Robe, South Australia
Robe is a beautiful little seaside hamlet in South Australia. It was proclaimed a town in 1857, after being chosen as a port in 1845 by Major Frederick Robe, the Governor of South Australia. It is historically significant as a major point of arrival for Chinese gold diggers in the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s.
Over 16,000 Chinese immigrants landed at Robe and then walked overland 320 kms to Bendigo and Ballarat. The reason for this arduous journey was that the Victorian colonial government had placed a 10 pound tax on immigrants to their ports from China in an attempt to dissuade these gold diggers. This was an enormous sum of money for those days.
Robe, South Australia
Robe is a beautiful little seaside hamlet in South Australia. It was proclaimed a town in 1857, after being chosen as a port in 1845 by Major Frederick Robe, the Governor of South Australia. It is historically significant as a major point of arrival for Chinese gold diggers in the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s.
Over 16,000 Chinese immigrants landed at Robe and then walked overland 320 kms to Bendigo and Ballarat. The reason for this arduous journey was that the Victorian colonial government had placed a 10 pound tax on immigrants to their ports from China in an attempt to dissuade these gold diggers. This was an enormous sum of money for those days.