Many people are aware of the Chinese who came to Victoria in search of gold from 1851 to the late 1860s. What happened to this large migrant community when the quantity of gold diminished? Many Chinese stayed to take on other occupations that contributed to the local economy and wider society. These jobs included laundrymen, merchants, herbalists and cabinet makers ; and a large proportion took on a role in market gardening. This new occupation was attractive as it afforded a low investment and quick return on effort. It often involved working communally in a clan or village collective. Vegetable produce  from these gardens was well received in Melbourne markets, was of a high standard and included diversity of choice. Many of these market gardens were established near the waterways of Melbourne’s creeks and rivers. For example, they could be found along the Merri Creek watercourse stretching from Coburg to Clifton Hill.

Many stories can be discovered about the Chinese gardeners by reading the oral histories recorded in this website WikiNorthia. They describe the relationships of the local community with the gardeners.

• Loris Macleod – Merri Creek at West Preston

LM:  We were near the swinging bridge, all round there where the Chinese gardens were. I don’t know what’s there today. My mother used to send us down there and they had the most wonderful goods, their food, their lettuces, tomatoes and cucumbers, all sorts of fruit. We would go down there and other children would say “”They will hurt you, they’ll hurt you” but they were lovely down there. 

• Arthur (Mick) Graham – Merri Creek at Clifton Hill

MG:  All tracks and aniseed again.  But around near the bridge, it was all Chinese market garden.  It was pretty big. It went up to the Oldis Gardens.  It started near where the Government houses are now near the foot bridge. It went back nearly up to the railway line I suppose.   I know they grew some very nice watermelons there. We used to go down there and knock them off.

My grandfather Willie Dark owned a market garden located on the site of the Coburg Municipal Baths in Murray Road, Coburg. From 1932 to 1943, the market garden was owned by a collective in which my grandfather was a part owner. According to the Land Title the other owners were Paul Chin, Chin Que, Chin Hop and Chin Cheong.

The property stretched from Murray Road towards the Merri Creek in the North and East.

The images above compare the Murray Road properties from 1945 to present day.

The 1945 image clearly shows the rectangular shaped plots of cultivated land and the light grey shapes of the house and garden sheds adjacent to Murray Road.

No remains of the market garden exist today.

Barry Cripps – Oral History

“(1944) The northern bank of this waterway was stony and undeveloped but on the southern or roadside border was a lengthy strip of rich black loam which was known as the Chinese Market Gardens, perhaps a quarter of a mile long and about three hundred yards deep. Here Chinese farmers had taken possession of the unused land and developed a thriving vegetable market garden clearly visible from the bus route.

The soil was dark and the various areas of different types of vegetables were green and lush among the black freshly cultivated lots under seed or newly harvested. Close to the creek were a few small work sheds, with then appearance of being well used and possible living quarters.

It was known that fresh vegetables could be bought directly from the Chinese  farmers, and were of superior quality because of the freshness. And the bus would  stop opposite the entrance to the farm for that purpose. I can clearly recall the small fields of  black soil , ordered rows of produce and the sight of small figures tending the vegetables. Those people were Chinese, different a little mysterious, and well respected . An image I have in my mind is of a strip of black rich soil, dark green rows of healthy produce, and two or three small  sheds, all downstream from the lake and opposite Pentridge Prison.”

Interview conducted with author (2018)

In 1939 my father William Ah Young migrated to Australia to take over the market garden. My grandfather was unwell and wanted his son to have the opportunity to migrate and inherit the business. Willie Dark returned back to China in 1940 to live out his last years.

I spent the first year of my life at the market garden but I have very few memories of the place. I can only recall the recollections of my sisters and father who lived and worked there.

My sisters tell me the property had four houses and accompanying garden sheds. The Market garden was worked by four occupiers. My family, an Italian family and two other Chinese men.

The houses were very basic and had very simple amenities.

Recollections by my older sisters

As you entered the house from the front door, on the left was a green patterned sofa. Opposite that was a wood fired stove. There was also a kitchen table, an old wooden ice box and a kitchen bench. The room also had a window. Next to this room was a corridor that led to 3 bedrooms. The first room was a small bedroom, then a larger room and then a smaller bedroom. The sleeping arrangements changed over time, but I remember sleeping in the first room, Mum and Dad slept in the middle larger room and later Dad slept in the third room. The house only had one entrance and faced the main road. There was a small veranda and off the veranda was a laundry or maybe bathroom. The young kids were often washed in the kitchen using basins of water, not in a bathroom. The toilet was an outdoor tin shed.

Our garden shed was located near the main road and the vegetables we grew were washed there before they were taken to market to be sold.

A regular delivery of a large block of ice was needed to keep the wooden ice chest cold. As no sewerage was available, the “Dunnyman” had to also come regularly to ensure sanitation was maintained. Amenities we take for granted today.

Farming the land was a tough occupation especially for my father who had little experience except what was taught to him by my grandfather. Once the garden produce was of edible size, my father would take his vegetables to the Queen Victoria Market and sell them from the back of the truck to the general public.

In 1960, the property was sold to an Italian family and eventually sold to the City of Coburg for the future Municipal Baths to be built on.

Additional Resources

• Wikinorthia: Chinese market gardens
• Wikinorthia: Chinese market gardens in Whittlesea
• Wikinorthia: Tacks Waterwheel (Whittlesea)
• Chinese market gardens presentation to Heidelberg Historical Society April 2021
• Chinese market gardens of Darebin and beyond (Resource list)
• Market gardens documented using Google Earth. (Desktop browser recommended)
  Market gardens on the Merri, Merri Growler – The Friends of the Merri Creek Newsletter, May-July 2013
• Chinese Market Gardens of Melbourne

Main Image: Chinese market gardens in Hawthorn (1901). State Library Victoria

By Terry Young, November 2021