Chinese Education in Victoria:

A Changing Story

1850s to Today · Language / Community / Culture

From gold rush communities to today’s Chinese classrooms and cultural programmes, how has Chinese education in Victoria developed?

From nineteenth-century migrant communities to Chinese classrooms across Melbourne today, Chinese education in Victoria has followed a long and varied path.

Its history belongs to more than one school, and it is more than a story of Chinese families passing on a home language.

From community-organised learning to Chinese entering mainstream Australian schools, and later to the growth of community language schools, VCE Chinese and private tuition, Chinese education has become an important part of Victoria’s multicultural education system.

Behind this history are migrant families, community organisations, educators and students whose needs and understanding of Chinese education have changed over time.

01

1850s—1930s

Beginning with the Gold Rush: Communities and Early Education

Victoria’s Chinese history dates back to the mid-nineteenth century.

During the gold rush of the 1850s, large numbers of Chinese migrants arrived in Australia. They established communities in goldfields towns such as Ballarat, Bendigo and Castlemaine, while a lasting Chinese community gradually took shape in Melbourne.

Chinese travellers carrying their belongings to the goldfields, c. 1854. Charles Lyall’s pencil drawing, Chinese on their way to the diggings, provides contemporary context for the formation of these communities. Source: State Library Victoria, Pictures Collection; Charles Lyall; H87.63/2/4. Public access: Ergo.

Language played an important role in these communities.

Chinese letters, newspapers, community associations and family conversations maintained connections with home and gave the next generation opportunities to encounter the language of their elders.

Early Chinese educational experiences, however, extended beyond learning Chinese.

Historical material held by Public Record Office Victoria shows that Chinese children were attending local schools in the nineteenth century. Records from 1868 indicate that about one in six children of Chinese migrants was receiving schooling.

Religious and community organisations also provided different forms of education.

In Melbourne’s Chinatown, a Presbyterian women’s organisation ran a school for Chinese girls. Surviving photographs from around the 1890s show members of the Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Association with children, while a 1922 newspaper clipping preserves a class photograph.

This school mainly taught English and general school subjects, so it cannot simply be classified as a Chinese language school. It nevertheless illustrates the community’s need for education and the role of community organisations when educational resources were limited.

ARCHIVE RECORD

Circa 1890s

Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Association members and children in Melbourne

Members of the Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Association with children in traditional dress, c. 1890s.

Source: State Library Victoria / Museum of Chinese Australian History (P307/A93); reproduced in Sophie Couchman, Tong Yun Gai (2000), fig. 3.28, p. 80. Source page: Victorian Collections — Migrant Education.

Students of the Presbyterian Chinese school in Heffernan Lane, Melbourne, in 1922. Eve Young added the names during an interview in 1988.

Source: The Sun, 23 December 1922, “A Chinese Christmas”; Museum of Chinese Australian History; reproduced in Sophie Couchman, Tong Yun Gai (2000), fig. 3.14, p. 49.

By the mid-twentieth century, two different paths in language education were taking shape in Victoria. 

One developed within the Australian school system; the other was driven by Chinese community organisations.

In 1935, Saturday language classes began at Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School, initially teaching Italian and Japanese.

This model later developed into the Victorian School of Languages (VSL).

It offered additional opportunities for students unable to study a particular language at their regular school.

However, 1935 was not the founding year of Chinese classes in Victoria.

According to official information from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), Chinese has been taught in Victorian schools since the late 1950s.

A photograph taken by the Australian News and Information Bureau in 1960 records an important scene in the history of Chinese education in Victorian schools.

It was taken at Camberwell Church of England Grammar School in Melbourne.

The archive describes it as Victoria’s first Mandarin class for boys at a school. The photograph shows teacher G. Frances teaching Mandarin.

The record demonstrates that Mandarin had entered the classrooms of some mainstream Melbourne schools by at least 1960.

A Mandarin lesson at Camberwell Church of England Grammar School, 1960. Teacher G. Frances stands at the blackboard. Source: National Archives of Australia; photographer Neil Murray; A1501, A2161/1.

Alongside Mandarin in mainstream schools, the Chinese community was developing its own language education.

Another historical photograph, from 1962, records a Cantonese class run by the Chinese Citizens’ Society of Melbourne.

According to the National Archives of Australia’s description, the school initially catered mainly for children, then introduced adult classes as demand increased.

All classes were free.

The photograph shows teacher Bruce Lew teaching basic Cantonese pronunciation and Chinese characters.

A Cantonese class at the Chinese Citizens’ Society of Melbourne, 1962. The archive states that classes were free and expanded from children to adults. Source: National Archives of Australia; photographer Don Edwards; A1501, A4083/1; Item 8918066; accessed through the University of Sydney’s OMAA public archive page.

As more Chinese migrants arrived from different regions, community Chinese education became more varied.

For many migrant families, an important question was how children could continue learning Chinese and understanding their family culture while attending Australian schools in English.

Community Chinese schools played an important role in meeting this need.

Many were established by Chinese associations, cultural groups, parents or non-profit organisations, offering classes on weekends and after school.

They often taught more than language, introducing Chinese culture through calligraphy, festivals and cultural activities.

CASE STUDY / COMMUNITY EDUCATION

A Community School: Chinese Fellowship Chinese School

Chinese Fellowship of Victoria was established in 1971 and opened Chinese Fellowship Chinese School in the same year, with Ms Xu Zhiqing as its first principal.

As a school established by a non-profit community association, its aims included both language education and the continuation of Chinese cultural heritage.

Chinese Fellowship Chinese School’s 27th-anniversary graduation ceremony

A classroom at Chinese Fellowship Chinese School

While early community Chinese schools mainly responded to family and community needs, the 1980s marked an important period in the formal development of language education in Victoria.

A Saturday Chinese history class at University High School. The year is not recorded; this photograph illustrates weekend teaching and does not establish when the course began. Source: Public Record Office Victoria; VPRS 14517/P0001/49, Item U294.

In 1982, Victoria’s education department began developing community language and bilingual programmes in primary schools, initially involving 50 teachers.

The number of participating teachers rose to 100 in 1983.

By 1984, it had grown to 130, covering 16 languages.

That year also saw the launch of the significant Chinese Curriculum Project.

Cover of Lessons learned, a history of migrant education in Victorian government schools from 1960 to 2006. Source: Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Lessons learned: A history of migrant education in Victorian government schools – 1960–2006. 

During this period, Chinese was increasingly becoming part of government language education planning, extending beyond extracurricular learning offered by families and community organisations.

Cover of the VCE Chinese Second Language Study Design, an official document reflecting Chinese within a formal curriculum and assessment framework. Source: Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), VCE Chinese Second Language Study Design.

As Victoria’s senior secondary system developed, Chinese gained curriculum and examination pathways linked to the VCE.

These offered students a goal beyond traditional weekend language learning.

For some students, Chinese became not only a home language but also a subject they could study systematically and be assessed in during their senior school years.

Community Chinese schools consequently took on a wider range of teaching responsibilities.

Some continued to focus on heritage language and cultural learning, while others introduced senior secondary Chinese, examination preparation and academic writing.

Chinese education gradually expanded from maintaining a home language to supporting formal study and further education.

CASE STUDY / FROM COMMUNITY CLASSES TO VCE CHINESE

Chinese Fellowship Chinese School: From Community Teaching to VCE

During the 1990s, the school broadened its teaching and developed classes linked to VCE Chinese.

In 1991, it gained VCE registration, becoming Victoria’s first weekend Chinese school to receive this recognition.

Its experience illustrates a path followed by some community Chinese schools: from early association-based teaching towards more systematic curricula and educational accreditation.

Chinese Fellowship Chinese School student Wang Yingbing achieved first place in VCE Chinese in Victoria in 1997.

01

| Mainstream Primary and Secondary Schools

Some government, Catholic and independent schools include Chinese in their regular language programmes.

Students can learn during the normal school day without necessarily attending an additional weekend school.

Mainstream school example: Richmond West Primary School, a government school with a Mandarin bilingual pathway. Image from the school’s official learning materials.

02

|Victorian School of Languages

The government-operated Victorian School of Languages offers out-of-hours face-to-face and distance education for students unable to study their chosen language at their regular school.

Its programmes span primary school to VCE.

Government language education: students pictured in official Victorian School of Languages materials. Source: Victorian School of Languages.

03

| Non-Profit Community Chinese Schools

Usually run by Chinese associations, cultural groups or other non-profit organisations, these schools offer Chinese on weekends or after school.

Non-profit does not mean free. Schools may charge fees, but income and surpluses primarily support teachers’ pay, teaching materials, venue hire and daily operations, rather than being distributed to members as profit.

Eligible schools can also apply for Victorian government community language school accreditation and funding to support teaching and ease operating costs.

Alongside language learning, these schools often support Chinese cultural heritage and community exchange.

Community Chinese education example: Chinese Fellowship Chinese School

According to the Victorian Government’s Report on Multicultural Affairs 2024–25, published in 2026, 182 government-funded community language schools operated across the state in 2024.

Together they taught 47 languages to 41,528 students and eligible preschool children.

Mandarin had the largest number of learners.

These figures indicate the scale of community language schools within Victoria’s education system.

They do not include all students learning Chinese in mainstream schools, government language schools or private language centres and therefore cannot be treated as the total number of Chinese learners across Victoria.

Some use Chinese at home and want to strengthen their reading and writing.

Some were born in Australia and use Chinese mainly to communicate with family.

Others have no Chinese heritage and study the language through school, cultural interest or plans for the future.

These differences have helped shape distinct learning pathways.

At senior secondary level, Victoria offers VCE Chinese First Language, Chinese Second Language, Chinese Second Language Advanced, and Chinese Language, Culture and Society.

Each course caters for different language learning backgrounds and teaching requirements.

Chinese education therefore serves several purposes: language development, cultural understanding and academic progress.

Looking back over this history reveals a clear change: Chinese education has expanded beyond language learning to include a richer range of cultural experiences.

One important early aim was to help the children of migrant families continue listening, speaking, reading and writing in Chinese, maintaining a linguistic connection with parents and grandparents.

As educational settings and student backgrounds have changed, Chinese education today extends beyond textbooks and language classrooms.

Calligraphy, Chinese painting, paper-cutting, traditional music, dance, martial arts, customs, festivals, historical stories and crafts can all introduce students to Chinese culture.

For children growing up in Australia, these classes offer another way to learn: understanding the culture behind a language through making, observing, participating and sharing. 

CASE STUDY / CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

Chinese Culture Wonderland: Culture Becomes the Classroom

Chinese Culture Wonderland Melbourne 2026, organised by Chinese Fellowship Chinese School and the Shandong Association and Chamber of Commerce of Victoria, is one example of this experiential approach.

A group photograph from Chinese Culture Wonderland

Through lessons, interactive experiences and cultural projects, the programme introduced young people overseas to Chinese language and traditions.

Compared with conventional language lessons, it placed greater emphasis on participation and experience.                                

Students trying painting in class.

Classes in calligraphy, painting, music, dance, traditional crafts and other cultural activities made ideas encountered in textbooks more tangible.

Paper-cutting and paper parasol decoration turned cultural knowledge into hands-on activities.

Within the wider development of Chinese education in Victoria, programmes like this reflect a significant shift:

from simply learning Chinese towards discovering culture through Chinese.

For children who already speak Chinese, cultural classes can deepen their understanding of the language’s background. For those with less Chinese, art, craft, music and games offer another way into the culture.

Students and teachers performing a Chinese dance at the closing ceremony

The value of contemporary Chinese education can therefore be difficult to measure through language results alone.

It may also be a cultural experience, a family memory or an opportunity for young people to understand their cultural background in a new way.

A martial arts performance at the closing ceremony

Today, a student might learn Chinese at a mainstream school, attend a weekly community language school, study systematically for the VCE, or first encounter Chinese culture through calligraphy, dance, festivals and cultural classes.

Together, these different ways of learning form Victoria’s Chinese education landscape.

From maintaining language in nineteenth-century Chinese communities, to Chinese entering twentieth-century school classrooms, and today’s combination of language education, VCE study and cultural experiences, the meaning of Chinese education has continued to evolve.

Throughout these changes, the connection between language and culture has endured.

The story of Chinese education is not only about how a language is taught. It is also a history of how culture is understood, passed on and given new life in a different social setting.