Potential for communication:
These ceremonial objects from the Yiu Ming Society, NSW communicate the beliefs that Chinese migrants from Guangdong province have practiced in Australia for over a century. The Yiu Ming Society through its Temple based at Retreat Street, Alexandria has looked after the settlement, business and welfare, including burial and spiritual beliefs, of families from the region. The Society has played a crucial role in maintaining the Southern Chinese Lion Dance in Sydney, through training younger members to perform in the major festivals and at Chinese New Year.

Significance in material culture:
These badges which signify membership of the Yiu Ming Society declare group identity and testify to its significant for the maintenance of a complex set of religious and social practices for Chinese migrants from Guandong.

Australia in an international context:
The Yiu Ming society has a documented history in Sydney dating back to the 1870s, providing a rich source of knowledge about the lives of Chinese in Australia. By 1890 it was estimated that about a hundred Chinese lived in one small street, Retreat Street, off Botany Road, Alexandria, the site of the present temple.Those who first settled at Retreat street formed part of a Southern Chinese diaspora, who as a form of survival set up communities of support for their fellow countrymen. Shortage of land had impelled waves of migrants, from the 1800s who were expected to make money abroad to be sent back to their villages in China. These ceremonial objects testify to the strong continuing links that the community has maintained with China.

Source:

Powerhouse Museum

Location:

Sydney

Longitude:

151.207323074

Latitude:

-33.8678499639