Author: Wui Yan Charlotte Ho
Ho, Wui Yan Charlotte, 2025 Where is Hong Kong in South Australia? A study of Hong Kong immigrants and their cultural heritage in contemporary South Australia, Flinders University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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This thesis explores Hong Kong cultural heritage in South Australia and how Hong Kong immigrants maintain and transmit it in their ‘new’ home. It also examines non-Chinese South Australians’ experience with Hong Kong cultural heritage in South Australia and its preservation in the state. The study is significant, since Hong Kong cultural heritage in South Australia, or in Australia, is under researched and a deeper understanding of it may lead to a better recognition of Hong Kong cultural heritage in both the state and the country. Nine Hong Kong immigrants and five non-Chinese South Australians participated in individual interviews. Site surveys were then conducted in Hong Kong cultural heritage places identified by Hong Kong immigrants. Eighty percent of the cultural heritage places were Hong Kong-style tea cafés or Cantonese restaurants, revealing the importance Hong Kong immigrants have placed on their food heritage. The clear emphasis on the material ephemerality of Hong Kong food heritage reflects Hong Kong immigrants’ flexibility and adaptability in practising and preserving their cultural heritage in South Australia.
Keywords: Hong Kong, Hong Kong culture, immigrant, cultural heritage, identity, belonging, Chineseness, South Australia, Adelaide, food heritage, multiculturalism, migrant history, Hong Kong-style, tea cafés, Cantonese restaurants, Australia
Subject: Archaeology thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2025
School: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Supervisor: Heather Burke