‘New Gold Mountain’ Recap: ‘Propriety’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘New Gold Mountain’.
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When one thinks of the Great Gold Rush of the 19th Century… one thinks of California. Because everyone was taught in school that the Golden State was the place to be if you wanted to strike it rich as a gold miner and popular culture has helped to reinforce this for us as well. For there are countless stories that hammer home how many people made their way to California to find a better life through the majesty of gold. But the fact of the matter is, that wasn’t the only place that experienced a mass migration toward its borders of people hoping to strike it rich. In fact, Australia saw similar growth in the 19th Century, and it just so happens that Sundance Now is now host to a series that explores that relatively unexplored aspect of world history.

For New Gold Mountain is a series that plunges us into that time frame and place, where people are coming from around the globe to partake of the rich veins of gold present in Australia and that makes the show’s series premiere, ‘Propriety’, quite the fascinating tale. Because we spend a great deal of time in this opening chapter alongside a gentleman named Leung Wei Shing, who runs one of the Chinese mining camps and is responsible for keeping the operation profitable and hanging out with him, gives us unprecedented access to what life was like for the miners that gave up so much to try and strike it rich here. To the point where we see the kinds of injuries that people worked through for the promise of a better life and the wonder of this story doesn’t end there.

Because it also takes the time to explore the prejudices of the era. Since the Chinese citizens that came here to work, were often discriminated against directly and indirectly. Serving as a fine reminder of the minor progress we’ve made since then and how far we have to go and the examinations of prejudice in this story aren’t limited to Leung’s camp and associates. Because we are also introduced to a woman named Belle Roberts, who has inherited a newspaper now that her husband has passed on and she is eager to get this business rolling again and well… a woman owning her own business in the 19th Century, was unheard of then. And she consistently runs into prejudice and skepticism over her abilities to do so and that too, leads to some fascinating and poignant moments that both observe the past and reflect upon our modern world.

Yet while those two elements are important to this series and definitely engage the audience through and through, there are other aspects of this time frame in history that the series is eager to dive into. For instance, there was minimal oversight during this period of time, and not having major government regulations in place, allowed in this instance, for unsavory characters to operate behind the scenes to obtain their own profits. A reality that puts Leung’s safety on the line and of course, the 19th Century was well known for its lawlessness in general since the world was expanding and law enforcement couldn’t keep up, and that unfortunate aspect of life in this era, brought about all kinds of trouble to this camp… by way of a murder mystery. Since the body of the wife of one of the miners, is discovered one fine day. Something that Leung worked to cover up to… to no avail.

If anything, everything introduced here, makes it clear that this is going to be a fascinating series when all is said and done. One that will captivate us with the mysteries at hand since we are now eager to know if Leung can outmaneuver the criminal underworld back home and who exactly took the life of that innocent wife. And while we play detective alongside the characters, we get to enjoy a painfully accurate look at the 19th Century. One that puts prejudice and ignorance on display, and it also doesn’t hurt… that we will undoubtedly get a little bit of commentary on the nature of greed, courtesy of why all these people happen to be in this camp. For there is gold in them thar hills, and it will be fascinating to see how its power and its promise changes lives for better and for worse as this journey through a forgotten corner of history continues along. Until next time.

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