Victoria Street Gateway -
Vietnamese Identity in Richmond
Vietnamese Arrivals in Melbourne
Vietnamese settlements was strong in Richmond and Victoria Street during late 1970s and early 1990s. Every year the community celebrates the Lunar New Year with gathering of local families for this Melbourne's most anticipated cultural celebrations. Victoria Street has been a popular destination for tourism, becoming a vibrant dining and retail strip popular with local and overseas visitors.
In April 2010, the City of Yara adopted a Victoria Street Structure Plan with community support for recognising and enhancing the Vietnamese cultural identity of Victoria Street. The gateway project was a $2 million project designed by an award-winning Gregory Burgess Architects and Thompson Berrill Landscape Design.
The gateway was erected on 16 January 2014, just a few days before the Lunar New Year Festival. Additional treatments such as the hats suspended over the roadway and the artworks planned for the rail bridge were expected to be installed by the end of February 2014.
Vietnamese Story with the Victoria street Gateway.
This legendary story is very important to many Vietnamese people. It could be a story to imply a strong national unity and cultural tolerance. Other place women are equal to patriarchal societies. Vietnamese women view her as a heroine and as a symbol to fight for their nation and their rights.
One upon a time, in Ancient Vietnam during the reign of Kinh Dương Vương with his kingdom would stretch with a vast land to the East. The king and his wife have one child known as Lạc Long Quân. The prince has extraordinary strength and supreme intelligence and a great fascination for the ocean. He succeeded his father’s throne and governed the Lac-Viet tribe.
The highland and north was ruled by another royal family with a princess Âu Cơ. She was a young, beautiful fairy who lived high in the mountains with passion and kills in medicine One day, a giant monster frightened her. Lạc Long Quân, a dragon king from the sea, saw her in danger, so he grabbed a rock and killed the monster. They were in love and soon married. Âu Cơ gave birth to a pouch filled with one hundred eggs, which soon hatched into one hundred beautiful children. The children grew up strong and smart like their father, and as kind-hearted and skilful like their mother. They were taught well how to cultivate their lands and live nobly. But soon after, the couple started to grow unhappy. Lạc Long Quân always finds his heart longing for the coasts while Âu Cơ constantly yearns for the highlands.
The couple decided to divide their children, of whom fifty will live with Lạc Long Quân along the coasts. Âu Cơ will lead the other fifty to dwell with her in the highlands. However, they made a promise that despite the distance and separation, they must look after each other and always be there to lend a hand should one be in need.
The children of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ are believed to be the ancestors of Vietnam. This legend, then, has become the pride and bond of unity for all Vietnamese.