Decoding the Past of Chinatowns and Chinese Towns of 19th Century North America / Australia and British Malaya

Abstract

Chinese began to migrate to the west coast of North America and Australia and the Malay Peninsula 
during the gold and tin rushes. The former was newly European-settled territories and the latter was 
almost unpopulated. The timing of the Chinese arrival and the background of host societies had an 
influence on the type of Chinese settlements that evolved. In America and Australia, the Chinese were 
primarily labourers and lived in narrow quarters later known as “Chinatowns.” In Malaya the Chinese 
were labourers as well as pioneers in areas which they began to transform into townships. 

This study is an attempt to decode the origins of the North American and Australian Chinatowns 
and the Malayan towns. Their background and experiences were strongly identified with the separate 
territories and were part of the historical tradition and heritage of the respective community. These 
early Chinatowns were unlike the modern-day versions which are modern and convey a sense of the 
romantic beloved of tourists. They had in fact passed through an inglorious period of history. The 
Malayan towns that appeared showed a different trajectory of social and economic transformation. 
Conceptually and in historical perspectives, the enduring differences between the Chinatown and 
Malayan towns have remained. Arising from this, one may caution that the Chinatown concept may 
not be imposed on what are “Chinese towns” so as not to risk misinterpreting their history and that 
of the Chinese community as a whole.