Sze Yup Temple

History of the area shrine The Leichhardt area was originally inhabited by the Wangal clan of Aborigines. After 1788 diseases such as smallpox and the loss of their hunting grounds caused huge reductions in their numbers and they moved further inland. Since European settlement the foreshores of Blackwattle Bay and Rozelle Bay have developed a unique maritime, industrial and residential character - a character which continues to evolve as areas which were originally residential estates, then industrial areas, are redeveloped for residential units and parklands. Toxteth Park was a rectangular two-storey block with single-storey wings, a stone-flagged verandah on two sides, with the kitchen and servants' quarters behind. During extensions in 1878-81 the ground floor was renovated, but the present-day long drawing-room and bay window retain many original features. the University of Sydney Senate (1878–85) and business. The land formed part of the Toxteth Park (Allen) Estate, which remained substantially intact till the 1890s. The Estate created a pleasure ground setting with cricket ground, orchards and gardens. == Description ==

The site of the Sze Yup Temple is bounded on four sides by street frontage being Victoria Road, Edward Street, Eglington Lane and Edward Lane. The total site area is approximately . A masonry fence bounds the site and the main entrance gateway front Edward Street. A secondary pedestrian entry and vehicular access is from Eglington Lane. The central temple in the Sze Yup complex is constructed of red-brick reminiscent of village temples in the southern provinces of China. Mounted above the entrance is a sign that reads "The Temple of Kwan Ti", dated the 29th year of Guangxu Emperor Kuang Shu. Planning of the three halls separated by external side passages and roofed with small scaled pitched roofs to open lightwells is a typical temple type. The front verandah has bullnosed roofing and cast iron columns. The brickwork detailing has been happily adapted from the Edwardian to echo traditional construction. Inside the temple is an altar with embroidered images of Kwan Ti and his guards. Racks hold Kwan Ti's Red Hair Horse and weapons. Engraved couplets and prayers hang on the walls in front of a huge drum and gong. Two beautiful carved columns date from 1898 and were originally intended for one of the nearby chapels but was too tall. On the wall are four sets of couplets which praise the virtues of Kwan Ti and express wishes for peace and tranquillity. The building as originally sited to a water aspect (Blackwattle Bay) and subsequent land purchased in front of the temple and the buildings demolished, provided an auspicious setting for the temple. The importance attached to the concepts of "Feng Shui" in the temple and surroundings has prevented building to the front of the temple, and has a strong influence on the management of the site. The central chapel is flanked by two chapels, the Chapel of Departed Friends (to the north) and the Chapel of Good Fortune (to the south). The site also contains toilet facilities in a separate structure adjacent to the temple (to the north-east) and a storage shed at the rear (south) of the temple. Condition As of 29 August 1997, the condition of the Template was excellent. The temple fabric is in excellent condition and most of the elements that retain the place's significance have not been compromised. The original building curtilage remains, and many plantings exist from the early to mid-20th century. The curtilage remains little disturbed. Late 20th century changes to the place, such as the introduction of ventilation systems, replacement of a skylight and the construction of a new entrance gate, perimeter wall and small service buildings (e.g., a new toilet block and storeroom), have enhanced the cultural values of the place with minor impact on historical values. Modifications and dates • 1898Initial Temple constructed. • 1904Two Temple chapels/wings added. • 1953Temple damaged by fire destroying the roof of the central hall and many of the furnishings. Rebuilt in 1955. • 1978Temple partially restored including re-roofing, painting, drainage, ventilation and lighting. • 1981Toilet block built • 1982Archway added to the Temple complex with two stone lions guarding the entrance. == Heritage listing ==

As at 31 January 2008, the Sze Yup Temple is an item of State heritage significance as a rare and intact example of a Chinese temple in Australia. It is one of only two remaining places of worship for ethnic Chinese in New South Wales that predates the 1960s. It is one of four early (pre-World War 1) Chinese temples that remain active in Australia, the other being Yiu Ming Temple located at Alexandria, (Sydney), See Yup temple in South Melbourne and at Breakfast Creek, Brisbane. The Sze Yup Temple has been continuously used by the Chinese community since it was built, and is a focus for the identity of the Sze Yup community in NSW and for those involved with traditional Chinese culture and belief. This tradition, intact temple is considered to be of both local and international significance. Sze Yup Temple was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. The site has evidence of continuous Chinese occupation at least since the 1880s when a Chinese market garden was shown at this location. The place and setting and its contents informs us of the largely undocumented life of the Chinese community in Australia from the late 19th Century. The 1898-1904 Glebe Sze Yup Kwan Ti temple is the only actively-used pre World War One Chinese temple in Australia to retain its original setting and visual curtilage. (Other active pre World War one temples in urban areas have lost their original rural outlook, such as the Alexandria Yiu Ming temple, the Melbourne Sze Yup temple, or the San Sheng Guan temple in Breakfast Creek, Brisbane). '''The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.''' The Temple has special associations with the Sze Yup Chinese community in NSW and other states, the Sze Yup counties in Guangdong Province providing one of the largest sources of immigrants to Australia in the 19th Century. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The temple building is a rare example of a traditional 3 hall temple layout with Edwardian-influenced building elements and detailing demonstrating local cultural adaption, such as corrugated iron roofs, and a bull-nosed corrugated iron porch roof supported by cast iron columns. The interior fittings and objects sourced from China represent excellent examples of late 19th Century Chinese decorative arts. As many similar pieces have been damaged or destroyed over the past century in China and elsewhere, the aesthetic significance of this material is very high. The temple siting amongst mature culturally-significant trees and its prospect to the waters of Blackwattle Bay, provides a rare and intact demonstration of 'feng shui'- traditional geomantic practices in planning. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. The Sze Yup temple has remained a cultural, religious and social centre for the Sze Yup community and others since 1898. The role of the Trustees in assisting community members extended to temporary accommodation, financial support and help in maintaining contact with families in China. The Trustees arranged for the storage and transport of the bones of Sze Yup-born "sojourners" to China for permanent burial. The temple strongly communicates a sense of community identity and continuity. Painted and carved panels inside the halls list original donors to the Temple, and some in the community are able to identify forebears and relatives. Following the repeal of restrictive immigration legislation in the early 1970s, the temple now provides a cultural and religious centre for many ethnic Chinese settlers displaced from Vietnam and nearby countries. The temple has become well known for its accumulated "good luck" attributed to its favourable setting for its "gods" and ancestral tablets. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The temple building demonstrates technical adaption to local conditions and materials, and the building's layout, landscape, built elements, fixtures, fittings and decorations, are areas for future research into the cultural and spiritual significance of Chinese beliefs. There is potential archaeological material in the immediate surroundings of the temple and grounds that may provide information on Chinese occupation of this area prior to 1898, and of Chinese occupation from 1900 to the 1970s. The layout and siting of the temple building retains evidence of the application of the traditional Chinese belief system of feng shui. Elements of feng shui include the retention of visual cartilages particularly the temple's north-western outlook to the skyline and to water the placement and spatial relationship of structures and planting, and the building's orientation and scale. This aspect has led to the place's increasing cultural significance over time, as the accumulated "good" feng shui of the place becomes wider-known. The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The Glebe Sze Yup temple is the only extant 19th Century Chinese temple in NSW, and one of five intact 19th Century temple structures known in Australia. The others are at Atherton, Breakfast Creek, South Melbourne and Bendigo. The Glebe Sze Yup temple is the only active, early Chinese temple in Australia to retain its original setting and visual curtilage. The temple has been continuously-used by the Chinese community since 1898. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. The building demonstrates the three hall layout common to many southern Chinese village or small town temples. The one hall and three hall layouts were in evidence in all the Chinese temples that were built to serve 19th Century Chinese communities in Australia. The temple's built form reflects the scale and simple decorative characteristics of temples in the Sze Yup ('4 counties') area of Guangdong Province, and south of the Provincial capital, Guangzhou. The Yiu Ming temple at Alexandria, by comparison, demonstrates distinctly different applied forms and decorations. == See also ==