The Chinese Memorial marks the period between the years 1856-1858 when 16,500 Chinese landed near this spot and walked 400 kilometres to the Victorian Goldfields in search of gold. China in the 1850s was a poverty-stricken, violent place. Political rebellions, drought, over-population and opium addiction had transformed this cultured and dignified land into a famine-ridden wasteland. Family loyalty was the strongest cultural value, and many people looked abroad for opportunities to earn and send money home to their families, rather than leaving their homeland permanently. When news arrived of the gold rush in Australia, many families and villages sent their men and boys in a desperate bid to end their poverty.
