Post-visit learning: student activities, project ideas and questions
Following their visit to Mount Morgan, students should take the
time to evaluate and revise their models of life on the goldfield.
A full evaluation of their perceptions before and after the visit
should be entered into their Learning Log.
Students should be encouraged to discuss the differences they found
between their perhaps romantic notions of the gold fields and the
reality of a place like the Crocodile Goldfields of the 1860’s.
It is important, too, that they be given the opportunity to reflect
on the violence of the riots and their impact on the Chinese and
Australian communities. Cyril Grabs’ version of events does
tend to make light of significant racist behaviour. Perhaps at this
point you could introduce excerpts of another version of the story,
that of John Kerr in his book, Mount Morgan - Gold, Copper and Oil.
Kerr’s book has more to say about the role and fate of individuals
in the fray. It also reinforces the fact that secondary sources
can and do differ in their interpretation of events (Resource
Sheet 1).
Students should then be allocated roles for the role play
(Worksheet 8).
The ‘white’ miners should then meet as a group to brainstorm
their motivations and to create a list of their arguments and rationale
for driving the Chinese from the goldfield. The Chinese should meet
to brainstorm how it must feel to live in a community where you
are neither respected nor supported and where you are surrounded
by violent people, who don’t speak your language, have strange
ways and few morals. The student who is taking on the role of Mrs
Ah Sing could consider what type of woman ran a pub on the road
to the goldfield and had the personal conviction to run against
general opinion and marry a Chinaman. The other miners could brainstorm
reasons why they might have involved themselves in the rioting,
while the police, led by Sub-inspector Elliott could examine their
own motivations.
A debate could ensue, in role, where groups could put forward
their views on the matter and attempt to convince Sub-inspector
Elliott that their rights should take precedence. To add interest
and realism to the event, the Chinese could be required to make
their point through an interpreter. The results of this debate could
be the subject of another Learning Log entry.
This role play could also be developed into a dramatization
of the event to be presented to an audience of the student’s
peers.
Students could then return to their timelines and note that these
riots, together with the strong anti-Chinese sentiment voiced by
the media, led the governments of the time to believe that Australia
should not be a culturally diverse society. During the gold rush,
legislation was introduced around the country to restrict Chinese
Immigration. This could lead into critical discussions among the
students surrounding the suitability of these actions as a solution
to the ‘Chinese problem’. (Students could write their
personal opinions and rationale for those opinions in their Learning
Logs). Later, after Federation, the Australian government introduced
legislation that acted as the foundation of the so called White
Australia policy.
Students could then research the adoption of this 1901 Federal
legislation (Worksheet
10). It would be interesting to find out about and list the
lobby groups that influenced the new Federal government to take
such a radical first step. Websites that will prove very useful
for their research could include:
Students could then write a persuasive essay or develop
a persuasive oral presentation to demonstrate the links between
anti-Chinese sentiment on goldfields like Crocodile Creek and the
eventual adoption of the White Australia Policy.
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