CHINESE MARKET GARDENS

The features identified as potentially being associated with potential Chinese market gardens, ‘Terracing for historical Chinese market gardens’, ‘Historic mining camp’ and ‘Remnant stone walls’ (these tags being referred to as ‘Potential Chinese Market Gardens’ in this report) were identified from social pinpoint data, and have not been verified through field survey due to land access constraints. 

Modern aerial imagery has shown two features at the Potential Chinese Market Gardens site. These are parallel lines of formed stone, and a concentration of parallel striations across a river flat that appear commensurate with the form of garden beds. Although this has not been confirmed in the background history or the aerial and LiDAR imagery, the Potential Chinese Market Gardens is likely to have had dwellings and other structures (at the location of the ‘Historic mining camp’ as provided by the social pinpoint data) associated with the occupation and use of the site as a market garden.

The Three Trees Site is of local archaeological significance.

Archaeological evidence, whether intact or in a degraded state, could provide details on how this Chinese garden was laid out and used, particularly the terracing seen in modern aerial imagery. Should this prove to be a Chinese market garden site, this would provide an opportunity to compare and contrast this site against the three recorded sites south/southeast of Creswick, Ah Young’s Gardens (VHI H7623-0336), Slaty Creek Chinese Garden and Sluicing Site (VHI H7623-0343), and the Back Creek Chinese Garden and Orchard (VHI H7623-0346), and provide a broader picture of small-scale Chinese market garden systems across the region; particularly as a possible Chinese market garden built on a site that was not associated with mining. Should this not prove to be Chinese in origin, it would provide valuable data on the relatively wide-scale use of terracing on the escarpment adjacent to Creswick Creek in an agricultural context, and provide an understanding as to the use of the features visible in the aerial imagery across the property near the creek. 

Due to the lack of development across the site, it is likely that archaeological evidence associated with these structures would still be present.