Big gold mountain redux

The institutional underpinnings of Australian architectural history have so far treated the long-term Asian influence on its architectural development as a marginal phenomenon. However Chinese settlements were integral to nineteenth century goldmining towns and associated with the founding of Ararat and the establishment of Daoist/Buddhist temples from South Melbourne to the Atherton Tablelands. This association led to Australia being referred to as Dai Gum San (Big Gold Mountain). More recently, after the long interregnum of the Immigration Restriction Act, Chinese- Australian cultural-architectural engagement has been revived, as more dispersed forms of fortune are again sought on Australian shores.