Tuesday, September 16, 2014

 

China Tribute Gardens

Last weekend we went for what Dad calls a "clear the cobwebs from the brain" drive. We ended up in Young in central New South Wales. Young has a rather dark early history. It was here that the worst anti-Chinese riots happened, back in the gold rush days of the 1860s. Alluvial gold was discovered at a place called Lambing Flat and "diggers" rushed in from all over Australia and overseas. Included were lots of Chinese, many of whom had been working on the Victorian goldfields. European diggers hated the competition. They accused the Chinese of wasting water when washing gold out of the soil, and eventually rioting broke out. There were six riots, the worst one in July 1861. About 2000 European diggers attacked the Chinese camps. The Chinese were driven off the goldfield and around 250 were seriously injured. Local police were powerless and NSW government troops were sent to stop the rioting. Eventually the Chinese were allowed back, but only in small segregated areas. Public pressure led to the government passing acts restricting Chinese numbers in the colony. The town of Lambing Flat changed its name to Young. Today the site of the old goldfield is a beautiful recreation area. The centerpiece is the Chinese Tribute Garden. Although the signage does not mention the riots, it does state that the gardens are a tribute to the contribution of Chinese settlers to the growth of Australia. The gardens are lovely at this time of year. Besides the artworks around the grounds and in the lake, the trees are all in bloom and provide great hiding places for small bears.

Labels: ,


Saturday, September 06, 2014

 

More Heli-pix From Uluru

Helicopters are a great way to see the countryside.In previous posts I showed some of our photos of Uluru and Kata Tjuta taken on our helicopter flight at Uluru, now here are some that show the country around the larger area. In the top one you can see ridges of red sand in strange patterns. These are ancient sand dunes that Spinifex grass and Desert Oak trees have stabilised. They are there in the other photos as well, but not as easy to see. Surprisingly, you see the same pattern of swirls and curly lines in the art of the local Anangu people.If you look closely at the middle picture you will see a batch of tents near the left hand edge. These are actually very posh tents, costing much more per night than the Oldies can afford. They are where Wills and Kate stayed when they visited Uluru. The royals were at Uluru just before us. You can see where we stayed in the bottom picture. The big resort in the centre, curving around a pool, is "Sails in the Desert"; I can't recommend it highly enough, it is a great place to stay. The buildings to the left are the Yulara police and ambulance stations. Yulara shopping centre is on the left of the resort, and other hotels, motels and caravan parks are in the background. We will do another trip to the Centre sometime. The scenery is mind-blowing and photos just don't do it justice.

Labels: , ,


This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?