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Chapter 7. The Chinese in Australia Dutch explorers found Australia before the British, but due to a lack of sufficient colonial policies and capabilities, they eventually failed to colonize and dominate this land. Similarly, Chinese migration to Australia can be traced back 100 years ago, when the Chinese engaged in the development and construction of this land alongside the British. Yet, they also met a similar fate as the Dutch. What were the reasons? The Australian government has prohibited Chinese labor immigration for over thirty years, and China’s weakened power is widely recognized as a contributing factor to this. Yet eighty years ago, Australia had approximately one hundred thousand Chinese residents. If the Chinese government implemented colonial policies and if Chinese people had a migration mindset, the Chinese community would not have shrunk as it has today. Taking Victoria as an example, in 1851 when the region was still in the early stages of development, there were approximately 46,000 Chinese immigrants, marking the peak of the Chinese community at that time, with British immigrants just over 100,000. However, today, British immigrants have grown to 1,500,000, while Chinese immigrants have decreased to 2,000. Initially, Chinese immigrants came to Australia just to make a living, with no intention of long-term settlement. They would return to China once they accumulated some savings. This reflects a so-called lack of immigrant mindset, leading the Chinese community gradually to shrink. The following statistics of Chinese immigrants residing in Victoria over the past century disclosed by the Australian government provide valuable data for studying Chinese emigration affairs.
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七、澳洲華僑 荷人尋獲澳洲先於英人，但因無偉大的殖民政策和能力，卒至落後。華人移殖澳洲遠在百年前，和英人同時參加開拓的工作，至今亦遭如荷人同一的運命。這是什麼緣故？澳洲政府禁絕華工入境，是最近三十餘年的事情，國力不振有以使然，人所共知。但在八十年前，華僑居留澳洲者約十萬人，假使當時政府稍有殖民政策和華人具有殖民觀念，當不致如今日的衰微。試就維多利亞一邦而論，一八五一年為華僑最多的時候約有四萬六千人，那時地方初開，英人亦不過十餘萬。到了今日，英人繁殖至百五十萬而華僑則反減縮至二千人。華僑之來澳洲，初時的目的不過在乎謀生，並無久居之意，及後稍有蓄積便“榮歸唐山”。這就是無殖民的觀念，所以華僑景況日漸衰落。關於近百年居留維多利亞華僑數目的統計，據他政府公佈有下列的情形，為研究僑務極好之資料。
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| From the above table, we can readily discern Chinese migration patterns over the years. One particular note is the halving of numbers from 1851 to 1861. It is said that during this period, Chinese immigrants, same as the whites, were primarily focused on gold mining, regarding Australia as the “New Gold Mountain.” However, as gold reserves dwindled, many Chinese miners left Australia, resulting in a sharp decrease in their population. Subsequently, many Chinese engaged in agricultural cultivation. During the early stages of Australia’s development, the barren land with extreme weather conditions and the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria, made it uninhabitable for the whites. Therefore, diligent and hardworking Chinese immigrants were highly welcomed. | 從上表觀察，華僑歷年移殖的情形，當可瞭然。就中尚須加以說明者，即一八五一至一八六一的十年間何以減少到半數，據說當時華僑之來維多利亞亦似白人一樣，志在掘金，所以華僑先時稱澳洲為新金山，及後金盡人亦離去，故華僑人數驟減。其後華僑多參加墾荒耕種的工作。澳洲開拓的初期，滿目荒涼，寒熱交侵，加之疫瘧時作，這樣惡毒水土，白人所難堪，因此對於忍勞耐苦的華人極其歡迎入境。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We can assert that Australia owes much of its present prosperity to the significant contributions of Chinese immigrants in reclaiming and cultivating land. Therefore, during discussions with journalists in Melbourne, I raised this point to highlight the ingratitude of the Australian government’s decision to ban Chinese immigration. After 1870, Australia began restricting Chinese immigration, employing clever tactics such as limiting the number of Chinese passengers in any vessel thereunder to one for every 100 tons registered tonnage. By 1900, the government implemented a comprehensive ban on Chinese immigration. Today, there are approximately 2,000 Chinese residents in Victoria, over 4,000 in New South Wales, and about 2,000 in other states, less than 10,000 in total. These approximate figures are based on reports from the Australian government and Chinese community organizations. Although the Chinese consulate in Australia once requested Chinese immigrants to register, the outcome remains unknown, so it is unclear whether they have any statistics on the Chinese population. In the latter half of the 19th century, there were about 100,000 Chinese residents in Australia, but the incompetent Qing government paid little attention to them. It wasn’t until 1911, the last year of Qing dynasty, that a consul was dispatched to Melbourne, prompted by petitions from Chinese immigrants. The consulate was relocated from Melbourne to Sydney in 1933, possibly as part of a broader policy aiming at developing emigration affairs. |
我們可以說，澳洲有今日之繁榮，華僑墾拓的功勞不少，所以在美利濱與新聞記者談話當中，我便提出這個理由，以反射澳洲政府禁絕華人入境之忘本。一八七〇年後，澳洲開始限制華人入境，他的方法很妙，船每百噸只准載一華人。以至一九〇〇年，遂絕對禁絕華人來澳洲。今日僑居維多利亞華人約有二千人，新南威爾斯四千餘人，其他各邦亦約二千人，合共不足萬人。這是根據澳洲政府所公佈以及華僑團體的報告所得的概數。 中國駐澳洲的領事曾令華僑註冊，但聞未有若何結果，究竟他有無華僑人數的統計，不得而知。在十九世紀的下半期，華僑之在澳洲者約十萬人，滿清政府昏庸絕未加以注意。以至宣統末年，因華僑之請願敦促，始派領事駐美利濱。最近於一九三三年領事館由美利濱遷到雪梨，這恐怕就是所謂“發展僑務”施政大綱之一。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Chinese community is gradually shrinking, with an imbalanced distribution of men and women, resulting in low birth rates. Other reasons may refer to there being lots of departures but no arrivals, lots of deaths but no births. According to statistics released by the New South Wales government, in 1861, there were only two women out of over 12,900 Chinese immigrants. Similarly, in 1891, there were only about 100 women out of 13,000 Chinese, which means that for every 100 men, only one had a family.
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華僑景況日漸衰落，以男多女少，生殖不繁，有去無來，有死無生，亦一大原因。據新南威爾斯政府公佈的統計，一八六一年華僑總數一萬二千九百餘人當中，女性只有二人。又一八九一年華僑一萬三千餘人，內有女性只百人，即男性百人僅一人有家室。茲就新南威爾士歷年華僑性別數目列下：
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| In the last two decades, the number of Chinese immigrants in Australia dropped sharply but Chinese females increased because marriages became more common. Increasing marriages can help the reproduction of Chinese, which is a good phenomenon as the number of Chinese immigrants continues to decrease. This was why I wished Chinese people here a happy marriage and more children in my speech at the Dance Club of Melbourne Australian-born Chinese Association (Meilibin tushenghui tiaowuhui 美利濱土生會跳舞會). My words sounded somewhat funny and made the audience laugh. Yet even the Chancellor of the German Reich Adolf Hitler is telling his people vociferously that “he who has the youth has the future.” Many Chinese immigrants in Australia marry white women, and it is questioned whether their children will retain a connection with China. |
最近二十年來華僑人數銳減，而女性反較增加，蓋婚姻盛行也。婚姻盛行可增加華僑的繁殖，亦是僑況衰落中的一種好現狀。所以我在美利濱土生會跳舞會演說，祝他們大眾都有美滿姻緣和多生兒女。雖然這句話含有多少滑稽，博得在場群眾一番歡笑，但請看德意志首相希特勒（Hitler）先生，正在向其國人大聲疾呼：「無兒童無希望」呢！華僑家室中有不少與白女結婚，所生混血兒將來能否不忘祖國，這是一個疑問。 |
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Without looking at the exact numbers, vegetable gardening is the most common occupation for Chinese in Australia, followed by running fruit merchant firms and fruit stores. Chinese immigrants also own fruit and sugar cane plantations in Queensland. Other less popular jobs include laundryman, furniture maker, eatery owner, general store owner,35 medical doctor, etc. Vegetable gardening was once the most profitable occupation, but now fruit merchant firms make the most profit. |
澳洲華僑的職業，就人數不論，以種菜園為最多。其次為經營果行與果販，在昆士蘭一帶並有種植果園與蔗園。再次為洗衣，傢俱木工，餐館，雜費，醫生等業。從前以種菜園為獲利最大，今則以果行生意首屈一指。 |
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| A visit to interesting fruit markets is a must-have for one’s trip to Sydney and Melbourne, two cities in Australia. The Sydney Municipal Fruit Market looks like the Victoria Wholesale Fruit Market in Melbourne. In both places, there is a central fruit market surrounded by fruit merchant firms of which over one-fourth are owned by Chinese. One Chinese fruit merchant firm was designated as the monopoly of the Remark Orange in South Australia because of its renowned credibility. A white Australian fruit merchant firm once attempted to monopolise the trade of bananas grown in New South Wales and Chinese fruit merchants teamed up together to defy its monopoly, prompting the subsequent founding of the Melbourne Chinese Fruit Merchant’s Association (Meilibin huashang guohang lianhehui 美利濱華商果行聯合會). The most exported Australian fruits are oranges, apples, and grapes, which are mostly exported to the UK and meet competitors from the US in the Eastern market. Banana is the second most harvested fruit in Australia, but oversupply caused banana prices to fall lower than the cost of production. As a result, the Australian government put limits on banana growth in recent years. One of the most imported products from China to Australia is peanuts, whose imports were valued at about 600 to 700 thousand dollars a year in the past. However, four or five years ago the Australian government imposed an embargo on the importation of Chinese peanuts, claiming that infectious diseases of plants were being imported with the nuts. The NSW Chinese Chamber of Commerce tried its best to protest the policy with a huge pile of appeals. Although the Australian government lifted the ban later, it still imposed a high level of tariff to limit the importation of peanuts. As a result, the import of peanuts into Australia in recent years has only been valued at more than 100 thousand dollars a year. | 遊覽雪梨與美利濱兩座澳洲的城市，那當有興趣的生果市場，不可不看。雪梨的果市（Sydney Municipal Fruit Market）亦似美利濱的果市（Victoria Wholesale Fruit Market）情形，中央是一座果市場，周圍果行環立，華僑經營者占四分之一強。華人果行中有因信用昭著，竟獲得南澳大利亞邦最良的橙果（Remark Orange）專賣者。有一次，西人大果行想壟斷新南威爾斯的香蕉，華僑果行聯合以對付之，因有美利濱華商果行聯合會之設立。澳洲的生果，以橙，蘋果，葡萄為出口大宗，消流英國為最多，在東方市場遇著美國生果的勁敵。香蕉出產為次多，但因供過於求，以致價格降落不足成本，近年政府對於香蕉種植特加限制。中國貨品之消流澳洲者花生亦為大宗。往年花生入口每年約值六七十萬元，自從四五年來，以中國花生有植物的傳染病為藉口，禁絕入境。雪梨的中華總商會極力與之爭論，案件之多盈尺，澳洲政府乃稍示緩和，但仍然高築稅率，藉以限制。近年花生入澳洲者不過年值十餘萬元而已。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A decade ago, there were over a thousand Chinese furniture manufacturers in Sydney. Today, only two hundred Chinese work in the furniture-making industry because a labor law was enforced to limit working hours, and many old Chinese immigrants returned to China. There are two large furniture firms in Sydney owned by Chinese immigrants, each employing 70 to 80 store staff.
In the 1850s some labor unions in Australia started the Eight-hour day campaign to fight for better working conditions, which continued throughout the 19th century. In 1916 the Eight Hours Act was passed in Victoria and New South Wales to limit working hours to 8 hours a day. See: “National Museum of Australia – Eight-Hour Day,” National Museum of Australia, accessed 13 April 2024, https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/eight-hour-day. |
傢俱木工，在十年前只就雪梨一處，華僑經營這種職業者已有千人。其後勞工法律公佈，限制工作時間，加以華僑多老返國，故今日僅餘二百人。雪梨有華僑經營傢俱公司兩間，規模宏大，每間要雇用店員七八十人。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A traditional Chinese medicine practitioner is called a Chinese Herbalist in Australia with a history of 50 years. At first, Chinese herbalists showed their amazing healing skills on some occasions and thus gained the trust of white people. Later, Western medical doctors were jealous of Chinese herbalists and opposed their medical practice, prompting the local government to ban Chinese traditional medicine. However, the support from believers in traditional Chinese medicine keeps the practice of it until now. Nowadays, there are about 50 Chinese herbalists in Victoria. Frank Sum Goon is one of the well-known Chinese herbalists who treats over a hundred patients a day, most of whom are white people. His clinic is very popular and earns over a thousand pounds a week for treating patients. Chen Lian and Liu Fusheng are two other famous Chinese herbalists in Melbourne markets. Surprisingly, traditional Chinese medicine earns recognition in a foreign country where science flourishes when it is losing its popularity in our own country. There must have been a reason for traditional Chinese medicine to continue to exist. | 中醫西人稱為華人草藥師（Chinese Herbalist），在澳洲已有半百年的歷史。起初有好幾次，中醫曾奏驚人的技術，因此大得西人信仰。中間雖經西醫嫉忌反對，當地政府欲行取締；但卒因信仰者之擁護，至今仍能保存。現時僅維多利亞一邦，中醫生約五十人。岑福元君為著名華人草藥師之一，每日就醫者百餘人，都是碧眼兒，其門如市，每星期疹藥金收入多至千餘鎊。美利濱市場內陳連君劉富生君均為有名的中醫生。中華國醫之在本國有日就衰微的形勢；而在科學昌明的異邦，反博得大眾的信仰，這是足令人驚異的事情，我想國醫醫術必有不可磨滅之理由存在。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I suppose we still remember the severe flood that occurred years ago in China, when overseas Chinese in Australia generously donated as much as 100,000 yuan. They are so sympathetic and concerned for their compatriots back home, providing considerable financial aid to save those victims. This led the people in China to recognize the generosity and patriotism of the overseas Chinese, encouraging many Chinese industrialists to come to Australia with fundraising lists despite thousands of miles of distance. |
我們當猶記憶數年前國內大水災，澳洲華僑捐款十萬元之巨。華僑對於海內同胞這般慈善為懷，解囊救助，華僑之慷慨好義，遂為國人所認識，許多國內事業專家便攜捐簿不遠千里而來。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| To truly understand the economic condition of Chinese immigrants in Australia, you should pay attention to the Chinese laborers there and get to know the lives of the lower class. For instance, the hardships of running vegetable gardens are as bitter as chewing vegetable roots. | 究竟華僑經濟狀況如何？這要請留心僑務者到華僑下層生活去考察！譬如種菜園的艱苦，那要像咬菜根有同樣滋味。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Once on a moonlit night, I went for a walk on the outskirts of the city. On the boulevard of La Paruce, the sound of horse hooves approached from afar. In the hazy moonlight, I could vaguely see an old man sitting upright in the carriage, cracking his whip and urging the horse to move forward. My companion told me: “He is a Chinese vegetable grower. He departed from La Paruce at midnight in order to arrive at the market at 3 a.m.. He is busy all night long.” I was deeply touched by that, and it sparked my interest in visiting the vegetable gardens of the Chinese immigrants. |
有一次，在月夜當中，我到郊外散步，La Paruce的大道上，馬蹄聲音由遠而近，朦籠月色，隱約可見老人端坐車上，揚鞭催馬前進。同伴告訴我說：「這是種菜園的華人，他由La Paruse 要十二時起程，夜後三時始能到達菜市，整夜勞碌。」我聞說非常感動，邃引起拜訪華僑菜園之興趣。 |
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| On Christmas Eve, a Mr. Wu and his family accompanied me to Windsor. Some Chinese immigrants were running vegetable gardens there. After a sixty-mile carriage ride, we reached one and met four Chinese compatriots inside a wooden shed. All of them are elderly men in their sixties or seventies, with weathered faces and slender figures. They were having a meal together at the time—a plate of vegetables, a plate of meat, small cups of wine, and large bowls of rice—and that was all the comfort they got in their daily toil. | 在耶穌耶誕節的前一天，偕同伍君及其家人到Winsor去，那裡有華僑經營菜園。我們乘車行了六十里便到達一菜園，在木棚之下，會見四位僑胞，都是六七十歲的老人，顏容蒼痩。他們正在聚餐，一菜一肉，小杯酒，大碗飯，這就是終日勞碌中所得到的安慰。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Under the wooden shed, kitchen utensils, stoves, vehicles, farming tools, and grains were neatly placed in different corners. The space of the shed is large, and even with all these items, there is still enough room for workers to eat together. Next to the shed is a wooden hut, where each worker lives in a separate room. In their bedrooms, besides a bed, a stool, and a wooden crate, there are no other furnishings. | 木棚內廚爐車輛農具雜糧都分隅安放著，不過木棚頗大，除此以外，尙有空地聚餐。木棚之傍為一座木屋，每人分居一室，寢室中一床一櫈一木箱以外無他物。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The four of them worked together to cultivate a thirteen-acre vegetable garden, which requires numerous irrigations throughout the day, especially in the hot summer when the water demand for the garden increased significantly. The garden consumes an average of 10,000 gallons of water per day, and each thousand gallons of water costs one shilling and two pence. In recent years, due to the global economic downturn, vegetables were sold at low prices, leaving their growers in miserable debt. Additionally, they have to pay thirty-six pounds in land rent annually, not including the income tax levied by the government. | 他們四人合耕十三英畝的菜園，每日要灌水數次，夏天氣候炎熱，需水更多。平均每日要用一萬加侖水，每千加侖水費一先令又二便士。近數年來世界不景氣，蔬菜無價，債臺高築，還要納地租三十六英鎊，政府所得稅尙在外。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ten years ago, the world economy was booming, and each worker could earn over one thousand pounds annually. Nowadays, earning one or two pounds a week is not easy. Moreover, since the Italians began their immigration to Australia, Chinese workers have been seriously affected by the low labor prices they quoted. It is said that starting a vegetable garden requires five hundred pounds, while running it costs one thousand pounds per year. These expenditures were borrowed from Chinese merchants, putting heavy financial burdens on the garden owners and making it difficult for them to attain profits. | 十年前好世界，每年工人可獲利千鎊，今則每星期工資一二鎊亦不易得。並且自義大利人移殖澳洲以來，工價低賤，華僑受影響不少。據說，這菜園開辦費需五百鎊，常年用費一千鎊，都從華商借來，擔負巨重，獲利不易。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| After the meal, they went back to work, and I talked with them for a while before saying goodbye with handshakes. I recognized that the straw hats they were wearing were shipped from Canton. This kind of hat is called Tungkoomo in Cantonese. |
飯後他們繼續工作，我談話一會，便彼此握別。他們戴在頭上的草帽，即粵語所謂銅鼓帽，我認得是由廣東運來的。 |
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| During my travels in Albury, what fascinated me most was a time-honored Chinese store. Albury City has been around for over one hundred years. This store, however, was built before the city took its shape. The brand name of the shop is Xiangyuan祥源, and its owner is from Jianchang建昌. It is located at the north corner of Albury Market, surrounded by many open spaces. The reason behind this is that this area used to be a cluster of Chinese communities. Ten years ago, a fire destroyed many buildings there, and only Xiangyuan survived. | 在阿百里旅行當中，令我最感興趣者，為得見一間極老的華僑店鋪。阿百里成立市鎭已有一百餘年的歷史，而華僑老鋪則建築尙在成市以前。這間老鋪，字號叫做「祥源」，藉名為「建昌」在阿百里街市之北角，四周多空地，蓋從前此地為華僑叢集的區城，十年前遭火災，致被焚去，惟祥源獨存。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opposite Xiang Yuan is Zhi Gong Hall, a small wooden hut styled like an ancestral temple. Above the altar is a wooden memorial tablet inscribed with “Long live the Emperor of the Great Ming, Forever and Ever.” The couplets on both sides read: “Patriotic heroes unite to save the country; God sends a wise monarch to stabilize the Central Plains.” More than three hundred years have passed since the Manchus overthrew the Ming Dynasty. It is indeed a surprise to find a memorial hall commemorating the Ming Dynasty in a foreign country. How can one not be touched by that? With its people possessing such a resilient national spirit, China shall never perish! | 祥源對面為致公堂，一祠堂樣子的小木屋也。神壇上供養木牌一方，上面寫著「大明天子萬歲萬萬歲之神位，」兩旁對聯為「義士同心扶社稷，天降明主定中原。」明亡於異族已三百餘年，不意在海外得見大明紀念堂，能無感慨！華人有這樣強韌的民族精神，中國是不會亡的！ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We have witnessed many great achievements by overseas Chinese, and their past struggles are worth reflecting upon. While Chinese people may lack colonial concepts, their ability to colonize can break the world colonial Olympic record. Over the past century, our country has faced invasion by foreign races, political decay, and social collapse. Overseas Chinese, drifting in foreign lands, have had no national support, sometimes even viewed as bystanders by the governments, while foreigners treated them as inferior. Despite facing adversity, overseas Chinese have relied on their physical and intellectual strength to fight against harsh environments and eventually find a way out. This is truly admirable. Overseas Chinese are all warriors in the arena of overseas colonization, with many unsung heroes among them. However, due to space constraints, I can only describe a few outstanding individuals known to me. | 我們已看見許多華僑偉大的事業，則其過去鬥奮的情形，自不可不考求。華人雖欠殖民的觀念；但華人殖民的能力，可以打破世界殖民阿林比克的記錄。我國在近百年來，異族交侵，政治頹敗，社會崩潰之際。華僑飄流異域，已無國力為後援，有時政府且或視為路人，異族更作牛馬看待。而華僑於困苦艱難當中，憑著個人的體力和智力，與惡劣的環境搏鬥，卒能打開一條出路，這是令人十分佩服的。華僑人人都是海外殖民角逐場中的勇士，有許多無名英雄，但是這裡為篇幅所限，我只能將幾個出色的人物就所知者描寫。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I once visited an old man on the outskirts of Sydney who was over seventy years old, but he didn’t consider himself old at all, and in spirit, he wasn’t. He had a large garden, and I thought he would need at least three gardeners to take care of it; however, he said, “No need for staff, I handle everything myself.” This old man from Taishan County is Mr. James Ah Chuey. He came to Australia in 1879 at the age of sixteen. He struggled to find work in difficult circumstances, earning a mere five shillings per week for many years as a laborer. With some knowledge of English acquired later, he rose to become a foreman. However, luck was not on his side, he was robbed by the infamous bandit “Moonlight” and lost everything. Later, he and his companions opened a grocery store in Junee, but after operating for a year, they suffered a fire and lost four thousand pounds. Forced to become a trader, he traveled between towns and farms. From these experiences, he gained valuable knowledge of farming and husbandry. Abandoning the trading business, he purchased land for farming, and through diligent efforts, his profits multiplied. Later, his land expanded, and he also engaged in animal husbandry, becoming a sheep broker. His knowledge of wool also grew richer over time. Several years later, he became a prosperous wool merchant, employing eighty white workers to wash and pack wool. In the midst of favorable conditions, he faced a severe drought in Australia for seven years, resulting in the loss of forty thousand sheep. Despite this setback, Mr. James Ah Chuey persevered in his business, and the wool market rebounded in the following year, and James Ah Chuey earned a profit of 15,000 pounds. In 1914, the outbreak of the World War led the British and Australian governments to requisition wool for military uniforms, temporarily halting the wool market. After the war, he resumed his wool business and relocated to Sydney from the countryside. He dedicated thirty-eight years to the wool industry, becoming a renowned figure among the Chinese diaspora as the sheep station owner. | 我在雪梨郊外曾拜訪一位七十餘歲的老翁，卻是他自己不認老，其實以他精神論亦並不老。他有廣大的花園，我認為至少亦須養三個園工料理；他說：「不需要員工，完全我一個人包辦。」這位臺山縣老伯就是黃柱君，於一八七九年飄流到澳洲，那時他不過十六歲。在很困難中覓得工作，每星期只有五個先令的工資，做了多年的苦工，後來稍通英語，升為工頭。但時運仍不濟，竟遭逢名著強盜“Moonlight”被劫掠一空。其後與同伴開張一間雜貨鋪在Junee地方，不過營業一年，又遭回祿，損失四千金鎊。不得已學做行商，來往於城鄉和牧場。從這種機會，他得到不少的耕種和牧蓄智識，棄去行商業，購地為農，勤敏的結果，獲利加倍。後來領地日廣，兼營牧蓄，遂做了羊經紀人，關於羊毛智識，亦日益豐富。數年後他成了一殷實的羊毛商，雇用八十個白人做羊毛洗刷和打包的工作。在很好景象中，遇著澳洲七年大旱災，他損失了羊四萬頭。黃柱君仍然繼續奮鬥，次年羊毛市況良好，獲利一萬五千鎊。一九一四年大戰光臨，英澳政府統制羊毛以供士兵衣料，羊毛市場遂暫行停息。和平後他再做羊毛事業，並由鄉鎮遷居雪梨城。他是做了三十八年的羊毛事業，華僑中著名的羊壩佬。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Next, when I arrived at the Melbourne Railway Station, the first Victoria-based Chinese I shook hands with was the renowned Australian barrister, William Ah Ket. It was a moment of great honor for me. Born in Victoria in 1876, Willian studied law at Melbourne University and graduated top of his class in 1902, obtaining qualifications as a judge in the Supreme Court. In 1903, he became a barrister at the Supreme Court, handling numerous high-profile cases, both public and private. He was particularly dedicated to advocating for the interests of the Chinese community and authored several works such as “A Paper on the Chinese and the Factories Acts,” “The Second George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology,” and “Concerning Herbalists.” In 1912, he returned to China as a representative of the Australian Chinese community. Subsequently, he served twice as an acting consul for China in Australia. Besides his legal practice, he also served as the Chairman of the Footscray Iron Works board. William was not only esteemed among the Chinese community but also highly respected by Australians. | 其次我到美利濱車站，第一個與我握手的維多利亞華僑，就是澳洲大名鼎鼎的麥錫祥大律師，我覺得很光榮。麥君以一八七六年生於維多利亞，習法律於美利濱大學，在一九〇二年畢業考試冠軍，並得到高等法庭的法官資格。一九〇三年任高等法庭律師，出庭辯護，辦了許多公私大案件。對於華人的利益，尤極力維護,著有“A Paper on the Chinese and the Factories Acts.” “The Second George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology.” “Concerning Herbalists.”等書。一九一二年麥君代表澳洲華僑歸國。其後曾代理中國駐澳總領事兩次。現時除任大律師外，他並為Footscray鋼鐵廠董事會的主席。麥君不獨為華僑中出色人物，亦澳洲人士所景仰。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mr. Albert Hing, the president of the NSW Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Sydney, is a rising star among overseas Chinese. In his thirties, as a representative figure of the Chinese community, he won back considerable interests and reputation of the Chinese people from the local government. | 雪梨中華總商會會長朱松慶君，為華僑後起的俊秀，他以三十餘歲的青年，代表華僑，向當地政府爭回華人的利益和光榮不少。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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