Chinese Church in Carlton

On Queensberry St, Carlton, there is a historic building that is a reminder of the Chinese community that has been part of Melbourne since the days of the gold rush in the 1850s.

It is also a reminder of the missionary activities that the Christian churches undertook among the local Chinese community in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Built in 1905 by the Church of Christ, the building was part of the church’s “outreach” missionary activities.

These missionary efforts by the Christian churches were however only partially effective. In 1901, according to the Victorian Census, only 29 per cent of the Chinese population in Victoria were Christians.

The building served the Chinese Christian community in that part of Melbourne for more than 100 years. But it ceased being used as a church several years ago, and in August 2021 was sold to a developer.

Later that same year, the City of Melbourne initiated steps to give the building greater heritage protection. It appears that the 2021 sale did not go ahead, but in recent weeks the same developer has now acquired the building.

Whether the old church is to be demolished or not isn’t clear, but we sincerely hope that we do not lose this building that has such an interesting history.

In the 19th century, Melbourne had a significant Chinese community. The 1850s saw large numbers of men from impoverished areas of southern China come to Victoria in the hope of making their fortune by finding gold.

After the initial rush was over and finding gold became more difficult, many gravitated to Melbourne, and in particular to the area around Little Bourke St. However, there was also a significant Chinese population in Carlton, because it was close to the Queen Victoria Market where many had stalls.

By 1861 the Chinese community made up nearly seven per cent of Victoria’s population. However, the introduction of the Immigration Restriction Act (White Australia Policy) in 1901 resulted in the population declining.

These days, there is a small but significant number of people in Melbourne who identify themselves as Chinese. According to the 2021 Census, there were 409,519 people in the Greater Melbourne area (that includes Melbourne and all its suburbs) who identified as having Chinese ancestry, representing 8.3 per cent of the total population of Greater Melbourne.

Most live in the eastern suburbs, but in the Melbourne local government area, 34,469 people identified as Chinese, making up 23 per cent of the city's total population. This higher percentage is probably due to the large numbers of overseas students living in the area because of its proximity to the University of Melbourne. •