Eight years ago, two treasure hunters discovered a small Ming Dynasty Buddha statue along a road in the Shark Bay area of Western Australia.
According to ABC on the 13th, this Buddha statue has now been officially transferred to China at a ceremony held in Denham.
In 2018, Leon Deschamps and Shayne Thomson were testing treasure detection equipment along a road in the Shark Bay area. Suddenly, their instruments emitted a distinctive sound, indicating that they had detected precious metals.
The two people recorded videos during the excavation process. They unearthed a rare bronze Buddha statue from a soil layer about 20 centimeters below the surface, which is approximately 15 centimeters in height.
After spending a lot of time and money investigating this Buddha statue, the two people began to actively promote its formal return to the Chinese government, as a gesture of peace and goodwill.
On the morning of the 13th local time, at a moving ceremony held on the Denham Beach, this statue of Buddha was officially handed over to Chinese consular officials.
Deshan said: “This is a story that many Australians don’t understand, and we feel proud to be able to share it.”
At the handover ceremony, Dechamp and Thomson paid tribute to their late friend, Nick Pedrocchi, a native of the Malgana tribe. They promised Pedrocchi that they would ensure the safety of the Buddha statue and its return to his hometown.
When this Buddha statue returns to China, it will also bring red soil from Shark Bay, as well as a golden pearl shell.
Simon Wu, Chairman of the Western Australia Branch of the Australia-China Friendship Association, said returning the Buddha statue was an extremely generous and significant act of kindness.
He said, “Today’s event proves that a small item can bring people from different cultures, countries, and nations together. This reflects respect and kindness.”
"For an item like this to return to its homeland, the people of China will surely be happy and welcome its return with enthusiasm."
"As it embarks on a new journey in China, its connection with Shark Bay will remain forever. In this way, our next generation will understand that there is a friendship between the people of Australia and the People of China that can last for generations."
According to Ian MacLeod from the Western Australian Museum, this Buddha statue was buried underground between 100 and 150 years ago. Asian art expert Lee Young confirmed that this Buddha statue dates back to the Ming Dynasty in China.
Thomson said that in the Ming Dynasty, Buddhist statues were usually made using the lost-wax casting method, and were crafted from gilded bronze.
He explained: "This process first involves creating a wax model of the Buddha statue, then making clay molds and wrapping the wax model with them. Next, the wax is heated until it melts, creating a cavity, and the molten bronze is poured into this cavity."
These types of Buddha statues were used in religious ceremonies to celebrate the birth of Buddha. During the ceremonies, people would pour water on the shoulders of the Buddha statues while reciting mantras, encouraging people to do good deeds and have good thoughts.
Dechamp and Thomson were never able to fully unravel the mystery: who exactly left this Buddha statue in Shark Bay? And why did these people come here in the first place?
They believe that the most likely explanation is that this Buddha statue is related to the early development of the pearl collection industry in Western Australia in the 1850s. At that time, Chinese people were also one of the groups that contributed to the rise of the local pearl industry.
In the 1850s, Shark Bay became the birthplace of pearl harvesting industry in Western Australia. At that time, this area could only be reached by ships. The high demand for pearl shells needed to make buttons contributed to the development of the local pearl harvesting industry.
Pearl harvesting operators hired Malaysians, Chinese, and Australian indigenous people as laborers. However, as the industry developed, Chinese people gradually established their own gathering camps in this region.
Thomson said, “For over a century, Shark Bay has been a port for pearl harvesting. Sometimes, the number of Chinese people here even surpassed that of Europeans.”
They live here, work here, and also pass away here.
I think ‘bridge’ is the most appropriate metaphor to describe this situation. Today, this bridge brings together people who share the same emotions and passion. What connects us is this small piece of metal.
According to records from the Western Australia Museum, a census conducted in 1886 showed that there were more than 200 people engaged in pearl harvesting in the Shark Bay area. Among them were 60 Europeans, 102 Chinese, and 68 Malays. There were a total of 68 pearl harvesting ships in the area, with 7 of them controlled by Chinese.
However, later that same year, the number of people working in the local pearl collection industry began to decline. Previously, the government restricted Chinese individuals from participating in pearl collection, which led to tense confrontations between Chinese people and armed police.
