Cedar Camp Atherton, Queensland, Australia
By Smittengranny on 07-Aug-19. Waypoint GA13950

During the Gold Rush, Atherton Tablelands became known as the New Gold Mountain by the Chinese who flocked here to find their fortunes.  Not all were gold prospectors, some realised that services and food were needed for those who were after the gold.  And so it was that the Chinese, being so far from home in a country where they didn't understand the language or the culture, tended to band together in "Chinatowns" where they experienced the support and assistance that was so crucial for their survival. 

In the early 1880s a group had settled near Piebald Creek and had virtually established a monopoly on market gardening in the region.  This was a major contribution to the establishment of agriculture on the Tablelands. Religion was so important to these people that by 1903 the Hou Wang temple was built and remains today despite the decline of Chinatown after the First World War.  Prior to the war there was already strong anti Chinese feelings as European farmers felt that they were more entitled to the land and that it was better suited to dairying and other agricultural pursuits.  This was true, but mostly because the Chinese had tilled the land so succesfully using their own traditional farming methods.  So it was that after the war, much of the land was given as soldier settler blocks to returned servicemen. The area fell into decline as the Chinese moved away and their huts and sheds were bought by local farmers.

By the 1960s only a handful of older men remained in the area to maintain the Temple. Although some maintenance was performed it soon fell into disrepair and suffered from vandalism and cyclonic damage.  Eventually the land was bought by the Fong On family who entrusted it to the National Trust in 1980. Chinatown, once known as Cedar Camp, remains an important archaeological site and the temple is the last remaining timber and tin Chinese temple in Australia. The artefacts that were once removed for safe keeping have been returned and now contribute to the education visitors can receive while touring the Temple.

 The D rating takes into account the difficulty I experienced obtaining good coordinates.

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