Lambing Flat Riots
The Lambing Flat Riots were a series of violent events that took place between 1860 and 1861 near the Lambing Flat gold field in New South Wales, Australia. These riots were primarily driven by anti-Chinese sentiment among white miners, who felt threatened by the presence and success of Chinese miners in the region. The most significant riot occurred on June 30, 1861, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries among the Chinese community, as well as the expulsion of approximately 1,500 Chinese miners from the area. The riots reflected broader tensions that emerged during the gold rush era, when an influx of immigrants from various backgrounds led to competition for resources and livelihoods.
Following the violence, the colonial government intervened by deploying military troops to restore order, and the town subsequently changed its name to Young to distance itself from the notorious events. In the aftermath, legislation such as the Chinese Immigration Restriction Act was enacted, which aimed to limit Chinese immigration and further marginalized this community. The riots highlight the complexities of cultural interactions and tensions during a transformative period in Australian history, emphasizing the impact of immigration on social dynamics and community relations. By 1867, the restrictive laws were repealed, but the legacy of this period continues to resonate in discussions about immigration and social inclusion in Australia today.
Lambing Flat Riots
The Lambing Flat riots occurred over a ten-month period in 1860 and 1861 near the Lambing Flat gold field in New South Wales. Fuelled by anti-Chinese sentiment, white miners attacked Chinese miners on several different occasions. The most serious riot occurred on 30 June 1861, and caused the deaths of several Chinese miners and injuries to many others. It also resulted in the expulsion of about 1,500 Chinese miners from the mines and mining villages. As Lambing Flat lacked a sufficient police force, the colonial government sent in military troops to restore order.
Following the riots, the town changed its name to Young to dissociate from the violent events. Three men were arrested and one convicted of rioting. He was given a short sentence of imprisonment. Later that year, New South Wales passed the Chinese Immigration Restriction Act. It was repealed in 1867.
Background
Gold was discovered in Bathurst, New South Wales, in 1851. Six months later, gold was discovered in Ballarat, Victoria. The discoveries led to a gold rush and an influx of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Europe, America and China. Many white miners felt threatened by the Chinese miners: they looked different, had different customs, and did not speak English. In Victoria, Chinese miners often outnumbered the white miners and they tended to work longer hours in the gold fields. The white miners resented the Chinese miners' tendency to arrive on a gold field after the speculators had discovered gold and reap the rewards without the risks of speculation. They also disliked that Chinese miners kept their gold rather than trading it locally. They also objected to their mining methods, which used more water—a scarce commodity—than the white miners' method. Anti-Chinese sentiment grew and in an effort to reduce Chinese immigration, Victoria passed legislation in 1855 that charged Chinese immigrants an entrance fee. Chinese gold seekers were undeterred and continued to arrive in Australia.
An alluvial gold field was discovered in June 1860 at Lambing Flat. By the time the field was proclaimed on 27 November 1860, over 1,300 miners had arrived in the area. Among them were many Chinese miners who had fled Victoria due to the anti-Chinese regulations.
The Chinese were no more welcome in New South Wales than they had been in Victoria or other gold fields. Hostilities broke out immediately but did not stop the flow of Chinese miners to the gold field. By late January 1861, there were over 9,000 miners, among them about 1,500 Chinese miners.
The Riots and Their Aftermath
In mid-December 1860, a group of about 1,500 white miners and traders attended a demonstration against the Chinese miners. They then attacked the Chinese miners in their camps and cut off their pigtails, some so severely that they scalped them. Newspapers reported that several Chinese miners were killed and many wounded, although no official records were made.
On 27 January 1861, a group of 1,500 white miners and traders attended the first of several anti-Chinese meetings. The meeting's purpose was to identify how white miners could prevent the Lambing Flat gold field from becoming a Chinese territory. Spurred on by speaker John Stewart, who claimed the "pig-tailed moonfaced barbarians" were going to "pluck food" from the mouths of white miners and their families, several thousand white miners marched, accompanied by a band, to the Chinese camp at Little Spring Creek and drove out the Chinese miners.
They then formed a Miners' Protective League and sent a petition, signed by 3,394 people, demanding that the colonial government protect the European miners from the Chinese miners. Violent clashes continued. In early February 1861, the league announced it was giving the Chinese miners two days to vacate the area. The colonial government sent police to protect the area and the Chinese miners returned to the Lambing Flat gold field. Later that month, a small group of white miners attacked the Chinese camp at Blackguard Gully, burned their tents and robbed them of their tools. About fifteen white men were arrested but were released without charges.
Military troops arrived on 5 March 1861. Premier Charles Cowper also arrived in Lambing Flat. He expressed sympathy with the European miners' demands that the Chinese miners be expelled, but urged them to let the law handle the issue rather than resort to vigilantism. During the spring of 1861, many Chinese miners left the area as the gold fields had become less productive. On 24 May 1861, the military troops left.
In June 1861, new gold was found at Tipperary Gully and the Chinese miners returned to the area. Thousands of new miners, both European and Chinese, arrived in the area by mid-June 1861. On the morning of 30 June 1861, a group of 2,000–3,000 white miners and traders armed with guns and pick handles set out to permanently force the Chinese miners from the area. Waving banners that read "No Chinese" and "Roll Up, Roll Up," they attacked any Chinese miners they encountered in the Tipperary Gully area and cut off their pigtails. They then went to two Chinese camps and torched their tents, destroyed their possessions, rounded up the fleeing Chinese miners, attacked them with bludgeons and whips and cut off their pigtails. At the Back Creek camp, the commissioner and six policemen watched the rioters without intervening.
Following the rioting, three European miners were arrested. On 14 July, a group of about 1,000 men tried to gain their release by storming the lockup. The police and troopers fired on the crowd, injuring several men and killing one rioter, William Lupton. The next day, the men were released and the police, commissioner, and bank managers left the area. On 17 July, martial law was declared and a military detachment sent to Lambing Flat. Ten men were arrested for rioting at the police camp; juries later convicted one man. Three ringleaders of earlier riots were later arrested; two were released and one, Charles Spicer, was convicted and sentenced to two years' imprisonment.
Later that year, the colonial government decided the Chinese needed to be excluded from colonial society in order to protect the Europeans' interests. In 1861, New South Wales passed the Chinese Immigration Restriction Act. As the gold field became less productive, miners—both Chinese and white—left Lambing Flat. The Chinese population in the New South Wales colony soon declined and with it so did the fear of and the hostility against Chinese persons. In 1867, the Chinese Immigration Restriction Act was repealed.
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