Chinatown

The land surrounding the Hou Wang Miau was the site of a Chinese settlement which was established in the mid-1880s. By 1897 there were over 180 Chinese living in the village known as Cedar Town. The short main street was lined with small timber and iron shops and houses. The Hou Wang Mai was built in 1903. By 1909, the commercial premises included corn merchants, food and goods stores, herbalist, two gambling dens and a place of entertainment that employed musicians. There was also a Tong society meeting hall. After WWI, when Chinese land leases were turned over to returned soldiers, most Chinese left the district. However, local maize farmer and Hong Kong born businessman Mow Jue Sue purchased the property in 1925 and it remained in his family until 1967 when it was transferred to John and Violet Fong On. The National Trust of Queensland received funding in 1975 to carry out research on the site and the Fong On family then arranged to transfer the Hou Wang Miau property to the Trust. The Atherton Shire Council assumed ownership of the Chinatown site in 1991 and relocated the old Atherton Post Office nearby for use as a Chinese Museum.