The Hmong were persecuted in Southern China
150 to 200 years ago. They became a highland mountain people in
Vietnam, Laos & northern Thailand. Caught in the Vietnam conflict
they fled as refugees arriving in Australia in late 1980’s.
Initially living in Fitzroy, their children caught the West Preston
tram to Northcote High School. Their families followed, moving to
Darebin where they lived in big houses in communities of several
families. The Hmong are animists and have an oral tradition, only
having written language for one generation. Wearing brightly coloured
clothes with coins sewn into them, they began to tell their stories
on beautifully coloured embroidered cushions. Many have moved onto
Queensland growing bananas and sugar cane, an example of a community
which stops in for a while and then moves on.
