Media Release
26 March 2025
A new free exhibition Home: Here and Now that celebrates the unique stories of Chinese descendants is opening soon at the State Library and Archives of Tasmania, Launceston, in partnership with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG).
Chinese people and their descendants have made Tasmania home for almost two centuries, following the arrival of nine Chinese carpenters in the 1830s. During the tin mining boom of the 1880s, Tasmania’s Chinese population of 1,500 (1.3% of the total population) mostly lived in the rural northeast, sowing the seeds of belonging. In the 2021 Census, 12,300 people in Tasmania reported Chinese ancestry, about 2% of the state’s population.
Whether as a miner, market gardener, restaurateur, homemaker, student or entrepreneur, ‘belonging’ in Tasmania has meant something different to each person.
The exhibition features oral histories from recent migrants as well as fourth-generation Tasmanians of Chinese descent describing their process of belonging. Personal artifacts and honoured objects tell a visual story of the life of Chinese descendants in Tasmania, including traditional cooking and gardening and other domestic implements from the Guan Di temple, originally located in Weldborough.
“It is important that we celebrate the diversity of Tasmania’s people and history. This exhibition shares the stories of contemporary Chinese Tasmanians, and recognises their ongoing valued contribution to Tasmanian society,” said Mary Mulcahy, Director, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
“We are a better and richer nation for the contributions of our Chinese Australian communities. I encourage you to [listen to] the stories of how Tasmania has become home to so many cultures and people,” said Gary Cowan, CEO, National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.
Home: Here and Now is curated by TMAG’s Cultural Heritage team with assistance from the Chinese Community Association of Tasmania and Tasmania’s Fujianese community. The exhibition is supported by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.
Launch event: 5:00 pm – 5.45 pm, Friday 28 March 2025, State Library and Archives of Tasmania, 2nd Floor, Launceston Library.
Media preview: 11:00 am Friday 28 March 2025.
Contact: Garry Conroy-Cooper, Manager Northern Region Libraries: 0436 926 025.
Exhibition details:
29 March 2025 to 22 June 2025: State Library and Archives of Tasmania, Launceston, 2nd Floor, 71 Civic Square, Launceston.
Travelling to Scottsdale Library from 24 June 2025 to 13 October, and St Helens Library from 15 October 2025 to 9 February 2026.
Free entry
For more information, visit the State Library and Archives of Tasmania Home: Here and Now exhibition webpage.
Communications and Marketing – 6165 6386 or 0417 465 669
