A new element in the new Aotearoa Histories Curriculum, the Chinese history lesson plans and teacher resources were developed by Sun Gum Saan Ltd.
The name Sum Gum Saan meaning "New Gold Mountain" in Cantonese — was used by Chinese for New Zealand during the Central Otago Gold Rush.
Joint chairman of Sum Gum Saan Ltd and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Trust, Malcolm Wong, said the Chinese history project would be launched this Sunday, as part of Chinese New Year celebrations at Lawrence Chinese Camp — the birthplace of Chinese settlement in Aotearoa.
Sum Gum Saan Ltd was a charitable company formed with seed funding from the Chinese Garden Trust and the Otago Southland Chinese Association, along with grants from the Ministry of Ethnic Communities Development Fund and the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust, he said.
The Chinese settlement lessons and classroom resources, aimed at Years 1 to 8, were developed by Dunedin-based historian James Beattie and educator Brendan Seal.
"The lessons start with the gold miners’ story and why they came here, the culture they brought with them, their interactions with European New Zealanders, discrimination through the Poll Tax, and on into the occupations and lives of Chinese after the gold rush," Mr Wong said.
"There are so many themes to be explored, and this is just the beginning for us — we plan to develop many different stories and aspects of Chinese settlement history.
The lessons would be trialled in classrooms at Columba College and a rural area schools, and if successful would hopefully be rolled out to other schools about Matariki, he said.
