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HISTORY & STORIES · OLDEST & FIRSTS

Australia’s oldest Chinatown.

Melbourne Chinatown · Little Bourke Street

Chinatown gateway on Little Bourke Street in Melbourne.

Photo: HappyWaldo / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display cropped.

About this place

The city visitor guide identifies Melbourne’s Chinatown as Australia’s oldest.

The record

Comparison: Chinatowns in Australia.

This title concerns the precinct’s history, not the age of every present business or building.

Visiting

Explore public streets and find more context through local cultural institutions.

Check the operator’s current access information before visiting. Occasion tags are editorial suggestions. They do not certify accessibility or opening hours.

Just wanderingFirst visitA dateAfter dark

Sources

Sources checked 23 September 2026. A publisher’s claim is attributed; it is not a complete independent survey.