The Chinese migrant experience in Australia can possibly be described as harsh, but also fruitful. The development of Chinese and other Asian ideas led to a technologically advanced Australia, and contributed to making the country a multicultural society.

The Chinese have been in Australia for over 250 years, and until the mid-late twentieth century have been constantly discriminated against. The arrival of so many Asians in Australia has led to a strong sense of Asian culture in major cities, with the development of Chinatowns, and the introduction of Asian technology, religion and food, all of which are popular in mainstream Australian culture.

The earliest recorded Chinese to enter Australia were in the 1750's as traders, before British settlement. In the 1790's, the Chinese migrated to Australia as labourers, convicts and free settlers. Most of the Chinese migrating at this time came from the poorer areas around southern China, particularly...