New Gold Mountain

by Christopher Cheng

  Hok Foo had been hiding in the bush after being thrown off his claim. I couldn’t hear a lot of what he said, except that he and a few men had been sheltering near a creek and found the gold. A few splashes in the water was all it took to find that glint of gold. He showed Uncle the bag. I think it was filled with gold bits, but I couldn’t see clearly because the men were all huddled together. He wanted Uncle to weigh it for him with his scales. I wonder how long they will be able to keep news of our goldfield quiet before the Big-Noses hear about it. The Bosses have told Hok Foo to remain silent about this discovery. It would be good to have our own field to mine where we were not annoyed and attacked by Big-Noses.

  Saturday, November 24

  Other people used to live in New Gold Mountain too. The Aboriginals. Uncle says they were the first owners of this land and that they, too, have been treated very badly by the miners and the settlers. It is much like the way we Chinese are treated. Uncle says that the Aboriginals are very much like us, for they have respect for their elders and take care of them. This is a good thing. I am to respect the Aboriginals. I saw some Aboriginal men as we were walking here when we first arrived, but they were far off in the distance, watching us. I have heard that Aboriginals killed some Chinamen. Maybe they don’t think very well of us because we are in their land too. Maybe they think that we are just like the European miners, but we aren’t.

  Tuesday, November 27

  Today is a very important day in the life of the goldfields, Boss Chin Yee has told us. He informed everyone that today this area where we are now mining has been proclaimed Burrangong Goldfields, and that includes not just our mining community but also the Big-Noses and other Chinamen. I do not see why a name makes it any safer, but he told us that now a Gold Commissioner will be appointed to the area to make rules and enforce the law. Boss Chin Yee also said that it will add protection for all of us Chinese and change the way that everyone must treat us. He said that it was good that we all have the Miner’s Right, because it allows us to work here. As happened in Victoria, now that the goldfield has been proclaimed there will come many more miners, hoping to ‘strike it rich’ and be showered with gold, and there will be lots of excitement and much heartache and heavy work too. Boss Chin Yee seemed very pleased telling the news. Uncle says he will wait and see. ‘Good fortune may forebode bad luck,’ he said.

  Wednesday, November 28

  The newly proclaimed goldfield has not made any difference to what I have to do. I am still cleaning tents and preparing meals and running errands, and still some of the Chinese miners are yelled at by the white miners. I think that Uncle may have been right to wait and see what happens with the new goldfield. And still I have not seen any other boys on the goldfield who I can play with.

  More Big-Nose miners arrived today—some even arrived in a tilted cart. I did not want them to see me, so I hid in the bushes. I do not want to upset Uncle, and now I am scared of what could happen to me if I am caught out of our area alone. The man was pulling the tray, while the lady was in the tray with a small child, sitting on top of their possessions. I was sure that the man was going to lose his grip and the tray would collapse. He stumbled a few times over the lumpy rocks and the clumps of loose soil. He would have had an easier time if the woman was walking. I think they might have some children my age, too. I could hear voices coming from within the tray, but I could not see who the voices came from. Maybe the lady was sitting on them to keep them hidden and quiet. If she was, she did not do a very good job of keeping them quiet!

  Friday, November 30

  Two horses pulling a cart for people to ride in! I don’t believe it but it is true. In our village, if we were lucky, we used a horse and cart to work at tilling the fields, sharing with the villages nearby. Sometimes, on very important occasions, like in the marriage ceremony, it was used to transport the newly married couple, or to bring the bride to the groom’s village. Here the horse and cart is used for travelling from place to place, town to town, and not just for weddings but many times.

  I hope they take Chinese passengers too—maybe I could earn enough gold or money to get a ride all the way to the Sydney Town. That would be what I could do.

  Uncle does not think that there will be many Chinese riding the cart (he called it a ‘conveyance’). It is better to walk and save the gold to take back to China than to travel a short way in luxury.

  I wonder if any of the letters that Uncle has been writing for the Big-Noses have been posted yet. I think that it is very amusing that Uncle, a Chinaman, writes their letters in English in our camp, and that they then take the letters back to the storekeeper in town to post.

  Tuesday, December 4

  We walked from our camp in the Gully into the town this morning to the supplies store, did Uncle, the Bosses and I. Along the way we passed the tents of new miners. They weren’t pleased to see Chinamen so close to them. Some of them yelled at us and threw clumps of dirt. I wanted to throw stones back, but then I looked at Uncle and remembered that that was not the Chinese way. Uncle nearly tripped on a tree root as we walked around some of the bushes, and I nearly fell into an abandoned mineshaft; fortunately the gods were watching me and I was able to grab Uncle for support.

  More than one moon has passed since I last was in town (and so much has happened to us), but still I would not believe the changes there if I had not seen them. There are now houses of tents and boards and logs, shops selling the drink and others selling mining supplies, a man who repairs clothes and shoes, and a blacksmith who makes a clanging, ear-piercing din as he bends the metal with his hammers. There are restaurants and carpenters and even a man called a barber to cut your hair. There is a large bank. ‘When you get some gold, keep it, Shu Cheong, do not change it,’ Boss Chin Yee told me. ‘It is more valuable as gold than as money’.

  And all this has appeared just for the people mining gold. I wanted to look into the shops and see some of the strange foods, but Uncle said that the only shop we need is the store who will sell us supplies. He said that he never wanted to see me in the other stores, especially the drinking places. I mentioned to him that we have drinking tents too, and Uncle with fiery eyes said I must not be in those either. There are many drinking places here and lots of loud music, and I could hear dancing and cheering and shouting coming from the big buildings. These are the ones that the Big-Noses call ‘hotels’, and they have large signs hanging out the front. Hotels are not made of tent material—they have wooden walls.

  On the other side of the creek there are still tents where some miners are resting, but there are many more than before. They could not be sleeping there, because it is too noisy.

  I carried home a great, big, heavy bag of rice. As we walked through the town on the way back to our camp, I often had to stop to rest my arms. I was looking for the man who arrived with his family, but I did not see them (or the horses and cart).

  Wednesday, December 5

  I thought Uncle would be pleased as I ran to our tent telling him that two troopers had arrived—but he was very upset.

  ‘How can two men protect and control all the miners that are here on the field?’ he moaned. ‘I hope there will be more coming soon.’

  When we were at the supply store, Uncle bought items just for me. ‘You are growing fast, Shu Cheong. Soon you will not be able to wear those pants anymore. So these are for you. They are different to what you wear now, but they will work just as well.’

  I am not sure whether I like what Uncle has bought for me to wear. They are Big-Nose clothes. ‘Don’t worry, Shu Cheong,’ added Uncle when he saw my questioning look. They are not clothes cut like ours, but they will do the same job. When we can buy Chinese clothes, then you shall have some. In the meantime you will need to wear these. Remember: you are Chinese and you need to look presentable at all times. We can’t let you be exposed. Boss Chin Yee and I—we, too, have to change soon, for our clothes are wearing thin and no longer are suitable for the thread.’

  I tried
on the pants. They were not so tight as what I have been wearing and I can bend with ease, but they feel rough and scratchy. These will take some getting used to. I might wait until I see Uncle or Boss Chin Yee wearing their new clothes.

  Saturday, December 8

  Peace didn’t come when the troopers arrived. Still the Big-Noses have been disturbing the Chinese miners: one team had to return to our Gully after trying to mine another site close by. They were spat on, and one night the mine they were working was filled with sticks and rubbish. It would be so very pleasing to mine here in New Gold Mountain alongside the white miners without having to worry about being attacked, or to walk into the town without being despised. I wonder if these things will happen now that the boss of the mining fields is here, the Commissioner. He will have all authority to enforce the law for the goldfields of this area. I wonder, what is the law? If it is to allow the Chinese to mine in peace, just like the Big-Noses can mine in peace, then it is good.

  Already he has been riding through some of the mining areas, but he has not come near where any of the Chinese are mining in our Gully. Ty Sing was telling us that the Commissioner has nowhere to sleep in the Flat, so he has to ride to and from a sheep station nearby to check the miners. That’s a long ride, over hills, along the watercourse, pushing through bushes—maybe six or seven miles, Ty Sing thinks. Uncle and the Bosses are making urgent plans to meet with the Commissioner to inform him of our situation.

  The Bosses say that the Commissioner on the field is a good sign. I think we should offer him a tent with the Chinese. That way at least we will be safe from attacks by the Big-Noses.

  The weather is getting very hot.

  Monday, December 10

  I find it so hard writing down what has happened, but Uncle said, ‘You must write. You must remember.’ So here I am in another strange place, away from our Gully, out in the bush. The arrival of the Commissioner has made no difference to the way the Big-Noses treat us Chinese.

  They must really hate us, those miners, for when they came to our camp, the peaceful sounds of Chinese men mining and singing were flattened with thunderous noise, the banging of drums and their stupid musical instruments blurting out sounds. And nothing prepared us for the crowds. Suddenly, there were Big-Noses everywhere. And they were men of hatred.

  ‘We allowed to mine here,’ yelled Uncle and the other men. Uncle hardly ever yells. He is kind and patient and gentle. ‘Yelling only hurts the yeller,’ he told me. ‘Better to stay calm and at ease. Then you can think clearly what you say.’ Other men screamed Chinese words and strange English words at the Big-Noses. I think they were the words I am not allowed to say. But the Big-Noses wouldn’t stop. They ran through the camp, slipping tent ties and throwing out the few possessions we had inside. Uncle grabbed his bag with the herbs, the Almanac and writing tools, and he forcefully took my hand.

  I grabbed my satchel, and we ran. I was lucky that I was not out running errands or working with Mr Fung.

  I never imagined people could be so nasty.

  We are sitting here in the bush, miles away from our camp. There are many trees, tall and short. Boulders litter the area. The ground is very dusty and my clothes are dusty too. I still don’t know why the Big-Noses hate us.

  Uncle says that even though we are not in our camp, I still have to write in the book. He says there is still much to write about, and especially now. Again this hate has happened against the Chinese. And all we want to do is to mine for gold like the Big-Noses.

  Tuesday, December 11

  Uncle, the Bosses and some of the experienced men gathered together today. I was permitted to stay near Uncle but not to interrupt. Not all of the Chinamen have been scattered around the countryside. But some of the men who were with us at our camp have walked straight to other gullies. Boss Yin Fun is taking his team to another gully to continue mining. There were more Chinamen there, he had heard. Even though we are not in our Gully, I feel safe with all these Chinamen around me. I feel as though nothing, not even hating Big-Noses, can hurt me. But I am still scared.

  ‘We must attend to this immediately,’ Uncle told them. ‘A party of us must visit the Commissioner, for he is the man in charge. We are protected under him. He must restore us to the goldfields and permit us to mine.’ But I do not know how that can be when the Commissioner man does not even live in the town with all the other Big-Noses. Tonight I am hungry but I will not complain. The men are busy.

  Wednesday, December 12

  Uncle left me with Ah Kee for my protection while the men went to visit the Commissioner. When they returned they didn’t talk about their visit. I expect that it was not a very satisfactory meeting for us Chinese, for we are still here, gathered together like sheep. We have no tents to sleep in at night, or for protection from the burning sun during the day. We do not have much food. It is so hot in the day and so cold at night. And I have to go to the toilet in the bush, standing or squatting next to a tree. We are not mining, so that means one more day the Chinaman cannot earn the gold that will take him back to China. Maybe—as the Commissioner is a Big-Nose, too—he does not want to see us. Maybe he only enforces rules to protect Big-Noses. But when I mentioned this to Uncle, he said that it could not be so. He has to oversee the rules of the land for all men.

  For all the trouble and hatred and hurt that has happened to the Chinese, I think that the gods must be watching over us, even though we have many troubles—no Chinaman has yet been killed that I have heard of.

  Thursday, December 13

  I respectfully suggested to Uncle that we join the Chinese miners like Boss Yin Fun and his team in other gullies, but he said no. ‘We need to return to our Gully, where we have our temple to pray to the gods and where Mr Fung can grow his vegetables. There, we have a place where Chinamen from all around can gather, just like the white miners have in the town.’

  The gods that we pray to, they might watch over us but they have not looked very favourably on us. Of this I am certain, for they have allowed us to be treated in this way. Maybe we have been praying too little or offering the wrong sacrifices to them. But the gods must understand that life is not easy for us in a foreign land with people who do not accept our Chinese ways.

  So we are still waiting in the bush.

  I doubt that the temple is standing or that Mr Fung’s vegetables remain. I am sure that these hating men would have destroyed them all. So, once again, we will have to erect the temple, and buy new supplies from the traders in the town.

  Saturday, December 15

  Su San Ling went back to look at our camp. I do not know how he remembers the way back through the bush to our Gully, but he does. It is a mess, but he thinks that we can safely return, as the Big-Noses were nowhere around. But not today. We are still here, out in the bush, sheltering under the trees in the very hot weather. Each day the gods seem to send another burden to us. Uncle has permitted me to loosen my clothing, but then the insects bite and annoy me. So now I cope with either insect bites or hot weather. Choose one, Shu Cheong.

  Sunday, December 16

  Mr Fung went back to the camp with Su San Ling. They were away for much of the day, and I know that Uncle was getting worried as the sun began lowering and the two had not returned. But safely return they did, with an armful of supplies and dragging more behind them in the remains of a tent. They had collected some vegetables. Not all had been destroyed, and Mr Fung even winked when he told Uncle that most of his special supply remains. He also told us that most of the tents were tossed about but they are still there, flat on the ground or bundled around poles.

  Monday, December 17

  I am greatly puzzled by the way the Big-Noses behave. Maybe the heat of the sun causes them to behave differently to other humans. Why do they chase us out of our camp, destroy our tents and possessions and then leave the area? There is still gold in our mines, yet they do not mine for it. Maybe they just don’t like people who look different and who do things differently to them. They eat th
e same food (otherwise they wouldn’t buy Mr Fung’s vegetables), and I am sure that they use the toilet too.

  Baba, I don’t think that you expected this.

  Friday, December 21

  Finally we made the walk back to the Gully today and started once again setting up our camp. I helped Boss Chin Yee’s men gather the tools and other items of ours that were scattered in the bush around our Gully. Some of the tools need a small repair; others will need replacing. Already by late this afternoon Ah Kee has the temple restored, although he will need to repair the broken altar. It was very fortuitous that the Big-Noses had only slipped the knots of its tent so that it fell. Ah Kee has retrieved the ornaments from around the altar, and for the present they are resting on old boxes. He even has the incense burning. He asked me to join him in thanking the gods for our protection and I did this; but all the time I could not help thinking that it is some strange form of protection that allows Chinese men to be thrown out of a camp, have their camp destroyed and then have to start all over again. And the boxes that are now the temporary altar were a very big distraction for my praying and thanking.

  Tuesday, December 25

  This is their special day of the year. The Big-Noses were not mining today, I think. Ah Po was telling me that on the Kiandra goldfields (where he was last year) the white miners had celebrations for the birth of the son of their god. They were singing songs and attending their temple of worship. They exchanged gifts (he says the son was a gift to the people so the gifts are a reminder of this), and they had very large feasts. This is very like what we do when we celebrate our New Year.