In 1908 a temple was built to serve the community who worked the market gardens around Botany Bay. The lions of Retreat Street traces the lives of this generation of so-called 'aliens' and today members of the Yiu Ming temple society who have maintained the temple, its traditions and rituals. Photographs of the temple, its objects and celebrations combined with moving stories, offer readers a glimpse into a 'Chinese courtyard of Sydney' and will bring readers to a greater understanding of the history, cultural beliefs and practices of the Chinese community who have played such a crucial but largely unacknowledged part in Australia's history.