Thursday, July 12, 2012
EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY CHINA WAR OBSERVANCES
EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY CHINA WAR OBSERVANCES
Three minutes' silence was observed at mid-day on Saturday by members of the Chinese community in Auckland, at the request of the Chinese Association and Chinese shopkeepers also closed their shops at that hour in recognition of the eighth anniversary of the outbreak of war with Japan. During the afternoon there was a meeting of Chinese, over which the chairman of the association, Mr. Ng Fong, presided, and in the evening a special service was conducted by the Rev. Y. S. Chau at the Chinese Church. Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 160, 9 July 1945, Page 3
COMING FROM PUNJAB.THE HINDU IMMIGRANT 60 THIS YEAR. AND 233 CHINESE. The Maheno on her visit to this port early on Tuesday morning, brought to New Zealand eighteen Hindus and sixteen Chinese. This brings the total of Hindu immigrants up to sixty since the New Year, while 33 Chinamen have made their debut in Auckland within the isamc period. Official records prove that the great majority of these Hindus are coming in from the Punjab, a North-Western province lying along the banks of the Indus, and watered by five tributary streams ito this river. Meet of these men who 'write queer little letters, asking for perniLasion to come into the country, are i from the same village, and there is I reason to believe that they look upon this land as a kind of Paradise before they land here. Still, they live simply according to our standards, make money and return with it to the land of their ancestors. It would appear that many of them mike several trips back home at intervals ot years, and come back again and again to make another little pile. Their earnings are seldom spent out here, but are used partly to act the lord in their own land and partly to pay the paasags money for their relations to come over and join them. The Chinese come from Canton for the most part, and it is always difficult to trace their doings. Few people know exactly where they get the £iOO for each poll tax, but it would seem that a few influential Chinese here have often a hand in the matter. Be that as it may, the Hindus and the Chinese, though absolutely apart in all their standards, always manage to take away from this country of their temporary adoption a great deal more than they bring into it or leave in it. Their fruit shops and laundries are all over Auckland, and almost every week sees a new Chinese concern open. Even in occasional instances they are beginning to trade in silk- and soft-goods. The Hindus are growing in numbers rather rapidly. They have a very simple educational test which presents no difficulty to them, and for the few who work fruit hawkers' barrows, and eventually, after a season of success open a fruitshop at a permanent stand like the one in Karangahape Road, there are iaany who join the encampments down the Main Trunk and engage on contract work on the roads and in the bush in the interior of the land, living cheaply and often in squalor, and in the meaatime, holding the major part of their wages with a view to the future. Although these men are apart altogether from the life of the coatnunitr, yet in a certain sense they continue to insinuate themselves into the city's dealings. They sell their wares at' a much cheaper rate than white men do, and they attract a considerable amount of custom. No more than a bare fraction of their takings comes back into circulation again, and just as they themselves keep within their own little colonies, isolated from all, go also their money is kept among themselves. Ail the evidence that can be gathered points to this fact that they conspire to drain the country. The movement of Hindus into New Zealand is still in its infancv. But it is growing. Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 90, 15 April 1920, Page 4
A CHINESE FUNERAL AT WELLINGTON.
A CHINESE FUNERAL AT WELLINGTON.
[BY TELEGRAPH.—OW CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington, Thursday. The Times gives the following description of the funeral of a Chinamtin —A novelty in the way o£ funerals took place in Wellington yesterday afternoon, the occasion being the interment of the remains of a Chinaman, Chong Wow, who died at the Hospital a day or two ago. The procession left the Hospital at about two o'clock in the following order First the undertaker walking by the side of a Chinaman with a white puggaree wound ronnd his hat, who distributed pieces of perforated paper along the road. The coffin was borne by five Chinamen, carrying, in addition, a sack. The friends were very numerous, each Celestial smoking a cigarette. When tie cortege arrived at the English cemetery, where the deceased was to be interred, the gentleman with the puggaree removed the lid of the coffin, and exposed to view all that remained of the late Chinaman. Oat of a bag he produced a new wideawake hat, which he placed on the I head of the corpse. A uew white shirt and two pairs of socks were thrown into tha coffin, and a pair of Chiaess slippers (minu3 the soles) were placed on the feet of the deceased. A number of Chinese -tapers or rushlights were then stuck into the ground and lighted, emitting a smell like that of incense, during which process the mourners put about fifteen shillings' ivorth of silver into the coffin, together with a paper on •which Chinese characters were inscribed. The lid was then screwed down, and, the coffin having been deposited in the grave, the Chinamen distributed biscuits, lollies, apples, cigars, and several bottles of brandy among the Europeans present, ail of which had been conveyed to the cemetery in the coffin. This concluded a very novel and interesting ceremony. New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7157, 24 October 1884, Page 3
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Wong Hing Leong.
In loving memory nf our dear fatner, Wong Hing Leong. who passed away December 12, 1936. Always remembered by his loving wife. From Ping, and family. So Chee, Rose Carter and Ruby Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 294, 11 December 1943, Page 1
CHINESE DINNER EUROPEAN GUESTS NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS
CHINESE DINNER EUROPEAN GUESTS NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS
On Saturday night the Chinese- New Zealand Society, recently formed, entertained about 80 Aucklanders to dinner in the cafeteria of Auckland University College For neariy all the European guests it whfoh ,u ew ex Pfrience, and one which they keenly enjoyed. Thev nin< L Chinese dishes, and nne Chinese hospitality. Their predifficulties in the use of cnopsticks Overcome under the ar ce o{ their hosts, they relished such delicacies as bird's nest soup, bamboo shoots, dried mushrooms and oysters.
The president of the society, Mr. Henry Ah Kew, welcomed the guests and read a message from the Prime Minister. The Mayor, Mr. J. A. C AUum, as principal guest, the Rev. Chau, whose speech was interpreted by Miss Finlay, and the R ev. C. W. Chandler gave brief addresses, the theme of which was the desirability of promoting culuak rel at .i° ns between China and the Dominion and the necessity of a closer understanding between them both in war and in peace. After the dinner the guests spent a social hour in the smoking room. The Rev. Mr. Chau spoke yesterday afternoon to a large gathering in the city of members of the New Zealand People's University on "China and the Whole World." In the evening he officiated at a service held in the Chinese Church, Cook Street. An address was given by Madame M. Milburn, who spoke of the fellowship of Christian nations in arms and also outlined the history of Chinese-American diplomacy. The other important celebration held in Auckland was the service held on Saturday afternoon in the rooms of the New Zealand Chinese Association in Grey's Avenue, which was attended by nearly 100 members of the Chinese community. The Chinese National Anthem was followed by the repeating in chorus of Dr. Sun Yat Sen's message to the people of China. The religious service was conducted by Mr. Gum Leong Low. The principal speaker was Mr. Ng Day Pak, who was followed by Mr. Y. S. Cham and the Rev. Y. S. Chau. The function concluded with two items by a Chinese orchestra, with Chinese instruments. Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 241, 12 October 1942, Page 5
"DOUBLE TENTH" CHINESE CELEBRATE OBSERVANCE IN AUCKLAND
In celebration of the thirty-third anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Republic about 500 Chinese and a few European friends gathered in the Tivoli Theatre yesterday afternoon. The meeting, which was organised by the Auckland branch of the Chinese Association of New Zealand, opened with the Chinese National Anthem. The gathering made the customary three bows to the portrait of the late Dr. Sun Yatsen, founder of the Republic, and the chairman, Mr. Gum Leong Lowe, read Dr. Sun's will.
The chairman then declared the meeting open, and he was followed in addresses in Chinese by Mr. Ng Fong, Mr. Y. S. Chan, the Rev. Y. S. Chau and Mr. Ng Dai Bak. The speeches referred to the significance of the occasion and to recent developments in China. Listeners were exhorted not to be depressed by bad war news, for there were always ups and downs in wars, but to work the harder for victory. Being so far away from their home country, they were urged to give as much financial assistance to China as possible.
The same theme ran through the Chinese vocal items, which were accompanied by a Chinese band. A collection was taken up and realised £554.
The screening of a Ministry of Information film on China and a coloured film showing Madame Chiang Kai-shek in America followed.
A welcome tb the English members of the audience was tendered by Miss Betty Ah Chee. "If you have not entirely comprehended our proceedings," she said, "let us hope that this afternoon has been sufficiently different to interest you enough to want to learn more of our customs and our language. I assure you it would afford us much pleasure to assist you over small obstacles in return for the guidance and toleration we have received in learning your language."
The function concluded with four cheers for China: "Together! To victory!" "Down with the aggressors!" "Long may we have the Double Tenth to celebrate!" "Long live China!" Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 241, 11 October 1944, Page 6
Saturday, May 12, 2012
APPEASING THE WANDERING SPIRITS:
Chinese communities around the world are celebrating the annual Hungry Ghost Festival, which is observed in the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
The reference to ghosts is due to the belief that the gates of the underworld are thrown open during the seventh month - which this year runs from August 10 until September 7.
Offerings of food are left for the wandering ghosts and elaborate paper statues are burnt to appease the spirits. Paper lanterns are also sometimes set adrift to help guide lost souls.
Many see the Hungry Ghost Festival as an inauspicious time to engage in certain activities, including moving house and getting married, however this report from channelnewsasia.com reveals an increasing number of people are happy to ignore the taboo and tie the knot regardless.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Chinese Cycles of Years.
Among the many extraordinary eu9» toms of the Chinese is that of banding yeare together in groups of twelve, called cycles and naming each year of the series after some animal. Thus, the first year of a new cycle is the year of the Rat, the second the year of the, Ox, the third the year of the Tiger. Every Chinese horn in the year of the Rat belongs to the Order of the Rat, and so on. The animal "class" of every Chinese man and woman is thus recorded, and is held to be of great importance in foretelling the future. Another curious fact about the Chinese reckoning of time is that in the Celestial Empire a child is held to be one year old, as soon as it is born. With the absurd superstition so dear to the Oriental mind, a baby boy is frequently given a girl's name in order to deceive the evil spirits, who, apparently, have an objectionable habit of making it as hard as possible to rear a male child success fully.
Name Children
The Chinese care so little for their girl babies that they do not give them a baby name, but just call them Number One, Number Two, Number Three, according to their birth. Boys sre thought so much more of in China than girls that if you ask a Chinese father who has both a boy and a girl how many children he has, he will always reply, Only one child. Bruce Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 2359, 25 March 1892, Page 6
MURDER ALLEGED MOTHER AND BABY GIRL
(By Telegraph—Press Association.)
TAUMARUNUI, December 2,
A Chinese half-caste woman, Olive Cronin, aged 27 years, wife of D. K. You, a lorry-driver, of Taumarunui, was arrested by the police this afternoon on a charge of killing her daughter aged 2 1/2 months by cutting her throat with a Cleaver. Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 134, 3 December 1935, Page 18
A FOUNDLING BABY
Hearing a baby crying at the doorway of the St Banabas Home for Lost Babies in Khaiidallah at 6 o'clock yesterday morning a nurse was surprised to find a baby of distinctly Chinese appearance.The baby waß a boy,three weeks old,and healthy, It was nicely dressed in a cotton frock, two silk and wool/vests, and woollen booties, and wrapped in a woman's blaek face-cloth overcoat with fur collar and cuffs, Inquiries are being made to discover the parentsof the child, and any information that might throw light on tho matter should be given to the Police Department. Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 35, 11 February 1932, Page 13
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
From Immigrant to New Zealander
Yvonne Wong's account of her families immigrantion to New Zealand. The story was submitted to the NZCA Short Story Writing competition.
From Immigrant to New Zealander
This story will recount how I became a New Zealand born Chinese through the immigration of my father and the subsequent arrival of my mother to New Zealand. This is retold in the context of the restrictions placed upon Chinese immigrants by the New Zealand Government between 1900 and the 1950s.
My Father
Loo Shick Lung left his homeland in Guangzhou, China in 1918 to seek a better life in New Zealand. At this time, Guangzhou was not only suffering from overcrowding but there was also famine and flooding. My father’s passage was paid for by a relative and repaid later. I believe my father was chosen from his village as he could read and write Chinese. My father was 15 years old. Before he was permitted to enter New Zealand he had to pay the £100 poll tax imposed on Chinese and also pass an English Literacy Test. This required him to read to the satisfaction of customs officials one hundred words of English picked at random. Chinese were classified as Aliens – the Yellow Race – and, as such, were thumb-printed on arrival in Auckland, like common criminals. After a short stint at the Waihi Gold Mine, Loo Shick Lung returns to Auckland to work as a cook in Chan Dar Chee’s fruit shop at No. 1 Queen Street. Chan Dar Chee was a major supplier to the shipping lines and hotels. My father’s accommodation was in a room above the shop. In 1929 he returned home to marry my mother. I do not know whether the marriage was already arranged before his return to China. After the birth of a son in 1931, Loo Shick Lung returned to New Zealand alone as New Zealand did not allow Chinese women to enter the country at this time.
My Mother and eldest brother
In 1937 Japan invaded China. My mother and eldest brother fled from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. They walked the route of the railway line until it reached the sea. This took around seven days and a lot of the time my mother piggybacked my six year old brother. When the railway line ended and the sea commenced a person who met them [and] put them on a boat to Hong Kong. In 1939 my mother and brother were part of a group of 249 Chinese wives and 244 dependant children allowed to enter New Zealand as temporary war refugee permits on humanitarian grounds. Entrance to New Zealand required a £500 deposit and a £200 bond per family.
When my mother and brother arrived in 1939 on the boat Niagara, my father was already market gardening on leased land in Onehunga. Their home was a railway carriage with electric lighting as was their only amenity. A cold tap in the garden provided water. There was a bomb shelter at the back of the garden. My brother started school in 1940 and recounts how he was teased as he spoke no English. My mother was “stateless” since Chinese women were not granted residency by the New Zealand Government until July 1947. Chinese immigrants were unable to become naturalised as New Zealand citizens until 1952. Our family grew by four during this time. In 1949, my eldest brother together with a relative started a fruit shop in Mt Eden which he still runs to this day.
Myself – a Chinese child in the 1950s
In 1952, our family moved to our own home and garden in Mangere Bridge. This same year my father bought a fruit shop in Karangahape Road. He was thinking of future jobs for his children. I started school and would walk there daily - rain, hail or shine. While I was occasionally called Ching Chong Chinaman, this was a milder form of racial discrimination compared to that my parents had experienced. My job after school was to go to the dairy to buy ½ loaf of brown bread for the next day’s school lunches. On Saturdays, we would chop wood for boiling the copper for our weekly baths and washing of clothes. We were loved, well fed, clean and proud to be Chinese.
Our family life reflected New Zealand values. Chinese New Year was a regular working day. We ate special food and children received red packets which contained money, which was banked. The only Chinese holiday celebrated by Chinese immigrants was 10 October – Double Tenth Festival – the Chinese Nationalist Day. Chinese businesses closed, market gardeners ceased working and children had a day off school. We would go to Mission Bay for a picnic and play games with other Chinese families.
Our lives became a comfortable blend of the two cultures, as wedding celebrations of the 1950s demonstrate. Whole families were invited. The bride and groom wore traditional European clothing, were married in a European church and the wedding reception consisting of European foods such as a ham salad followed by fruit salad and ice cream was held at the Farmers Tea Rooms, Hobson Street. Before eating, we would sing both ‘God Save the Queen’ and the Nationalist Chinese Anthem. The next day there would be a traditional Chinese banquet dinner for around 500 held in a marquee at the family residence. The food was all home prepared.
In the late 1950s, the first Auckland Chinese Community Centre was purchased in Symonds Street from donations from the Chinese community. It was the old State Theatre. On Sunday evenings there would be Chinese pictures and my parents would often attend.
By the 1950s we had assimilated well into the New Zealand society, and with my parents gaining citizenship, the transition from immigrant to Kiwi New Zealander was made. We were known as hard-working, law-abiding citizens. We dressed like everyone else, spoke English and at school we ate marmite sandwiches.
http://chinesecommunity.org.nz/site/topics/show/91-from-immigrant-to-new-zealander
From Immigrant to New Zealander
This story will recount how I became a New Zealand born Chinese through the immigration of my father and the subsequent arrival of my mother to New Zealand. This is retold in the context of the restrictions placed upon Chinese immigrants by the New Zealand Government between 1900 and the 1950s.
My Father
Loo Shick Lung left his homeland in Guangzhou, China in 1918 to seek a better life in New Zealand. At this time, Guangzhou was not only suffering from overcrowding but there was also famine and flooding. My father’s passage was paid for by a relative and repaid later. I believe my father was chosen from his village as he could read and write Chinese. My father was 15 years old. Before he was permitted to enter New Zealand he had to pay the £100 poll tax imposed on Chinese and also pass an English Literacy Test. This required him to read to the satisfaction of customs officials one hundred words of English picked at random. Chinese were classified as Aliens – the Yellow Race – and, as such, were thumb-printed on arrival in Auckland, like common criminals. After a short stint at the Waihi Gold Mine, Loo Shick Lung returns to Auckland to work as a cook in Chan Dar Chee’s fruit shop at No. 1 Queen Street. Chan Dar Chee was a major supplier to the shipping lines and hotels. My father’s accommodation was in a room above the shop. In 1929 he returned home to marry my mother. I do not know whether the marriage was already arranged before his return to China. After the birth of a son in 1931, Loo Shick Lung returned to New Zealand alone as New Zealand did not allow Chinese women to enter the country at this time.
My Mother and eldest brother
In 1937 Japan invaded China. My mother and eldest brother fled from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. They walked the route of the railway line until it reached the sea. This took around seven days and a lot of the time my mother piggybacked my six year old brother. When the railway line ended and the sea commenced a person who met them [and] put them on a boat to Hong Kong. In 1939 my mother and brother were part of a group of 249 Chinese wives and 244 dependant children allowed to enter New Zealand as temporary war refugee permits on humanitarian grounds. Entrance to New Zealand required a £500 deposit and a £200 bond per family.
When my mother and brother arrived in 1939 on the boat Niagara, my father was already market gardening on leased land in Onehunga. Their home was a railway carriage with electric lighting as was their only amenity. A cold tap in the garden provided water. There was a bomb shelter at the back of the garden. My brother started school in 1940 and recounts how he was teased as he spoke no English. My mother was “stateless” since Chinese women were not granted residency by the New Zealand Government until July 1947. Chinese immigrants were unable to become naturalised as New Zealand citizens until 1952. Our family grew by four during this time. In 1949, my eldest brother together with a relative started a fruit shop in Mt Eden which he still runs to this day.
Myself – a Chinese child in the 1950s
In 1952, our family moved to our own home and garden in Mangere Bridge. This same year my father bought a fruit shop in Karangahape Road. He was thinking of future jobs for his children. I started school and would walk there daily - rain, hail or shine. While I was occasionally called Ching Chong Chinaman, this was a milder form of racial discrimination compared to that my parents had experienced. My job after school was to go to the dairy to buy ½ loaf of brown bread for the next day’s school lunches. On Saturdays, we would chop wood for boiling the copper for our weekly baths and washing of clothes. We were loved, well fed, clean and proud to be Chinese.
Our family life reflected New Zealand values. Chinese New Year was a regular working day. We ate special food and children received red packets which contained money, which was banked. The only Chinese holiday celebrated by Chinese immigrants was 10 October – Double Tenth Festival – the Chinese Nationalist Day. Chinese businesses closed, market gardeners ceased working and children had a day off school. We would go to Mission Bay for a picnic and play games with other Chinese families.
Our lives became a comfortable blend of the two cultures, as wedding celebrations of the 1950s demonstrate. Whole families were invited. The bride and groom wore traditional European clothing, were married in a European church and the wedding reception consisting of European foods such as a ham salad followed by fruit salad and ice cream was held at the Farmers Tea Rooms, Hobson Street. Before eating, we would sing both ‘God Save the Queen’ and the Nationalist Chinese Anthem. The next day there would be a traditional Chinese banquet dinner for around 500 held in a marquee at the family residence. The food was all home prepared.
In the late 1950s, the first Auckland Chinese Community Centre was purchased in Symonds Street from donations from the Chinese community. It was the old State Theatre. On Sunday evenings there would be Chinese pictures and my parents would often attend.
By the 1950s we had assimilated well into the New Zealand society, and with my parents gaining citizenship, the transition from immigrant to Kiwi New Zealander was made. We were known as hard-working, law-abiding citizens. We dressed like everyone else, spoke English and at school we ate marmite sandwiches.
http://chinesecommunity.org.nz/site/topics/show/91-from-immigrant-to-new-zealander
Thursday, February 23, 2012
REMEMBERING HAINING STREET
: With both eyes open PDF Print E-mail
Lynette Shum
REMEMBERING HAINING STREET: With both eyes open
http://www.stevenyoung.co.nz/The-Chinese-in-New-Zealand/Current-Historical-Research/REMEMBERING-HAINING-STREET-With-both-eyes-open.html
Lynette Shum
REMEMBERING HAINING STREET: With both eyes open
http://www.stevenyoung.co.nz/The-Chinese-in-New-Zealand/Current-Historical-Research/REMEMBERING-HAINING-STREET-With-both-eyes-open.html
Restoring Old Chinese Headstones
4.4 Restoring Old Chinese Headstones in the Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin.
Author: Leslie Wong.
Throughout the Otago region there are many lost Chinese graves in or out of cemeteries whose locations can only be found by local knowledge or in cemetery ledgers and historical accounts. In many historic places the cemeteries themselves have long disappeared. Dunedin has 3 major cemeteries that span the periods from the early Chinese gold miners, to the Chinese labourers of the 1920s to 1950s. One of the older cemeteries has its Chinese graves so desecrated that no amount of effort could restore the gravestones.
Luckily, at a once neglected place in the cemetery at Andersons Bay, Dunedin, there is an unique collection of 53 plots of which there are 46 restorable headstones. This area was originally considered to be wasteland only fit for the burial of aliens and the Chinese were segregated there into their own subdivision. Many names written into the official records had no resemblance to the transcribed names on the headstones. No major attempt had been made to produce an accurate transcript and find the full origins of those buried there.
By a twist of fate, trees and overgrowth had sheltered this location from the elements and public view for over 30 years. Today, we have an almost complete memorial to those early Chinese from the 1920's to nearly 1950. Unfortunately many headstones have been vandalised and broken, while others had tree branches growing against them, pushing them over and smashing them. In spite of what has happened, this is the best repository of Chinese headstones in Dunedin that could be restored to commemorate a chapter in our history.
Many Chinese came to this country with nothing but a suitcase full of hope, and when their time was up, they had even lost the suitcase. Few had the good fortune to realise their dreams and prosper.
The restoration project began ‘secretly’ by myself in 1996 and was planned to restore headstones in 3 phases with a time span of 2 years per phase. Originally it started with scrub cutting and clearing of a small section to see if the project was feasible and to see if some way could be devised to clean and glue together the broken headstones. If no solution could be found, the project could have been abandoned there and then.
The easy tasks were taken first in order to develop the skills necessary to tackle the more difficult problems. Many of the original white marble stones were green, having been eaten into by moss and the lettering badly weathered.
A few of the unbroken stones were chemically washed and bleached to make them white again. Special tools were devised to recut the lettering that had all but faded. Because some stones were too old and brittle, the use of the traditional hammer and chisel method was not possible. Original carving mistakes or missing lines are left uncorrected. A restored white stone could not be photographed to record what was written and the lettering had to be hand painted in black or gold for the final photograph.
A broken stone found in the soil was taken home to see if it could be cleaned and glued together. Fortunately, a modern epoxy glue was found and the join was stronger than the original stone. It was necessary to clamp the two halves together for the glue to take hold. At the gravesite a concrete base was cast to hold the restored headstone. Many broken headstones had to be restored at home and where possible the missing piece had to be fabricated with a concrete aggregate and colour matched, with the missing characters remade. To passersby, my front lawn often resembled a cemetery with several headstones in various stages of restoration.
There are a few headstones that have the lettering inlaid with black lead. These should have been everlasting, and are the most difficult to restore. When the lead was first hammered in, the carved lettering beneath fractured. Over the years a fungus grew between the fractures and the lead, and eventually the lead and pieces of marble fell out leaving a crater. The damaged areas had to be refilled and new lettering cut with a dental drill. Finally, a matching imitation filler is inserted. Sadly, some headstones cannot be restored.
It is always easy to take a backward glance at what may have been our heritage, but when time has taken its toll, we realise that it is there no more. Through our hands we must preserve what is precious, to pass down through the generations for all time to come.
graves3.gif (100736 bytes)
View of some retored Headstones June 1998
graves2.gif (57718 bytes)
Intial Trial Clearing 1996
graves1.gif (68606 bytes)
Same Site Retored AUGUST 1998
http://www.stevenyoung.co.nz/The-Chinese-in-New-Zealand/Chinese-in-Australasia-and-the-Pacific/Graves.html#4.4%20Restoring%20Old%20Chinese%20Headstones%20in%20the%20Andersons%20Bay%20Cemetery,%20Dunedin.
Author: Leslie Wong.
Throughout the Otago region there are many lost Chinese graves in or out of cemeteries whose locations can only be found by local knowledge or in cemetery ledgers and historical accounts. In many historic places the cemeteries themselves have long disappeared. Dunedin has 3 major cemeteries that span the periods from the early Chinese gold miners, to the Chinese labourers of the 1920s to 1950s. One of the older cemeteries has its Chinese graves so desecrated that no amount of effort could restore the gravestones.
Luckily, at a once neglected place in the cemetery at Andersons Bay, Dunedin, there is an unique collection of 53 plots of which there are 46 restorable headstones. This area was originally considered to be wasteland only fit for the burial of aliens and the Chinese were segregated there into their own subdivision. Many names written into the official records had no resemblance to the transcribed names on the headstones. No major attempt had been made to produce an accurate transcript and find the full origins of those buried there.
By a twist of fate, trees and overgrowth had sheltered this location from the elements and public view for over 30 years. Today, we have an almost complete memorial to those early Chinese from the 1920's to nearly 1950. Unfortunately many headstones have been vandalised and broken, while others had tree branches growing against them, pushing them over and smashing them. In spite of what has happened, this is the best repository of Chinese headstones in Dunedin that could be restored to commemorate a chapter in our history.
Many Chinese came to this country with nothing but a suitcase full of hope, and when their time was up, they had even lost the suitcase. Few had the good fortune to realise their dreams and prosper.
The restoration project began ‘secretly’ by myself in 1996 and was planned to restore headstones in 3 phases with a time span of 2 years per phase. Originally it started with scrub cutting and clearing of a small section to see if the project was feasible and to see if some way could be devised to clean and glue together the broken headstones. If no solution could be found, the project could have been abandoned there and then.
The easy tasks were taken first in order to develop the skills necessary to tackle the more difficult problems. Many of the original white marble stones were green, having been eaten into by moss and the lettering badly weathered.
A few of the unbroken stones were chemically washed and bleached to make them white again. Special tools were devised to recut the lettering that had all but faded. Because some stones were too old and brittle, the use of the traditional hammer and chisel method was not possible. Original carving mistakes or missing lines are left uncorrected. A restored white stone could not be photographed to record what was written and the lettering had to be hand painted in black or gold for the final photograph.
A broken stone found in the soil was taken home to see if it could be cleaned and glued together. Fortunately, a modern epoxy glue was found and the join was stronger than the original stone. It was necessary to clamp the two halves together for the glue to take hold. At the gravesite a concrete base was cast to hold the restored headstone. Many broken headstones had to be restored at home and where possible the missing piece had to be fabricated with a concrete aggregate and colour matched, with the missing characters remade. To passersby, my front lawn often resembled a cemetery with several headstones in various stages of restoration.
There are a few headstones that have the lettering inlaid with black lead. These should have been everlasting, and are the most difficult to restore. When the lead was first hammered in, the carved lettering beneath fractured. Over the years a fungus grew between the fractures and the lead, and eventually the lead and pieces of marble fell out leaving a crater. The damaged areas had to be refilled and new lettering cut with a dental drill. Finally, a matching imitation filler is inserted. Sadly, some headstones cannot be restored.
It is always easy to take a backward glance at what may have been our heritage, but when time has taken its toll, we realise that it is there no more. Through our hands we must preserve what is precious, to pass down through the generations for all time to come.
graves3.gif (100736 bytes)
View of some retored Headstones June 1998
graves2.gif (57718 bytes)
Intial Trial Clearing 1996
graves1.gif (68606 bytes)
Same Site Retored AUGUST 1998
http://www.stevenyoung.co.nz/The-Chinese-in-New-Zealand/Chinese-in-Australasia-and-the-Pacific/Graves.html#4.4%20Restoring%20Old%20Chinese%20Headstones%20in%20the%20Andersons%20Bay%20Cemetery,%20Dunedin.
Paul Wah
Paul Wah Features Editor The Dominion Wellington
As a 3rd generation Chinese New Zealander I wish to comment on the reported apology by Helen Clark for the imposition of the infamous poll tax of 1890-1926 and the reported stitching together of a government financial compensation package.
My grandparents migrated to NZ in the early 1900’s from China and Australia respectively, each paying the crippling poll tax of £100 each and endured the hardships and indignities suffered by other new Chinese settlers at that time.
I still recall my grandmother as a highly intelligent and perceptive person, who adapted well despite all difficulties. She counselled me to be optimistic in the belief that times for me and my children would be better, as eventually white people would outgrow their bigotry and ignorance towards us so that we would all have an equal place in NZ society.
The anti-discrimination laws passed in the 1970’s, better education, greater prosperity and the free intermingling of people across international boundaries has relegated the bigoted attitudes of the past to the pages of history. Our children have freedom, opportunity, freedom and success. They are the lucky true inheritors of the great NZ dream. Some are aware of the injustices of the past, and none that I know carry the grievances of history within their breast determined to find an opportunity to make somebody pay.
We are adamant the sins of Richard John Seddon and politicians of the past are not a debt for which the government of today is accountable. My family carries the grievances of the past very lightly on their shoulders.
Too much should not be made of Helen Clark’s apology as the wrongs and injustices of the past are self-evident. Such public self-flagellation serves little purpose and can only be seen as a cynical attempt at vote catching in an election year. If Ms Clark is sincere in her efforts to seek re-approachment with those aggrieved members of the Chinese community then let her Government direct the Education Ministry to write into the History and Social studies curriculum of schools a full and fair treatment of early NZ’s dicriminatory laws plus an analysis of how such policies had devastating effects on the families concerned.
In seeking our vindication it is important that we Chinese take a balanced viewpoint of the situation at that time. As an older person who has travelled very extensively and having lived and worked in China it is clear that racial intolerance, discrimination and oppression are universal and not a practice engaged by one particular race.
I am saddened that my grandparents had such a hard time gaining acceptance in NZ, more so that their aspirations were blunted in this new country of exceptional opportunity. China, in the late 1800’s was ravaged by civil war, banditry, poverty and political instability. Migration to NZ despite the poll tax and discrimination offered a better life than from whence they had come. For this they were grateful.
I have greatest difficulty with some suggestion of monetary compensation. The Chinese community do not need buckets of Government (actually our money) cash.. This can be seen as the ultimate "40 pieces of silver". By accepting monetary compensation we would in a single action have joined the "grievance industry" an activity synonymous with failure, inertia and an unwillingness to accept a responsibility for one’s own outcomes.
The Maori grievance industry is unique as they are the indigenous people and have a fulcrum of newly enacted laws around which to litigate and clearly suffer severe handicaps which they do not seem to be able to unilaterally resolve. No such similar situation exists for the Chinese who have proven well able to advance without leaning on the State.
Of concern is that we now have a large Pacific Island minority coat-tailing the Maori grievance industry. They work via a State sponsored Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, progressively ratcheting up additional privileges for their people.
With ever increasing enclaves of ethnic communities settling in NZ, the opportunities for an expansion of groups claiming redress for past grievances (real or imagined) is considerable.
It is important to all New Zealanders that the grievance industry should be quarantined to where it now lies and we Chinese have nothing to do with extracting compensation for wrongs of a century ago.
When my generation passes on there should be none left who have experienced the harsh effects of the Poll Tax laws and associated racial discrimination.
I would like all New Zealanders to remember us as hardworking, intelligent, responsible and successful citizens who have given at least as much as they took from the land of their adoption; as people with sleeves rolled up, hands outstretched to work, but never as a people with hands out ready to receive "freebies" from fellow New Zealanders.
Paul Wah 12 Westpoint Ave Lower Hutt
Former Principal Taita College and former Chairperson Wellington Ethnic Council
http://www.stevenyoung.co.nz/The-Chinese-in-New-Zealand/Poll-Tax/Paul-Wah.html
As a 3rd generation Chinese New Zealander I wish to comment on the reported apology by Helen Clark for the imposition of the infamous poll tax of 1890-1926 and the reported stitching together of a government financial compensation package.
My grandparents migrated to NZ in the early 1900’s from China and Australia respectively, each paying the crippling poll tax of £100 each and endured the hardships and indignities suffered by other new Chinese settlers at that time.
I still recall my grandmother as a highly intelligent and perceptive person, who adapted well despite all difficulties. She counselled me to be optimistic in the belief that times for me and my children would be better, as eventually white people would outgrow their bigotry and ignorance towards us so that we would all have an equal place in NZ society.
The anti-discrimination laws passed in the 1970’s, better education, greater prosperity and the free intermingling of people across international boundaries has relegated the bigoted attitudes of the past to the pages of history. Our children have freedom, opportunity, freedom and success. They are the lucky true inheritors of the great NZ dream. Some are aware of the injustices of the past, and none that I know carry the grievances of history within their breast determined to find an opportunity to make somebody pay.
We are adamant the sins of Richard John Seddon and politicians of the past are not a debt for which the government of today is accountable. My family carries the grievances of the past very lightly on their shoulders.
Too much should not be made of Helen Clark’s apology as the wrongs and injustices of the past are self-evident. Such public self-flagellation serves little purpose and can only be seen as a cynical attempt at vote catching in an election year. If Ms Clark is sincere in her efforts to seek re-approachment with those aggrieved members of the Chinese community then let her Government direct the Education Ministry to write into the History and Social studies curriculum of schools a full and fair treatment of early NZ’s dicriminatory laws plus an analysis of how such policies had devastating effects on the families concerned.
In seeking our vindication it is important that we Chinese take a balanced viewpoint of the situation at that time. As an older person who has travelled very extensively and having lived and worked in China it is clear that racial intolerance, discrimination and oppression are universal and not a practice engaged by one particular race.
I am saddened that my grandparents had such a hard time gaining acceptance in NZ, more so that their aspirations were blunted in this new country of exceptional opportunity. China, in the late 1800’s was ravaged by civil war, banditry, poverty and political instability. Migration to NZ despite the poll tax and discrimination offered a better life than from whence they had come. For this they were grateful.
I have greatest difficulty with some suggestion of monetary compensation. The Chinese community do not need buckets of Government (actually our money) cash.. This can be seen as the ultimate "40 pieces of silver". By accepting monetary compensation we would in a single action have joined the "grievance industry" an activity synonymous with failure, inertia and an unwillingness to accept a responsibility for one’s own outcomes.
The Maori grievance industry is unique as they are the indigenous people and have a fulcrum of newly enacted laws around which to litigate and clearly suffer severe handicaps which they do not seem to be able to unilaterally resolve. No such similar situation exists for the Chinese who have proven well able to advance without leaning on the State.
Of concern is that we now have a large Pacific Island minority coat-tailing the Maori grievance industry. They work via a State sponsored Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, progressively ratcheting up additional privileges for their people.
With ever increasing enclaves of ethnic communities settling in NZ, the opportunities for an expansion of groups claiming redress for past grievances (real or imagined) is considerable.
It is important to all New Zealanders that the grievance industry should be quarantined to where it now lies and we Chinese have nothing to do with extracting compensation for wrongs of a century ago.
When my generation passes on there should be none left who have experienced the harsh effects of the Poll Tax laws and associated racial discrimination.
I would like all New Zealanders to remember us as hardworking, intelligent, responsible and successful citizens who have given at least as much as they took from the land of their adoption; as people with sleeves rolled up, hands outstretched to work, but never as a people with hands out ready to receive "freebies" from fellow New Zealanders.
Paul Wah 12 Westpoint Ave Lower Hutt
Former Principal Taita College and former Chairperson Wellington Ethnic Council
http://www.stevenyoung.co.nz/The-Chinese-in-New-Zealand/Poll-Tax/Paul-Wah.html
Year of the Dragon - New Year traditions
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
12:00 until 13:30
Family History Lunchtime Series
Year of the Dragon - New Year traditions
Wednesday 22 February 2012, noon to 1.30pm
with Helen Wong & Dr Anthony Han
Central City Library
Whare Wānanga, level 2 (unless otherwise stated)
With our Year of the Dragon in full swing, come and join us to hear about past and present New Year traditions in Chinese and Korean families.
Helen Wong is a NZ-born Chinese and a prolific writer with numerous published works and social media feeds to her name. Dr Anthony Han immigrated to New Zealand at the end of 1995 from Korea and has since been published in both Korean and English many times over.
Discover what the Year of the Dragon means to Helen and Dr Anthony's communities, and don’t forget to check out the other fun and fascinating events we’re holding to celebrate the lunar new year!
To book your place, phone (09) 307 7771 or book online.
http://www.aucklandcitylibraries.com/whatson/familyhistory/familyhistoryseries.aspx?occurrence=5
http://www.facebook.com/events/368439033167692/
12:00 until 13:30
Family History Lunchtime Series
Year of the Dragon - New Year traditions
Wednesday 22 February 2012, noon to 1.30pm
with Helen Wong & Dr Anthony Han
Central City Library
Whare Wānanga, level 2 (unless otherwise stated)
With our Year of the Dragon in full swing, come and join us to hear about past and present New Year traditions in Chinese and Korean families.
Helen Wong is a NZ-born Chinese and a prolific writer with numerous published works and social media feeds to her name. Dr Anthony Han immigrated to New Zealand at the end of 1995 from Korea and has since been published in both Korean and English many times over.
Discover what the Year of the Dragon means to Helen and Dr Anthony's communities, and don’t forget to check out the other fun and fascinating events we’re holding to celebrate the lunar new year!
To book your place, phone (09) 307 7771 or book online.
http://www.aucklandcitylibraries.com/whatson/familyhistory/familyhistoryseries.aspx?occurrence=5
http://www.facebook.com/events/368439033167692/
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