Chinese Joss House

By 1871, Chinese laborers had firmly established a reputation as diligent and industrious workers within the Tasmanian mining industry

Between 1872 and 1873, approximately 100 individuals, of whom 65 were Chinese, were actively engaged in alluvial mining at Excelsior Flat. The only place of worship in the town of Lefroy town was the Chinese Joss House.

In April 1874, the Chinese community at Nine Mile Springs undertook preparations to construct a new joss house, an important place of worship with cultural significance.

The Launceston Examiner newspaper in 1877 reported:

Nine Mile Springs (from our own Correspondent) ... Since my last the Chinese have celebrated the opening of their new Joss House with great festivities, providing a grand dinner for all who chose to partake of the same - and I can assure you a person would have thought that numbers who went had not eaten anything for a week. ... Both morning and night nothing could be heard in little China town, but the report of fireworks ...

By the close of the 1890s, the once-thriving boom had come to an end, leading to a significant exodus of miners from the region. Consequently, by 1904, the population had diminished to a mere 709 residents.