COLLEGE BOXING Seddon Memorial Technical College boxing championships.  Lightweight, R. Wah Lee v. J. Boreham. Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 255, 27 October 1944, Page 7

MR. GIN COOK YIN.

MR. GIN COOK YIN.
Well known in the city, Mr. Gin Cook Yin, who traded under the name of Wah Lee, died on May 14, after a short illness, at his home, 45,. Grey Avenue. Deceased, who was aged about 63, had been in business in Grey Avenue for the past 30 years. He had filled the office of Grand Master of the Auckland Chinese Masonic Lodge for the past 30 years. Eis body is being embalmed, and will be to Chica for burial. Mr. Dang Yin, his brother, who was in the firm, is still living, also a son, Mr. Arthur Ming Watt, who is in business in Auckland. There are two daughters in China. Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 116, 19 May 1930, Page 3

U.S. AWARD TO CHINESE NURSE FROM AUCKLAND

By PHILIP MATTHEWS

TO an Aucklander falls the honour, of being the first Chinese nurse to be awarded the United States Civilian Emblem. She is Miss Annie Wah Lee.

Born in Auckland 27 years ago, Miss Wah Lee was educated at the Normal School, then in Wellesley Street, and at the Auckland Girls' Grammar School. After she had had a year's study at the Grammar School the Wah Lee family returned to China, where Miss Wah Lee completed her education.

After leaving college, Miss Wah Lee, who was a brilliant student, taught English. She was at this time staying with a Jamaican girl, and by her she was introduced to a priest, who advised her to take up nursing. Through his good offices she was able to join the Kowloon Hospital, where she gained her first year's training as a nurse. Then followed a further five years' training at the Queen Mary Hospital, Hongkong, at the conclusion of which Miss Wah-Lee was appointed matron of the Hospital of the Precious Blood, which was also situated in the British Colony, and was run by sisters of the Roman Catholic Church.

At the time of the fall of Hongkong, Miss Wah Lee's two sisters, Nancy and Alice, whose exciting escape to Free China and subsequent voyage to New Zealand was reported in the Star last year, were on the island. Miss Wah Lee was on the mainland at the time, but at risk of her life she crossed to Hongkong to contact her sisters. As a nurse she was able, through a doctor, to gain a special pass to make the trip, but even so the hazards were considerable. The Japanese wanted to keep her on the island to nurse their own sick and wounded, but she refused, and since the Japanese were more concerned with subduing the British on Hongkong rather than the Chinese—except those of wealth or high position—the request was not enforced. Sisters in Disguise •Her. two sisters, disguised as old women, were taken to occupied China on a refugee boat controlled by the Japanese, and Miss Wah Lee later made a similar trip. This service was run by the Japanese in order to reduce the population on the island, and it was a dangerous voyage. Apart from the fact that many people were brutally clubbed to death by the Japanese in their efforts to control the thousands of refugees on the wharves and that a large number of old women and children were trampled to death, the Japanese themselves often attacked the boats and robbed the passengers. Furthermore, young Chinese women were liable to be molested by the lustful Japanese soldiers.

Miss Wah Lee was fortunate in escaping harm and after reaching the mainland made her way by foot, ricksha, sedan chair and truck to Free China. The last-named means of transport, though faster than the others, was reliable, for many of the lorries ran on coal when out of petrol and were prone to come to a halt leaving the. occupants to spend a night on the mountains. Nevertheless, the journey to Chungking—a distance of some 700 miles as the crow flies —was completed in .three weeks. In the wwtitne capital Miss Wab Lee contacted a priest, with thf; assistance of whom she obtained a position with the American Red Cross, rising to a position of prominence.

Miss Wah Lee has not said much about her appointment to her family, but they know she had been associated with the care of the sick and wounded American servicemen. Part of her duties have been of an inves'tigatory nature and she also made many trips by air to India in connection with the purchase of supplies. For her services to the Army the Civilian Emblem was awarded in October last. Miss Wan Lee has also been in contact with Madame Chiang Kai-shek. A few weeks ago Miss Wah Lee went to the United States, where she will further her studies in nursing work. She expects to be in America about two years before returning to China. It is understood by her family that she passed through New Zealand en route, but was unable to land and see her brothers and sisters. Her parents are in occupied China. Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 27, 1 February 1945, Page 4

Talking to your oldest living relative is always a great way to add to your family history research.

Print these fun family-oriented questions and sit down with your loved ones to hear their responses. Brace yourself; their response might surprise you – so don’t forget your pen and paper! You can then add the answers into your Ancestry.com.au Family Tree profile pages.

Family Questions
Do you have a family legend or story that has been passed down for generations?
What traditions do you look forward to at family get-togethers?
What is unique about your family background or ethnicity?
How did your ancestors change your life?
Do you have any advice for future generations?
What is the most important thing you learned from your parents?
When was the best time in your life and why was it great?
What are you most proud of about your family?
How do you want to be remembered?
What is your favorite thing about being part of your family?

My Family
What quirky personality traits run in your family?
What physical characteristics run in your family?
What is/was your favorite activity to do with your mother or father?
How would your family spend a typical day together?
How would your mother or father punish or reward you as a child?
What things did you do with your brothers and sisters when you were growing up?
How have your brothers and sisters influenced your life?

Fun Family Questions
Who is the biggest troublemaker in your family?
Who in your family would you want to be stranded on a desert island with?
Which family member do you think could be famous?
Who do you most want to be like in your family?
Who has the best sense of humour in your family?

World Questions
What do you think was the biggest problem facing the world when you were growing up?
What do you think is the biggest problem facing the world today?
What do you think are the discoveries and inventions that changed your life?
What do you think the world will be like for your family’s future generations in 100 years?
What is your wish for the future generations of your family?

http://blogs.ancestry.com/au/2012/01/09/family-questions/

AH LEE CHEE YUNG,

IN THE BANKRUPT ESTATE OF AH LEE CHEE YUNG, OF WEST BROOK, STOREKEEPER. I hereiy give' notioe that I hare this day SOLD to Mr CHOW FONG, of Grey month, 'storekeeper the s whole of the Book "Debts -in the! 'Bankrupt Estate of Ah Lee Chee Yung, of Westbrook, storekeeper. R W WADE, Deputy Official Assignee. Hokitika, Nov. 12th, 1891. With reference to the absve I hereby give notice that all the penbni Indebted to the above estate whose names appear below are requested to pay the amounts of their several account at once.
Grey River Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 7217, 23 November 1891, Page 2

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=GRA18911123.2.12.5&srpos=1&e=-------10--1----0chan+ah+chee--

Henry Fine Chong

A Chinese wedding attracted considerable interest at Parramatta on June 24, when a marriage was celebrated in St. John's Church between Mr. Henry Fine Chong and Miss Lily Ah Poo, daugh- ter of a well-to-do Chinaman in Parramatta. The bride wore white silk trimmed with lace, a wreath of orange blossoms, and a long tulle veil. Her bridesmaid was her sister, Miss Jessie Ah Poo, who wore a pretty costume of buttercup muslin. Australian Town and Country Journal Saturday 4 July 1896

REV. CHEOK KONG CHEONG.

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER.

There was an interesting gathering at the offices of the "Tung Wah News" last evening, when a complimentary dinner, under the auspices of the Chinese Empire Reform Association, was tendered to the Rev. Cheok Kong Cheong, the Chinese lecturer. A large number of gentlemen, representing European and Eastern nations, were present, and the evening proved a most enjoyable one. Mr. Yee Hing, the president of the association, was in the chair, having beside him the guest of the evening, and amongst those who sat down to dinner were Mr. J. Blanksby, M.L.C., Mr. P. Jessep, M.L.A., Mr. Davis, M.L.A., Mr. J. Hayes, M.L.A., Mr. Lockyer (of the Customs Department), Captain Green; the representative of the Japanese Consul, Mr. Powell, Mr. Palset, Mr. David O. Young, Mr. Ping Nam, Mr. Han Chong Jowe, and Mr. Henry Fine Chong.

The toasts of "The Queen" and "The Emperor" were drunk with enthusiasm, and then Mr. Tee Hing proposed "Our Guest." He referred to the pleasure it gave the members of the league to have had Mr. Cheok Kong Cheong in their midst for the past few months. Their visitor was the model of the true Chinese gentleman. Not only among his countrymen but among all with whom he mixed he was regarded with the highest feelings of respect. His work for all causes of charity had been unceasing. For the furthering of the ends of the association, for the enlightenment of his countrymen, the suppression of the opium trade, for Christianity, the relief of Indian and Chinese famines, and other causes, be had always been a prominent leader among

the Australian Chinese.

The Rev. Cheok Kong Cheong, who was received with cheers, expressed his gratification at the recep- tion accorded to him while in Sydney. In language that many public speakers of English might envy, he briefly touched upon the present state of China. He referred to the resources and possibilities of the East- ern nation. He was firm in his opinion that when the people had a settled Government and took up the

Western ideas a new existence would begin forChina, and she would rank with the foremost nations of the world.

Other toasts, including "Chinese Merchants," and " The European and Japanese Visi- tors," were proposed and responded to. During the evening the rev. gentleman was presented with a handsome address signed by the leading Chinese of Sydney. On the souvenir was a realistic scene from Sydney Harbour painted by Mr. Henry Fine Chong. The Sydney Morning Herald Thursday 18 October 1900

Head tax activist dies in Vancouver at 105

Charlie Sang Now Quan was remembered Saturday as an ordinary man with extraordinary accomplishments, an unlikely activist who fought in his 90s to right the wrongs of Canada’s Chinese head tax and Exclusion Act.

Quan, who was one of the oldest remaining head tax payers, died Feb. 23 in Vancouver. He was 105.

Quan came to Canada in 1923 from Hoyping, China, and was forced to pay the $500 head tax — equivalent to about two years’ wages in China at the time.

Head tax activist Sid Tan, a close friend of Quan’s, remembered him as the only head tax survivor who actively spoke out against the legislation, demanding both an apology and monetary redress from the Canadian government.

“Charlie was the only head tax payer that would come out and say what he wanted, unequivocally,” said Tan, who gave a eulogy at Saturday’s service at Forest Lawn cemetery in Burnaby.

Quan told Tan that when he came to Canada, immigration officials forced him to stand naked for half an hour — “for really no reason at all.”

The Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned all Chinese immigration to Canada from 1923 to 1947, meant he would not see his wife and children until after it was repealed.

“Charlie was the guy that taught me what being a chink was,” Tan said. “That is a word that is used to describe the Chinese in the most surly, derogatory, disrespectful way, and Charlie didn’t like that.”

After meeting Tan in the late ’90s, Quan began actively calling for an apology and redress. He met with three prime ministers — Jean Chretien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper — to plead his case.

When the federal government in 2006 issued an official apology and tax redress cheques of $20,000 to survivors and spouses, Quan was among the first to receive his.

“The next day, I went down to visit him and he had this incredibly big smile on his face,” Tan said. “He came up to me and he said, ‘Sid, I’m not a chink any more. I get my money back.’ ”

Friends and family celebrated with a feast.

Tan was predeceased by his wife, Own Yee Lee. He is survived by his daughter-in-law Chung Yit Quan, his two sons Gary and Wesley, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

awoo@vancouversun.com

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