See Yup Temple, Melbourne墨尔本四邑关帝庙
- Type
- Overseas Daoist Temples
- Location
- Australia · Victoria · South Melbourne · 76 Raglan Street, South Melbourne
- Coordinates
- -37.8368, 144.9631 Map ↗
- First built
- First built in timber in 1856 (then known as Emerald Hill); rebuilt as a permanent structure in 1866 · Designed by the architect George Wharton; managed by the See Yup Society, founded in 1854; listed on the Victorian Heritage Register
- Heritage status
- Victorian Heritage Register
Overview
The See Yup Temple, Melbourne, was first built as a wooden structure in 1856 and rebuilt as a permanent building in 1866 to a design by the architect George Wharton; it is Australia's oldest surviving and continuously operating Chinese temple, dedicated primarily to Guandi, and managed by the See Yup Society, founded in 1854. The 1866 rebuilding cost more than £4,000, raised through compulsory contributions from members, and the names of more than a thousand donors are inscribed on two stone tablets inside the temple, a primary source for studying the scale and organization of the Chinese community during Victoria's gold-rush era. The building is in a Classical Revival style combined with Oriental detailing and sculpture, with a forecourt and side halls; a memorial hall was added in 1901 and 2004, and a Guanyin pavilion was built in 2002. The temple holds a dragon head believed to be from one of the five oldest surviving imperially commissioned dragons in the world. A fire in February 2024 damaged the main hall, and in September of the same year the temple received a AU$60,000 government grant for restoration, with completion targeted for 2026. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Highlights
- Australia's oldest surviving and continuously operating Chinese temple
- Stone tablets naming more than a thousand donors
- One of the oldest surviving imperially commissioned dragon heads
- 2024 fire and subsequent restoration