Weston Bate Memorial Lecture

Tales from the Courts: The Chinese Australian community in Ballarat 1860-1890
Dr Sophie Loy-Wilson
When gold was discovered in Victoria people flocked to the goldfields of Ballarat from across the world. Amongst those arriving were thousands of Chinese migrants. In this year’s Weston Bate lecture Sophie Loy-Wilson explores the rich history of Ballarat’s Chinese community revealed through court cases heard on the goldfields.
With their long lists of witnesses, detailed maps and well-preserved deposition testimony, she will share how these cases allow us to rebuild old Ballarat from the bottom up, exposing the intricate cross-cultural relationships which bound Ballarat’s multi-ethic communities together from the 1860s to the turn- of-the century.
About the Speaker:
Sophie Loy-Wilson is Senior Lecturer in Australian History at the University of Sydney where she specializes in the history of the Chinese Australian community. Her published books include Australians in Shanghai: Race, Rights and Nation in Treaty Port China and Labour History and the "coolie question". She is currently completing a book based on her research into Chinese Australians in the Australian legal record.