The Akashic Records of Marcus Nicholson

• Australian/Chinese/English/Scottish bloodline​

• My ancestral family’s GOLDEN DRAGON MUSEUM in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, created by my Uncle Russell Goldfield Jack, & built by the Australian Taxpayer [AUS: $2.75 million]​

• 22-11-2021 Assembly: INCLUSION & MULTI-CULTURALISM: bringing Chinese culture to Australia, & creating a third..​

•  and in doing so “accidentally” giving the City of Bendigo WORLD-HERITAGE STATUS for the largest collection of Imperial Dragons globally​

Marcus:

• moved to the UK in 1991 (by accident) and decided to stay

• is a classically trained PIANIST (1985-)

• is a CHEF (1987)

• is a ‘global’ CLINICAL & HOLISTIC RELATIONSHIP PSYCHOLOGIST for the LGBTIQ+ & STRAIGHT COMMUNITIES (2002-)

• is a self-taught CRYSTAL HEALER/THERAPIST (2018-)

A brief account of the Chinese belief they came from dragons, the Forbidden City, & the City Bendigo​

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•  Jane Zeng, your Chinese Language teacher mentioned to me that the Chinese believe they came from dragons. I thought I didn’t know this. In fact, I had forgotten.​

• It was also suggested by her I look up The Forbidden City. In doing so, I discovered that “DRAGON” is the symbol of the Emperor: POWER, STRENGTH and GOOD LUCK.​

• The Chinese believed that Dragon’s blood flowed in their veins, and their bodies contained the souls of dragons. There is, however, no clear stated reason why the Chinese actually do think they have come from dragons..​

• Bendigo: the indigenous owners of the area are the Dja Dja Wurrung people, Bendigo became eastern Australia's largest 19th century gold-mining economy, and the wealth generated in this area showed in the architectural heritage. There is still just as much gold in the ground as there was mined, as there was too much water underground when mined, and the ground became unsafe

Who am I? Why am I giving this assembly? What is special and interesting about my story?

• I am Australian-born, with a bloodline of Chinese, English and Scottish, and have grown up with an inclusive, diverse, multicultural upbringing from all four nations. My Mother was called Shirlee (one of 8 children, 2 girls and 6 boys), and my Dad, who is now 95, and still living in Sydney, Australia, is called William (Bill), an only child. I only became interested in the Chinese aspect of my family, once I had emigrated to the UK. My identity - being an Australian, being Chinese and wearing the Chinese Dragon uniforms in the Easter Parade in Bendigo, and then moving to London and wanting to wear a kilt for my Scottish side.

• It was then I realised how special the Chinese aspect actually is. The most interesting thing about my family is, that my Chinese Uncle Russell Jack and his Australian wife, Joan Jack, were the catalysts in submitting a proposal to the City of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, to recognise the rich cultural aspect that Chinese Immigration had brought into Australia (particularly Bendigo), and to find a permanent home for the 2 IMPERIAL dragons LOONG and SUN LOONG which the local Chinese Community had managed to bring to the City of Bendigo. It was my Mother’s Dad, Harry Louey Jack, known as Goong Goong (Granddad in Cantonese), who was one of only 4 Chinese families in Bendigo to create this Chinese Community. The long-term problem was, the amount of regalia being collected was being housed in a warehouse, attached to an old shop, and this shop was beginning to burst at the seams. As time ticked by, this eventually lead to my Uncle and Aunty putting in an application for Federal State Funding to the Australian Government, at the highest level.

(2) And why did I walk on stage in a kilt? And a bright red Royal Stewart kilt at that?

• at this point, I explain 2 things:

  • (1) - my surname is NICHOLSON, and this is Scottish [the first reason why I like wearing a kilt - which, as it happens, only began when I came to the UK and met a Newcastle-born (Cramlington) lady called Nicola Sutton, who introduced me to all things kilt-related in Ayrshire, Scotland. I, however, didn’t like my Nicholson tartan colours of drab grey and orange, so, Nicola suggested bright red Royal Stewart.

  • (2) - in Bendigo, there was, and still is, a Scottish Clan, MacLeod, who, since the 1960s, were one of the main ethnic groups in Bendigo who raised a significant amount of money for one of the local hospitals in Bendigo. This was always very well received, and so, the Bendigo Chinese Association asked them if they would like to lead the way for the Chinese contingent in the annual Easter Monday Procession as a mark of respect from the Chinese to the Scottish for their fund raising efforts. The Chinese, themselves, were also reliant on fund raising, to sustain their Chinese traditions in Bendigo.

the Chinese Emperor was the only person who could decree a dragon as IMPERIAL - therefore, the only dragon n the Bendigo collection, therefore, must be only LOONG, as the Emperor was deposed in the 1930s, as the Communists took over. The definition of an imperial dragon means that this dragon has 5 claws on each, instead of the regular 4 claws for non-IMPERIAL dragons. [DOES THIS MEAN THAT AN IMPERIAL DRAGON HAS HIGHER SPIRITUAL STATUS? find out..]

the Chinese Emperor was the only person who could decree a dragon as IMPERIAL - therefore, the only dragon n the Bendigo collection, therefore, must be only LOONG, as the Emperor was deposed in the 1930s, as the Communists took over. The definition of an imperial dragon means that this dragon has 5 claws on each, instead of the regular 4 claws for non-IMPERIAL dragons. [DOES THIS MEAN THAT AN IMPERIAL DRAGON HAS HIGHER SPIRITUAL STATUS? find out..]

• Golden Dragon Museum

  [this is the space where I succinctly describe, show photos of what was created in Bendigo…showing off time ! Charles/Di/Richard Branson - and the story about what happened on July 5 2017 when Richard Branson wanted to borrow our family Night Dragon, YAR LOONG to publicise the inaugural new DIRECT FLIGHT he started going from Melbourne to Hong Kong. During this promotion he found out that Bendigo wanted to buy a brand new dragon, as the 1969 dragon, SUN LOONG, was due to retire. He asked out load, how much will the new dragon cost? A lady in the audience said, “$750,000 Australian dollars”. He then said something like, “I won’t buy that for you, but I will pay the FREIGHT CHARGES once the new dragon is made. So, he paid $40,000 Australian dollars to have the dragon shipped over from Hong Kong to Australia. But, the cargo was so large, it would not fit on this particular VIRGIN AUSTRALIA flight, so, BRITISH AIRWAYS carried the remaining cargo. SHOW PICTURES AND VIDEO. Also mention that Richard was allowed to keep the head carries uniform, and he wore in on that inaugural flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong. The significance of this is that no-one is normally allowed to keep any of the regalia clothing for any of the dragon carriers, let alne the uniform for the HEAD CARRIERS..

The people who can carry the head (and the tail) of the dragon (originally from the 4 Chinese families who created the Bendigo Chinese Association), had to be male and Chinese or of Chinese extraction, and the body - not necessarily Chinese. As fore the tail of the Dragon - also Chinese extraction.

When it rains in Bendigo, the dragon and all the processional display does not come out. The only time in my memory when this happened was in 1983 when it rained on Easter Monday. [mention Aunty Joan - who threw a pair of non-edible Chinese fortune cookies in the air - and when they hit the ground - the way it fell - she said - the dragon’s not coming out today - I was standing next to her when she did this - this is significant, as Aunty Joan was Australian, and she married into the Chinese part of my family - yet, she was the one who did the test to see if the dragon would come out on that day that it was raining earlier - you would think - it would be a Chinese Elder who did this test) - this is the same year Prince Charles & Princess Diana came to Australia, and as part of the tour, they met my family, and the dragon BROKE TRADITION that year and paraded the streets of Bendigo for them.

How the first dragon, Loong, ended up in Bendigo​

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• In 1871 the Chinese community in Bendigo joined the Bendigo Easter Procession, to aid in fundraising for a local asylum, which became a hospital​

• In the late 1870’s the Chinese in Bendigo did their own fundraiser within the community to collect enough money to buy Loong and Regalia. Chinese businesses and individuals all contributed and they sent an envoy to China to arrange the purchase of their first dragon, Loong. It was then shipped back to Australia on a boat (no planes back then)​

• The first reported outing of Loong was 1892 - so it’s likely they received Loong in late 1891. They also received banners and other regalia. ​

• Loong typically requires 46 men to carry his legs, and another six to carry the head. Back then it was men only allowed to carry an imperial Dragon. ​

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[I CERTAINLY DON’T KNOW IF THIS MAY BE THE CASE THAT THE CHINESE CAME FROM DRAGONS, BUT, WHAT I CAN TELL YOU ALL, IS THAT WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT MY CHINESE HISTORY, AND I SEE THIS PICTURES I AM PRESENTING TO YOU ALL HERE, IPHYSICALLY ‘WELL-UP’ INSIDE THE WHOLE OF MY BODY, AND I FEEL ALL ASPECTS OF HAPPINESS (AND SADNESS), PRIDE, CONTENTMENT, TALISMANSHIP, WANTING TO INSPIRE OTHERS, WANTING INCLUSION IN ALL THINGS CULTURAL. I COULD USE SO MANY MORE WORDS HERE, BUT NOTHING CAN DESCRIBE THE FEELING I HAVE FOR THIS HUGE ASPECT OF MY LIFE, MY UPBRINGING. IT’S IN MY DNA. I INCLUDE MY DAD IN ALL OF THIS, BECAUSE THE SUM OF HIM AND MUM HAVING ME, CREATED THIS ‘CONSCIOUS BEING’ WHO IS FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR THE PART OF AUSTRALIAN HISTORY THAT WE HAVE ALL BEEN A PART OF, IS ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY THINGS IN MY LIFE. AGAIN, I WILL MENTION JANE ZENG FOR ASKING ME TO DO THIS PRESENTATION - AS SHE HAS MADE ME THINK ABOUT MANY ASPECTS OF THE PLACES ALL THE MEMBERS OF MY ANCESTORS HAVE COME FROM, WHICH MAKES UP THE AKASHIC RECORDS OF ME. I ALSO WISH TO ACKNOWLEDGE SEAMING TO & DEBBIE NG FOR THEIR CONSTANT ENCOURAGEMENT IN DOING THIS PRESENTATION TODAY.]

the Chinese Emperor was the only person who could decree a dragon as IMPERIAL - therefore, the only dragon n the Bendigo collection, therefore, must be only LOONG, as the Emperor was deposed in the 1930s, as the Communists took over. The definition of an imperial dragon means that this dragon has 5 claws on each, instead of the regular 4 claws for non-IMPERIAL dragons. [DOES THIS MEAN THAT AN IMPERIAL DRAGON HAS HIGHER SPIRITUAL STATUS? find out..]