Altered by Gold: A Comparative Zooarchaeological Analysis of 19th to 20th Century Chinese and British Migrants in Ravenswood, a Northern Queensland Gold Mining Town

Gold discoveries transformed the 19th century British colony of Queensland, Australia, driving migration, a second wave of pastoral expansion northwards, and an increasingly diverse population. This study presents a comparative and contextual zooarchaeological analysis of British and southern Chinese food waste—globally significant migrant groups—in Ravenswood, a northern Queensland multiethnic gold mining settlement. The late 19th to early 20th century evidence suggests that residents from both cultural groups chose meats that expressed their cultural and personal histories but also allowed them to experiment with and participate in an emerging sense of group identity across their respective milieux. Results revealed a diverse Chinese diet with pork, poultry and fish clearly important, reflecting southern Chinese food traditions. The British diet was dominated by medium mammals, predominantly mutton, reflecting the ubiquity of sheep in colonial Australia and mutton's association with an emerging Australian identity. Notably, the presence of macropod (likely kangaroo) and large amounts of mutton in one Chinese context, and heavy pork consumption in one British context, suggests experimentation and localization. Taken together, this case study foregrounds food choice as a dynamic and contingent reflection of group identity in ways that are informed—but not determined—by ethnic and cultural background.