Chinese Temple and Museum, Chung Wah Society, Darwin达尔文中华会馆庙

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

Australia · Northern Territory · Darwin · Woods Street, Darwin; adjacent to the Chung Wah Museum

First built

Present site c. 1887 · An earlier temple stood on the site of what is now Christ Church Cathedral; the temple was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974 and rebuilt and reopened on the original site in 1977

Overview

Darwin's Chinese community was made up mostly of Cantonese laborers who came to work the goldfields and railway construction of the Northern Territory in the late nineteenth century, and their descendants, with large-scale immigration beginning in 1874. The present temple site has been in use since about 1887; before that, the temple stood on the site of what is now Christ Church Cathedral. The temple's history has been beset by misfortune: it was damaged by cyclones twice, in 1897 and 1937; during the Second World War it was damaged by Japanese air raids and looted by Australian troops; on Christmas Day 1974, Cyclone Tracy completely destroyed the temple on Woods Street, and it was rebuilt on the original site and reopened in 1977 — the building seen today dates from that reconstruction. The managing body, the Chung Wah Society, was founded in 1911 and is the oldest Chinese community organization in the Northern Territory; it also operates the Chung Wah Museum, which uses photographs, artifacts, and family histories to present the history of the Chinese in northern Australia since 1874. It is a folk-religious site of the Cantonese immigrant community.

Highlights

• The present site has been in use since about 1887
• Damaged by cyclones in 1897 and 1937 and by wartime air raids
• Destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974, rebuilt in 1977
• The Chung Wah Society was founded in 1911
• Houses the Chung Wah Museum