Zhao Yumin, an elder Chinese-Australian who at 74 years old migrated to Australia, facing and overcoming many challenges in the process, and discovered a passion for Australian history culminating in reskilling himself as a photographer and author of a historical non-fiction work about Sydney. Mr Zhao is now spreading the message of Australian history and culture to the Chinese-Australian community as well as international tourists that visit our shores.
9 years ago, Mr Yumin, while in his 70’s, migrated to Australia. His previous career in China was in aircraft manufacturing and later in the metallurgical and foreign trade industries. Because of his political comments, Mr. Zhao was twice politically suppressed in China. Having had relatives in Australia and his experience in the metallurgical industry it had given him some understanding of Australia prior to moving here. He gained Australian citizenship in 2016 and is a proud advocate of settling here.
Mr Zhao believes that history is very important and historical sites are worth saving. His devotion to this has seen him spend more than eight years capturing significant historical sites around the city of Sydney, in the production of a book titled 'Illustration of Historical Sites in Sydney'. In the process he took over thousands of images of the city, researched and wrote introductions to each image. This required not only extensive travel but also him needing to learn to use a computer at age 73.
Zhao Yumin told SBS Mandarin he would love to spread the history and culture of Australia to the world through the book, which may let visitors and tourists know more about Australia.
Source: SBS Mandarin
Source: SBS Mandarin
Source: SBS Mandarin
The story highlights the opportunities that older, culturally diverse Australians bring to our society. Please click the podcast to learn more about the story of Zhao Yumin.
