Matt and I decided on Saturday to take a little day trip to Beechworth, Victoria. Beechworth is a beautifully preserved gold mining town. Home to the famous Beechworth bakery, Chinese cemetery and burning towers and LOTS of Bushranger (aka Outlaw) Ned Kelly memorabilia. I myself had only heard of Ned Kelly a little from Matt. Now I know a bit more which I will share in a later post after I get a little extra info.
One frien
dly local suggested we go down High Street to the gravel road to have a sticky beak (aka a look around) for some wild kangaroos. They evidently don't come out except for dawn and dusk. At first we only saw a few way, way off in the distance. It was pretty cold so I reluctantly left without a real kangaroo fix. All the sudden there was this beautiful roo just hopping along beside the car. He hopped along beside us for a while til he jumped right over a four to five foot fence with no effort and headed off towards the other roos. Now I was happy! In between these trees there is a tiny dot which is one of the roos in the distance.
Another interesting thing about Beechworth is the Chinese history here. Many people from China came out to this area of Australia to mine for gold. In 1857 over 2000 Chinese miners in nearby Buckland were attacked. Even though the Chinese were forced to mine some older, picked over mines they were successful in procuring a hefty amo
unt of gold. This made some Caucasian men who had come out from North America jealous so they stared a riot against the Chinese. This outbreak of violence forced alot of Chinese to Beechworth where they continued to mine successfully. By 1860 there were some 5000 Chinese people in Beechworth. They built these fire towers in their cemetery. Papers with prayers were burned here as well as wine and pork to sustain the departing spirit. Exploding fire crackers were also burned to scare demons away. With the decline of mining and increase in some racial tensions came the decline of the Chinese community in Beechworth. The last Chinese resident was buried in 1932. Fortunately descendants have been coming back to the area. The Beechwoth Chinese Cultural Center has recently opened highlighting the contributions Chinese people made to Beechworth and the surrounding areas.
Beechworth is one of those places that feels like time stopped somewhere along the 
way. If the cars were removed everything would seem at least 100 years old. No neon or large modern signs are allowed here. The locals are all very friendly and no one seems to be in too big of a hurry to be anywhere. They even boast the busiest telegraph office in the world. I didn't even know telegraph offices were still in existence and I must say the constant tapping of the telegraph would eventually be enough to make me crazy.
way. If the cars were removed everything would seem at least 100 years old. No neon or large modern signs are allowed here. The locals are all very friendly and no one seems to be in too big of a hurry to be anywhere. They even boast the busiest telegraph office in the world. I didn't even know telegraph offices were still in existence and I must say the constant tapping of the telegraph would eventually be enough to make me crazy.One frien
dly local suggested we go down High Street to the gravel road to have a sticky beak (aka a look around) for some wild kangaroos. They evidently don't come out except for dawn and dusk. At first we only saw a few way, way off in the distance. It was pretty cold so I reluctantly left without a real kangaroo fix. All the sudden there was this beautiful roo just hopping along beside the car. He hopped along beside us for a while til he jumped right over a four to five foot fence with no effort and headed off towards the other roos. Now I was happy! In between these trees there is a tiny dot which is one of the roos in the distance. Another interesting thing about Beechworth is the Chinese history here. Many people from China came out to this area of Australia to mine for gold. In 1857 over 2000 Chinese miners in nearby Buckland were attacked. Even though the Chinese were forced to mine some older, picked over mines they were successful in procuring a hefty amo
unt of gold. This made some Caucasian men who had come out from North America jealous so they stared a riot against the Chinese. This outbreak of violence forced alot of Chinese to Beechworth where they continued to mine successfully. By 1860 there were some 5000 Chinese people in Beechworth. They built these fire towers in their cemetery. Papers with prayers were burned here as well as wine and pork to sustain the departing spirit. Exploding fire crackers were also burned to scare demons away. With the decline of mining and increase in some racial tensions came the decline of the Chinese community in Beechworth. The last Chinese resident was buried in 1932. Fortunately descendants have been coming back to the area. The Beechwoth Chinese Cultural Center has recently opened highlighting the contributions Chinese people made to Beechworth and the surrounding areas. Speaking
of racial issues, it is always interesting to me things I have seen overseas that make me and I would assume a fair number of Americans uncomfortable that don't even raise an eyebrow in other countries. For example in Ireland, Cormac took me to a pub called UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. None of the guys I asked knew the book or the impact it had on my country. Abraham Lincoln himself credited Harriett Beecher Stowe with actually starting the Civil War. Nor were they aware calling an African-American man an Uncle Tom was considered derogatory. I had the same gut reaction when I saw these dolls in various stores in Beechworth. Matt told me they called them Golliwogs. All I saw was Jim Crow/ Black face minstrel. I know these references to black stereotypes are probably not well known in country-town Australia but they surely make me uncomfortable and represent a lack of advancement in racial equality. Am I being overly politically correct?? I found this website about the "Golliwog" and the caricature's impact around the world. http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/golliwog/ Let me know what you think.
of racial issues, it is always interesting to me things I have seen overseas that make me and I would assume a fair number of Americans uncomfortable that don't even raise an eyebrow in other countries. For example in Ireland, Cormac took me to a pub called UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. None of the guys I asked knew the book or the impact it had on my country. Abraham Lincoln himself credited Harriett Beecher Stowe with actually starting the Civil War. Nor were they aware calling an African-American man an Uncle Tom was considered derogatory. I had the same gut reaction when I saw these dolls in various stores in Beechworth. Matt told me they called them Golliwogs. All I saw was Jim Crow/ Black face minstrel. I know these references to black stereotypes are probably not well known in country-town Australia but they surely make me uncomfortable and represent a lack of advancement in racial equality. Am I being overly politically correct?? I found this website about the "Golliwog" and the caricature's impact around the world. http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/golliwog/ Let me know what you think.We did visit a wonderful gallery called the Aboriginal Investment Art Gallery. The
y dealt in original Aboriginal art and artifacts. This gallery, besides having some beautiful pieces makes annual contributions to Aboriginal Health Services. There tends to be a high rate of kidney disease amongst the Aborigines. This was my favorite piece in the gallery by artist Doris Gibson. She depicts Doo-Boo (aka Ancestor's Spirits) who appear in our dreams in time of loss to comfort and bring good feelings. There are many more in the online gallery.
y dealt in original Aboriginal art and artifacts. This gallery, besides having some beautiful pieces makes annual contributions to Aboriginal Health Services. There tends to be a high rate of kidney disease amongst the Aborigines. This was my favorite piece in the gallery by artist Doris Gibson. She depicts Doo-Boo (aka Ancestor's Spirits) who appear in our dreams in time of loss to comfort and bring good feelings. There are many more in the online gallery.We visited th
e Burke Museum which had lots of wonderful historical memorabilia from Beechworth. There were hundreds of artifacts from the Irish, Chinese, members of several wars, the local masonic order as well as everyday life tools and clothes from the gold mining years. There was also a small collection of taxidermied local wildlife. Most impressive if not heartbreaking was the now hunted to extinction Tasmanian Tiger. Being an animal lover it made me very sad to see this beautiful creature (actually a marsupial not cat) who no longer even exists in this world. The last one died in the 1930's. http://youtube.com/watch?v=bwmhmAfcRt8 This is video of one of the last Tasmanian Tigers in an Australian Zoo. There is some belief that a few may still exist in Tasmania but this idea is widely denied by scientists.
e Burke Museum which had lots of wonderful historical memorabilia from Beechworth. There were hundreds of artifacts from the Irish, Chinese, members of several wars, the local masonic order as well as everyday life tools and clothes from the gold mining years. There was also a small collection of taxidermied local wildlife. Most impressive if not heartbreaking was the now hunted to extinction Tasmanian Tiger. Being an animal lover it made me very sad to see this beautiful creature (actually a marsupial not cat) who no longer even exists in this world. The last one died in the 1930's. http://youtube.com/watch?v=bwmhmAfcRt8 This is video of one of the last Tasmanian Tigers in an Australian Zoo. There is some belief that a few may still exist in Tasmania but this idea is widely denied by scientists.Overall, I loved Beechworth. If you are ever up in Northern Victoria, Australia definitely stop by. More on the infamous Kelly's later.
CB
