The Burrangong Affray

The Burrangong Affray traces the events and repercussions of civil unrest during the goldfield riots in Burrangong, NSW in the 1860s.

Rising anti-Chinese sentiment saw Chinese miners subject to threats, robberies as well as sustained acts of violence that eventually led to the NSW legislative restriction of Asian immigration in a prelude to the White Australian Policy.

Nicole Beck spoke to the curators, Michael Do and Mikala Tai as well as Chinese-Australian artists Jason Phu and John Young Zerunge about how they chose to portray the events to the public and their personal connection to the work.

The Burrangong Affray, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Chinatown, 29 June – 12 August, free.

Image: John Young Zerunge, The Field (still), 2018, still image from looped HD video projected on wall. Image courtesy the artist.