritage as well as Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

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