Ballarat sculpture celebrates Chinese gold rush migrants' place in city's story
Artist Jina He created Myriad of Lights, a sculpture celebrating Chinese migrants' contributions to Ballarat.
A new public artwork in Ballarat celebrates the Chinese migrants who helped build the city during the 1850s gold rush. Artist and architect Jina He created Myriad of Lights for the Ballarat Empty Plinth Project.
Each year the project asks for a new sculpture that shows the city's changing community. The gold-and-red sculpture sits in the Intercultural Garden.
Its design comes from southern Chinese flower lanterns. About one in five people on the Ballarat goldfields were Chinese.
An estimated 17,000 Chinese migrants walked to the fields. Most were men from southern China.
They walked more than 400 kilometres from Robe in South Australia. The sculpture's many small lights stand for individual stories and families whose contributions built the place.
City leaders praised the artwork for celebrating the diversity that defines Ballarat.
- 17,000
- Chinese migrants estimated
- One in five
- Proportion on goldfields
- More than 400 kilometres
- Distance walked
- 1850s gold rush
- Era
Why it mattersPublic art that shows overlooked histories helps entire communities see themselves and feel valued.
AustraliaBallarat's recognition of its Chinese heritage reflects a growing push across regional Australia to celebrate multicultural contributions to local identity.
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