Discovering Chinese Migration
The Otago Gold Rush, which began in 1861, brought thousands of prospectors from across New Zealand, Australia, and even further afield. Through photos, videos, and role-play, students investigated the experiences of Chinese miners during this time. They learned that poverty and limited opportunities in southern China (then called Canton) drove many families to send men abroad. Students were struck by the determination of these miners, who endured long journeys, rugged landscapes and harsh working conditions, often sending money home to support families.
Towns came up overnight like Arrowtown and Cromwell, because of the gold rush because all the people headed there to find gold.
The men had to work really hard to find gold, and they could because they worked like slaves in China. They worked all the time, and they were used to it.
Life on the Ship
Students explored the daily challenges faced by Chinese migrants travelling to New Zealand by ship. Many migrants left villages in southern China with very little and endured long journeys of two to three months in cramped, cold, and unsanitary conditions. To help students understand and empathise with these experiences, they were asked to design practical solutions for real problems on the ship.
Students chose from challenges such as sleeping in crowded bunks, keeping food dry, dealing with seasickness, accessing clean water or protecting their belongings. This encouraged them to think critically about how innovation can improve people’s lives.
I have three bunk beds on each side and a divider in the middle and a barrier at the end so nobody can grab your toes. On this side, is an example of the cupboards and then the beds and pillows. This is a much more comfortable bed for the travellers, and extra people can fit in this area. This is a close-up of the beds.
We are solving the food storage problem by making a walk-in pantry that is built with gates. The purpose of a gate is to be able to open it and then close it when we want to put the food away. This is so if sea water gets onto the boat, it won’t get into the food and the food will stay edible for all the travellers.
This is the room where they sleep. There are lots of beds in this room with a wall that separates them and they have lanterns for light.
They have a chest area for storage. This is the bedroom. There is also an area for pets so that the Chinese migrants can bring their pets to New Zealand from China. Maybe they will feel more at home with their pet.
Sequencing the Gold Rush
Creating a timeline enabled students to identify dates and events that shaped this period. Their task was to create a visual timeline in sequential order, with brief descriptions of what happened at each point. Students developed chronological understanding and placed events from 1861 to 1871 in order, showing when miners arrived, towns appeared, and the rush happened. Visuals and drawings helped them recall the key ideas.
The timeline puts all the things in order. The pictures make it easier to remember what happened.
I liked to draw the pictures for the timeline instead of writing all the words because it’s faster and I can see what happened.
We wrote down something that happened every year from 1861 to 1871 because those were the main years of the gold rush in the South Island. We read a paragraph about each part.
In this interactive activity, students took on the roles of different characters in a gold rush boomtown - Miner, Merchant, New Miner, Blacksmith, Farmer, or Doctor - and traded items needed for survival and success. Players took turns offering trades, negotiating to get what they needed while managing limited resources. Some students even scammed, or stole from each other, demonstrating the desperation of the times and helping students understand the challenges and decisions people faced.
Mrs Graham wouldn’t sell her candle to anyone because she wanted it for making a fire so she could keep warm. She didn’t have a tent or a blanket either. I had the tent and the blanket, and I wouldn’t trade them.
I had to do a lot of negotiating. Then I got the pounamu, which is worth the most, and I had six gold nuggets, so I won, and I’m going back to China with all my gold so my family can have food and not live in poverty.
I’m just going to steal everything I need. This probably happened in real life during the goldrush.
I need as many tools as I can get. I wanted to buy all the pick axes and the gold pans so I could get as much gold as possible to take back to China.
I had to go to jail for a while because I stole some gold nuggets. Actually, I just found them lying around…
I have all my gold lined up, and I actually have so many tools as well. I have a tent, a blanket, wood, and all this food so I can survive in winter. I’m winning the game.
By the end of these lessons, students could:
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Explain why Chinese migrants travelled to New Zealand and the hardships they faced.
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Describe how the gold rush transformed communities and landscapes.
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Sequence historical events on a timeline to see how the gold rush unfolded.
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Demonstrate empathy and creativity by designing solutions for historical problems.
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Apply collaboration and negotiation skills in role-play activities that imitate real-life challenges of the times.
A teacher’s core job, according to educational consultant Neill O’Reilly, is to ‘cause learning’. This is a simply-worded, yet aspirational goal for one teacher in a dynamic classroom environment. It clarifies why teachers do what they do each day, and the ‘why’ is very important.
Having been a teacher here since 2014, I am passionate about Wairakei Primary School. The school’s values provide a superb foundation for learning to happen, and staff and students live these values every day. The school has a busy and unique setting, a variety of active students, friendly whānau and many hardworking professionals.
Literacy, numeracy and languages are my passions in education. I believe in the importance of the basics and preparing each child for continued success in their later school and working years. Getting something just right is important to me and I admire students who put in the effort needed to achieve at their own pace. Providing support and extension is important and something Wairakei Primary School does well. Teaching in the senior school is my area of focus.
One of the rewarding roles I have is being staff representative for the Board of Trustees. My spare time is spent gardening and biking.
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