Going for gold: Creating a Chinese heritage festival in Nundle, New South Wales

Abstract

Cultural tourism has become one of Australian tourism's most lucrative sectors, and the regional location of many of its prime sites and events means that increasing numbers of visitors are travelling beyond the major cities for ‘authentic’ local experiences. This paper focuses on Nundle's ‘Go for Gold Festival’, which is held annually over the Easter weekend. For its first six years, the festival had no relationship with Chinese heritage but in 2004, the seventh festival was rebranded as the ‘Go for Gold Chinese Festival’ and the event experienced something of a revival. Its transformation into a festival celebrating Chinese history and heritage has helped it develop into a major regional event, second only to Tamworth's Country Music Festival. What, however, are the finer-grained circumstances and consequences of these initiatives for Nundle's identity? What might it mean for ‘Chinese heritage’ to be mobilized in this way, and for Chinese Australian representation in the region?

Acknowledgements

Tseen Khoo would like to acknowledge that this research was supported by the Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects funding scheme (DP0880038) and her Monash University Research Fellowship. The authors would also like to thank the reviewers of earlier drafts of this essay for their astute comments and suggestions.

Notes

1. Contributing further to Nundle's revival, the town hosted two conventions in 2000, one for backpacker operators as part of a Tourism NSW initiative (Northern Daily Leader 2000c), and the other on volunteer cinemas in small communities (Northern Daily Leader 2000d).

2. The closure of the Jenkins Street Guest House and restaurant in September 2009 demonstrates the precarious nature of small-town tourism, although its long-term effect on Nundle's revival has yet to be determined.

3. Guyra hosts a Lamb and Potato Festival every January, Kootingal a Pumpkin Festival every April, and Bingara an Orange Festival every June/July.

4. This is unlike the situation in Gympie, where the ‘Gold Rush Festival’ made efforts to provide a multicultural face for the town (Edwards 2011, 4–5).

5. Images of the dragon appear on all publicity to do with the Easter Fair (including newspaper items, website banners, pamphlets, and posters), and representations of the town itself often sport renditions of Sun Loong's head (e.g. general postcards for Bendigo, and even logos for local businesses such as ice-cream parlours).

6. Recent years' programmes (2009, 2010) indicate the presence of a stall for Mr Lee's Buns and Noodles – from Sydney – on the grounds of the Woollen Mill.