YOUNG — Gold was first found in 1860 at Burragong Creek on Lambing Flat — now the town of Young. Many of the 22,000 miners working the fields were Chinese.
The Europeans, resentful of the Chinese miners, and pressured the government to deny them the right to work on the gold fields. In June 1861, 3000 diggers marched to Lambing Flat to force the Chinese miners to leave. Headed by a banner carrying the slogan "no Chinese", the march made its way to the Chinese camp.
Rioting followed — diggers armed with pick handles attacked Chinese, set tents, clothing and furniture on fire, destroyed mining implements and cut off the Chinese miners' pigtails. The Lambing Flat riots resulted in the passing of the Chinese Immigrants Regulation and Restriction Act of 1861, the forerunner to the White Australia Policy.
Last year, the Young Council launched a project to construct a Chinese garden at Chinaman's Dam to commemoration the riots. The project is managed by the Rotary Club and funded by the Department of Arts, Sport, Territories and the Environment.
The extreme right-wing group National Action has launched a campaign to oppose the gardens, saying that Australians "shouldn't be made to feel guilty for what happened in the past". They staged a demonstration outside the Young Town Hall on March 29, promising the local media 50 protesters but only managing 15, mostly from Melbourne. Carrying a banner emblazoned with "Stop the Asian invasion", they attempted to distribute racist literature.
Tony Hewson, Mayor of Young, said: " They're an un-Australian bunch of bigoted ratbags. It was a very poor turn out today, and shows they have very little support in the wider Australian community, let alone Young."
Some locals were disappointed that no organised display of opposition to National Action's demonstration took place, but there are plans to hold a counter event in the future. "We're looking at organising a barbecue and candlelight vigil in a couple of weeks", Hewson explained.
A group of activists opposing National Action's campaign visited Chinaman's Dam to observe the protest. After seeing National Action finally leave town in a mini-bus and a red Porshe, the group enjoyed the pleasant surroundings before heading off to a local Chinese restaurant for a delicious lunch.