Victor Szwed
Many Chinese immigrants came to Australia during the Gold Rush, and the Goldfields regulations directed them to live in specific areas known as “Chinese Camps.” In the Daylesford region, the largest local camp was at Hepburn, with another thriving camp established at Wombat Flat—the area where Lake Daylesford would later be created.
Other Chinese Camps were established at Stony Creek, Kidds Gully, Sailors Creek and Smiths Creek. Huts, stores, drinking houses and gambling dens were built side by side, creating vibrant and active communities. These lively camps attracted Europeans, who regularly visited them at night.
Despite their contributions, the Chinese community faced considerable prejudice from Europeans. A clash over mining rights occurred at Sailors Creek in 1857, and the Chinese were often unfairly blamed for criminal offences such as stealing food and clothing, as well as for claim jumping.
Nevertheless, the Chinese community supported many local groups and causes. Their contributions extended to the Daylesford Hospital, the Ladies Benevolent Society, local schools, the Fire Brigade, and the Agricultural Society.
Some Chinese residents also established market gardens, including in the area that is now Lake Daylesford. However, by 1900, many had moved on to other goldfields or returned home.
The Wombat Creek valley, where Lake Daylesford now lies, had long been a site of cultural and environmental significance. It contained several mineral springs and had been a place where the Dja Dja Wurrung people hunted and fished for many millennia prior to the arrival of gold miners.
In 1893, a proposal was made to create a lake to beautify the area after the environmental devastation caused by mining. Lake Daylesford was finally completed in 1929, with its design attributed to Walter Burley Griffin, who also designed the city of Canberra.
Today, the legacy of the Chinese community is commemorated an interpretive sign at Lake Daylesford Reserve. This sign was initiated by the Daylesford Rotary Club, in collaboration with the Daylesford District Historical Society and supported by Hepburn Shire Council.
Obverse of the interpretive sign. (Photo Victor Szwed)
Daylesford Rotary has a long history of supporting local interpretive signs, monuments and community features. These include: the Cornish Hill lookout structure; the First World War interpretive sign at Daylesford Station; a barbeque structure at Hepburn Pool; a fountain at Daylesford Hospital; the Three Lost Children sign; and the picnic structure on Wombat Hill near the top car park.
Next time you visit Lake Daylesford Reserve, be sure to take a look at this very informative sign. It is located next to the Barbeque Pavilion, which was designed in a Chinese style in the 1980s by Clinton Krause, a local architect.
Victor Szwed is a Daylesford resident.
