''The Chinese on the Bendigo Goldfield'' - draft paper with pencilled and typed annotations by ''Joch'' (J O O'Hattam) - undated. ; last page states ''Extracts from letters in the O'Breen family, and personal research; These letters were written between 1856 and 1899 by Shane O'Breen''. Mention of - two distinct 'groups' of Chinese (Canton & via California) with their stated differences in appearance and type of working; differences between European and Chinese mines (shafts as well as drives i.e. circular as against rectangular; 'smoking' of the shafts and tunnels by the Chinese; space in Chinese camps i.e. crowding; condition of Chinese camps; fire at Emu Creek camp of 1887; names of camps - Golden Square, Jackass Flat, Myers Flat, Kangaroo Flat, White Hills, Kennington, East Bendigo (Grassy Flat) and ''as far out as Diamond Hill''; Constable Ryan disappearance.Shane O'Breenbendigo, chinese, history, goldfields, chinese. o'breen family, shane o'breen, constable ryan. pigtail. cantonese. chinese smoked shafts and tunnels. emu point. opium smoking shop. joss house. golden square. jackass flat, myers flat, kangaroo flat. white hills, kennington. west bendigo (grassy flat). diamond hill.

Probably brought to the area by Chinese miners or shopkeepers. It was used to weigh small items at a time when goods were often paid in gold. In could also be used for weighing opium. In China it was known as a Dotchin. Creswick had a large Chinese population which arrived circa 1855 and established the Chinese Camp (now Calembeen Park) plus other satelite camps in the area. In 1859 there was over 1,000 residents in the area and many operated as shopkeepers. Joined pieces of wood (bamboo), violin shape case joined with brass rivet together. The case features a long section to house the ivory rod with the bulbous section to house metal dish with four holes. Ivory rod. Metal weight is missingIvory rod has markings to indicate weight. Metal dish has four holesscale, goldrush, gold, miners, opium smoking, shopkeeping

Mr. Braz Borschman was born in Beechworth on the 1st of July 1914 at his parents home. He played for many years in the Towns volunteer Brass Band, a popular local band of about 30 members. Braz played the coronet and later the trombone. His first job was for the post office, but he spend most of his working life at the Beechworth Tannery. His interview contains lots of information about the tanning processes, including the story of 'Young Thomas', who lost his arm in a tannery accident. Braz recalls the open-air picture theatres of Beechworth, the many dances and balls, and distinct lack of cars. His testimony is rich with detail and filled with many other side-stories, including 'Blind Tommy', a self-sufficient, opium-smoking blind man of Chinese descent. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.Braz' interview is significant for the many historical details it provides about life, work, and leisure in Beechworth, particularly in relation to the period of the depression and after, which is the context which Braz' interview focuses on. His detail about the Beechworth tannery and the many open-air picture gardens is particularly rare and insightful to any social history of Beechworth. The oral history project more broadly is significant for its capture of the lives of ordinary Beechworth residents from incredibly divergent backgrounds, which has led to a rich, nuanced and diverse range of accounts of Beechworth.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.listen to what they say, beechworth, oral history, braz borschman, brass band