page_title: Holy Triad Temple, Albion
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Holy Triad Temple, Albion / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Photographer: Unidentified Location: Breakfast Creek, Queensland Description: Group of people outside the Chinese Buddhist temple at Breakfast Creek. One man holds a banner and another man in traditional Chinese dress stands in the doorway of the temple. The temple first opened in 1884 and was made by artisans from mainland China who also brought the materials for building (Information taken from: D. Hacker, ed., A look back in time&#160;: a history of Bowen Hills-Newstead &amp; The Creek, 1996). View this image at the State Library of Queensland: http://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/59495 Information about State Library of Queensland’s collection: http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/picture-queensland
context_page_description: The Holy Triad Temple is a heritage-listed temple at 32 Higgs Street, Albion, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1885 to 1886. It is also known as Breakfast Creek Joss House and Sarm Sung Goon. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
context_section_description: The Temple of the Holy Triad was constructed in 1885-1886 for the Cantonese Chinese community of Brisbane.
  In the 1880s sizeable numbers of Cantonese settled in Brisbane. They were most conspicuous in small businesses (particularly in Fortitude Valley and along Albert Street), and in market gardening (especially on the flats around Breakfast Creek and Eagle Farm). By 1888 Brisbane depended almost entirely on the Chinese for its supply of fresh vegetables.
  Construction of the temple was an attempt by the leaders of Brisbane's five Cantonese clans to provide their people with a community focus. The elaborate triple roof was imported from China by Quong Nam Tai & Co, Brisbane's most prominent Chinese trading firm, and the building was erected by Chinese artisans.
  The temple was opened on 21 January 1886, and remained the focus of Chinese community activity in Brisbane for nearly sixty years. This was followed by a period of declining interest and neglect until the formation in 1965 of the Chinese Temple Society.
  The society undertook work on the temple and it was re-opened in June 1966. It today offers a focus for various Chinese communities.
  In the second half of the nineteenth century Chinese immigrants erected temples on most of the principal Queensland goldfields and ports. Only three temples survive in Queensland from this period: the Breakfast Creek temple, the small Chun Lo Goon temple at Rockhampton, and the Hou Wang Temple at Atherton. The latter is smaller than the Breakfast Creek temple and is constructed of local materials.
caption: Temple, 1886
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