- From
- 1856
Details
The Chinese temple in South Melbourne (then called Emerald Hill) was built in 1856 by the See Yup Society. In 1866 it was rebuilt and enlarged. The temple cost over four thousand pounds to construct and was funded by compulsory donations from Society members. The names of more than a thousand donors are inscribed on two stone tablets at the Temple. As the Society is legally a non-entity the six titles covering the temple land are held in the names of six individual trustees. The remainder of the donated money was invested in two properties in Little Bourke Street.
Still standing today, it was built as a meeting place for members but also includes two altars for worship and three memorial halls. The memorial halls hold over 13,000 tablets in commemoration of members who died and are buried somewhere in Victoria between 1850 to the present day. The Society held at least eight major religious services with offerings each year and the temple was open for all to visit or worship at all times. Although a temple it was not granted any rate exemptions for being a place of worship despite attempts in 1860 and 1912 until the early 1960s.
The financial organisation of the See Yup temples in Ballarat, Bendigo, Castlemaine, Beechworth and a number of other country towns were modelled on the South Melbourne temple. Each local See Yup society bought land whose title was held under the name of one or more trustees and built the temple.
Sources used to compile this entry: Leong, Maurice Kwok Cheong, 'The role of the See Yup Society in Melbourne and Victoria [unpublished paper]', in Chinese Heritage of Australian Federation Conference, Museum of Chinese Australian History, Melbourne, 1-2 July; Thanks to Maurice Leong for providing additional information for this entry.
Prepared by: Sophie Couchman, La Trobe University
Related Subjects
Published Resources
Conference Papers
- Leong, Maurice Kwok Cheong, 'The role of the See Yup Society in Melbourne and Victoria [unpublished paper]', in Chinese Heritage of Australian Federation Conference, Museum of Chinese Australian History, Melbourne, 1-2 July. Details
See also
- 'Thong Keat Har, 'Joss houses of Melbourne, Victoria', BArch 4th year project, Department of Architecture, University of Melbourne, 1962', Thesis. Details
- Loh, Morag, 'Chinese', in Andrew Brown-May and Shurlee Swain (eds), The Encyclopedia of Melbourne, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005, pp. 131-132. Details
- Phillips, Walter, 'Seeking souls in the diggings: Christian missions to the Chinese on the Victorian goldfields', Victorian Historical Journal, vol. 72, no. 1 & 2, 2001, pp. 86-104. Details
Images
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- Title
- 'Ceremonies at the Chinese Josshouse, Emerald-Hill'
- Type
- Illustration
- Date
- 1875
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - South Melbourne
- Details
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-
- Title
- 'Chinese mortuary chapel, Joss House, Emerald Hill'
- Type
- Illustration
- Date
- 7 July 1875
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - South Melbourne
- Details
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-
- Title
- Hall west of main hall in South Melbourne temple
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- c. 1940
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - South Melbourne
- Details
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-
- Title
- Joss house, South Melbourne, Victoria
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- 1880s -
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - South Melbourne - Raglin Street
- Details
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-
- Title
- South Melbourne joss house, 1940
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- c. 1940
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - South Melbourne
- Details
Created: 10 May 2001, Last modified: 9 November 2005
