How were aboriginal people treated on the goldfields?

Answer 1

The Chinese were treated very badly on the Australian goldfields. They were discriminated against for their strange appearance to the Europeans, e.g., Chinese men wore a long plait, known as a queue, which was considered strange and feminine by the European workers.

They were also discriminated against because the Chinese were remarkably efficient at finding the gold. In some circumstances after the Europeans left a claim because they could no longer find any gold, the Chinese would repan through the used creek and more than often find left over gold. The Chinese would also go through the discarded mullock heaps, and invariably find more gold. They were hardworking, persistent people, and this angered the European workers. On some occasions, they were driven out by forceful riots, such as those that took ace in Lambing Flat, New South Wales. In these riots, the Chinese had their possessions pounded, and the men were often scalped to remove their queue.

The authorities maintained their right to dig and they were often allowed to return, but often these same authorities turned a blind eye to the terrible atrocities being perpetrated upon the Chinese.