On May 13, Charles Zhang, a distinguished community leader and advocate for cultural heritage preservation, presented Ballarat’s Chinese History – What’s Happening Now and in the Future. As a current Board member of the Ballarat Chinese Library and a long-standing contributor to various cultural and community organizations, Charles brings a wealth of experience and passion for preserving and promoting Chinese heritage in Ballarat. His leadership roles, including past presidency of the Chinese Australian Cultural Society Ballarat Inc. and the Rotary Club of Ballarat East, have strengthened community ties and fostered cultural understanding. With an impressive record of service across multiple organizations, including the Federation Chinese Association Vic and Ballarat Community Radio Station 3BBB Voice FM, Charles continues to be a driving force in advocating for the rich history and evolving contributions of the Chinese community in Ballarat.

As a proud Australian and recipient of the City of Ballarat’s Citizen of the Year award, Charles Zhang remains committed to shaping the future of Ballarat’s Chinese heritage. His presentation will explore ongoing initiatives aimed at preserving historical sites, enhancing cultural education, and fostering stronger community engagement. He will also discuss future projects that aim to celebrate and integrate Chinese heritage within Ballarat’s diverse community, ensuring that the contributions of Chinese Australians remain a vital part of the city’s identity. Through his extensive involvement in organizations such as CNY United and the Rotary Club, Charles continues to champion inclusivity, education, and cultural appreciation, making his insights invaluable for anyone interested in Ballarat’s past, present, and future.

A Brief Account of the 2025 Lunch with Speaker 

Charles Zhang addressed 75 audience members, commencing with a brief history of Chinese history in Victoria, beginning with the Chinese who were present during the late 1830s and 1840s working as shepherds for pastoralists and later becoming significant participants in the gold rush from the 1850s. At this time one of four diggers were Chinese. Charles continued the story through the remainder of the nineteenth century and into the later era of the White Australia policy and its impact on the local Chinese community.

Charles spoke of major projects preserving and presenting Chinese history, heritage and culture. The Ballarat Chinese Library holds thousands of Chinese language documents and images which can assist researchers. Projects include researching Chinese graves in district cemeteries to consolidate in one place a record of Chinese people buried in Victoria. The Victory House Museum project has been developing over the past couple of years since a 1900 house lived in by a Chinese family was purchased to preserve it as a significant residence of a Chinese mine owners house which remained in the family’s ownership for over a century. The museum should open in the coming year.

A highlight of Charles talk was his presentation of a short AI generated documentary which showed dozens of historical photographs of Chinese community activities in Ballarat from 1901. The photographs had been enhanced in clarity and in many cases had been animated to give a film-like view of the events. The film is being shown during Ballarat Heritage Festival later in May.

The talk was followed by a busy question and answer session where Charles exhibited his extensive knowledge of Ballarat’s Chinese history.

The Coates Trust is grateful to Charles for his fascinating presentation and generous sharing of his knowledge.

Last year's Lunch with Speaker address was given by Anne Tudor OAM on Wednesday, May 29 at 12.00 noon. Anne spoke about her work in promoting awareness and greater understanding of dementia in Australia. Dementia is the leading cause of death for women, and 2nd most for men. Anne spoke of her journey with her partner Edie and the steps they took to build awareness of dementia, as well as playing key roles in the development of better assistance programs, especially in the Ballarat area. 

For information about dementia and support services available in the Ballarat area please see the following websites: www.biggerhearts.com.au or the National Dementia Hotline on 1800 100 500.  See also dementiafriendly.org.au for information of help to those wanting to assist family members or others.

The 2023 Lunch with Speaker presented by Dr Christine Ball AM on June 27. The lunch was attended by over 80 people at the Ballarat Yacht Club.  Dr Ball is an anaesthetist at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, co-convenor of the Master of Peri-Operative Medicine at Monash University and Honorary Curator of the Geoffrey Kaye Museum of Anaesthetic History since 1989. Entitled ‘Chloroform, cobras and the evolution of Modern Anaesthesia’, the talk focussed on the life and work of Joseph Clover, an English pioneer of early developments in the use of anaesthetics in surgery. Dr Ball traced the methods used from the 1840s to anaesthetize surgical patients, beginning with ether, moving to chloroform and later including nitrous oxide (laughing gas).

Clover developed techniques and equipment to make chloroform safer to use and importantly established the specialization of anaesthesia and its relationship with surgeons. The paper included substantial images of medical identities, equipment and archives used to research historical developments. The full history can be found in Dr Ball’s absorbing 2021 book, The Chloroformist, published by the University of Melbourne.