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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、澳洲华侨 荷人寻获澳洲先于英人，但因无伟大的殖民政策和能力，卒至落后。华人移殖澳洲远在百年前，和英人同时参加开拓的工作，至今亦遭如荷人同一的运命。这是什么缘故？澳洲政府禁绝华工入境，是最近三十余年的事情，国力不振有以使然，人所共知。但在八十年前，华侨居留澳洲者约十万人，假使当时政府稍有殖民政策和华人具有殖民观念，当不致如今日的衰微。试就维多利亚一邦而论，一八五一年为华侨最多的时候约有四万六千人，那时地方初开，英人亦不过十余万。到了今日，英人繁殖至百五十万而华侨则反减缩至二千人。华侨之来澳洲，初时的目的不过在乎谋生，并无久居之意，及后稍有蓄积便“荣归唐山”。这就是无殖民的观念，所以华侨景况日渐衰落。关于近百年居留维多利亚华侨数目的统计，据他政府公布有下列的情形，为研究侨务极好之资料。
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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. | 从上表观察，华侨历年移殖的情形，当可了然。就中尚须加以说明者，即一八五一至一八六一的十年间何以减少到半数，据说当时华侨之来维多利亚亦似白人一样，志在掘金，所以华侨先时称澳洲为新金山，及后金尽人亦离去，故华侨人数骤减。其后华侨多参加垦荒耕种的工作。澳洲开拓的初期，满目荒凉，寒热交侵，加之疫疟时作，这样恶毒水土，白人所难堪，因此对于忍劳耐苦的华人极其欢迎入境。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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. |
我们可以说，澳洲有今日之繁荣，华侨垦拓的功劳不少，所以在美利滨与新闻记者谈话当中，我便提出这个理由，以反射澳洲政府禁绝华人入境之忘本。一八七〇年后，澳洲开始限制华人入境，他的方法很妙，船每百吨只准载一华人。以至一九〇〇年，遂绝对禁绝华人来澳洲。今日侨居维多利亚华人约有二千人，新南威尔斯四千余人，其他各邦亦约二千人，合共不足万人。这是根据澳洲政府所公布以及华侨团体的报告所得的概数。 中国驻澳洲的领事曾令华侨注册，但闻未有若何结果，究竟他有无华侨人数的统计，不得而知。在十九世纪的下半期，华侨之在澳洲者约十万人，满清政府昏庸绝未加以注意。以至宣统末年，因华侨之请愿敦促，始派领事驻美利滨。最近于一九三三年领事馆由美利滨迁到雪梨，这恐怕就是所谓“发展侨务”施政大纲之一。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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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华侨景况日渐衰落，以男多女少，生殖不繁，有去无来，有死无生，亦一大原因。据新南威尔斯政府公布的统计，一八六一年华侨总数一万二千九百余人当中，女性只有二人。又一八九一年华侨一万三千余人，内有女性只百人，即男性百人仅一人有家室。兹就新南威尔士历年华侨性别数目列下：
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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 美利滨土生会跳舞会). 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. |
最近二十年来华侨人数锐减，而女性反较增加，盖婚姻盛行也。婚姻盛行可增加华侨的繁殖，亦是侨况衰落中的一种好现状。所以我在美利滨土生会跳舞会演说，祝他们大众都有美满姻缘和多生儿女。虽然这句话含有多少滑稽，博得在场群众一番欢笑，但请看德意志首相希特勒（Hitler）先生，正在向其国人大声疾呼：「无儿童无希望」呢！华侨家室中有不少与白女结婚，所生混血儿将来能否不忘祖国，这是一个疑问。 |
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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. |
澳洲华侨的职业，就人数不论，以种菜园为最多。其次为经营果行与果贩，在昆士兰一带并有种植果园与蔗园。再次为洗衣，家俱木工，餐馆，杂费，医生等业。从前以种菜园为获利最大，今则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 美利滨华商果行联合会). 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. | 游览雪梨与美利滨两座澳洲的城市，那当有兴趣的生果市场，不可不看。雪梨的果市（Sydney Municipal Fruit Market）亦似美利滨的果市（Victoria Wholesale Fruit Market）情形，中央是一座果市场，周围果行环立，华侨经营者占四分之一强。华人果行中有因信用昭著，竟获得南澳大利亚邦最良的橙果（Remark Orange）专卖者。有一次，西人大果行想垄断新南威尔斯的香蕉，华侨果行联合以对付之，因有美利滨华商果行联合会之设立。澳洲的生果，以橙，苹果，葡萄为出口大宗，消流英国为最多，在东方市场遇着美国生果的劲敌。香蕉出产为次多，但因供过于求，以致价格降落不足成本，近年政府对于香蕉种植特加限制。中国货品之消流澳洲者花生亦为大宗。往年花生入口每年约值六七十万元，自从四五年来，以中国花生有植物的传染病为借口，禁绝入境。雪梨的中华总商会极力与之争论，案件之多盈尺，澳洲政府乃稍示缓和，但仍然高筑税率，藉以限制。近年花生入澳洲者不过年值十余万元而已。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. |
家俱木工，在十年前只就雪梨一处，华侨经营这种职业者已有千人。其后劳工法律公布，限制工作时间，加以华侨多老返国，故今日仅余二百人。雪梨有华侨经营家俱公司两间，规模宏大，每间要雇用店员七八十人。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. | 中医西人称为华人草药师（Chinese Herbalist），在澳洲已有半百年的历史。起初有好几次，中医曾奏惊人的技术，因此大得西人信仰。中间虽经西医嫉忌反对，当地政府欲行取缔；但卒因信仰者之拥护，至今仍能保存。现时仅维多利亚一邦，中医生约五十人。岑福元君为著名华人草药师之一，每日就医者百余人，都是碧眼儿，其门如市，每星期疹药金收入多至千余镑。美利滨市场内陈连君刘富生君均为有名的中医生。中华国医之在本国有日就衰微的形势；而在科学昌明的异邦，反博得大众的信仰，这是足令人惊异的事情，我想国医医术必有不可磨灭之理由存在。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. |
我们当犹记忆数年前国内大水灾，澳洲华侨捐款十万元之巨。华侨对于海内同胞这般慈善为怀，解囊救助，华侨之慷慨好义，遂为国人所认识，许多国内事业专家便携捐簿不远千里而来。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. | 究竟华侨经济状况如何？这要请留心侨务者到华侨下层生活去考察！譬如种菜园的艰苦，那要像咬菜根有同样滋味。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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，在月夜当中，我到郊外散步，La Paruce的大道上，马蹄声音由远而近，朦笼月色，隐约可见老人端坐车上，扬鞭催马前进。同伴告诉我说：「这是种菜园的华人，他由La Paruse 要十二时起程，夜后三时始能到达菜市，整夜劳碌。」我闻说非常感动，邃引起拜访华侨菜园之兴趣。 |
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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. | 在耶稣耶诞节的前一天，偕同伍君及其家人到Winsor去，那里有华侨经营菜园。我们乘车行了六十里便到达一菜园，在木棚之下，会见四位侨胞，都是六七十岁的老人，颜容苍痩。他们正在聚餐，一菜一肉，小杯酒，大碗饭，这就是终日劳碌中所得到的安慰。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. | 木棚内厨炉车辆农具杂粮都分隅安放著，不过木棚颇大，除此以外，尙有空地聚餐。木棚之傍为一座木屋，每人分居一室，寝室中一床一櫈一木箱以外无他物。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. | 他们四人合耕十三英亩的菜园，每日要灌水数次，夏天气候炎热，需水更多。平均每日要用一万加仑水，每千加仑水费一先令又二便士。近数年来世界不景气，蔬菜无价，债台高筑，还要纳地租三十六英镑，政府所得税尙在外。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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，每年工人可获利千镑，今则每星期工资一二镑亦不易得。并且自义大利人移殖澳洲以来，工价低贱，华侨受影响不少。据说，这菜园开办费需五百镑，常年用费一千镑，都从华商借来，担负巨重，获利不易。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. |
饭后他们继续工作，我谈话一会，便彼此握别。他们戴在头上的草帽，即粤语所谓铜鼓帽，我认得是由广东运来的。 |
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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. | 在阿百里旅行当中，令我最感兴趣者，为得见一间极老的华侨店铺。阿百里成立市鎮已有一百余年的历史，而华侨老铺则建筑尙在成市以前。这间老铺，字号叫做「祥源」，藉名为「建昌」在阿百里街市之北角，四周多空地，盖从前此地为华侨丛集的区城，十年前遭火灾，致被焚去，惟祥源独存。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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! | 祥源对面为致公堂，一祠堂样子的小木屋也。神坛上供养木牌一方，上面写着「大明天子万岁万万岁之神位，」两旁对联为「义士同心扶社稷，天降明主定中原。」明亡于异族已三百余年，不意在海外得见大明纪念堂，能无感慨！华人有这样强韧的民族精神，中国是不会亡的！ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. | 我们已看见许多华侨伟大的事业，则其过去斗奋的情形，自不可不考求。华人虽欠殖民的观念；但华人殖民的能力，可以打破世界殖民阿林比克的记录。我国在近百年来，异族交侵，政治颓败，社会崩溃之际。华侨飘流异域，已无国力为后援，有时政府且或视为路人，异族更作牛马看待。而华侨于困苦艰难当中，凭著个人的体力和智力，与恶劣的环境搏斗，卒能打开一条出路，这是令人十分佩服的。华侨人人都是海外殖民角逐场中的勇士，有许多无名英雄，但是这里为篇幅所限，我只能将几个出色的人物就所知者描写。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. | 我在雪梨郊外曾拜访一位七十余岁的老翁，却是他自己不认老，其实以他精神论亦并不老。他有广大的花园，我认为至少亦须养三个园工料理；他说：「不需要员工，完全我一个人包办。」这位台山县老伯就是黄柱君，于一八七九年飘流到澳洲，那时他不过十六岁。在很困难中觅得工作，每星期只有五个先令的工资，做了多年的苦工，后来稍通英语，升为工头。但时运仍不济，竟遭逢名著强盗“Moonlight”被劫掠一空。其后与同伴开张一间杂货铺在Junee地方，不过营业一年，又遭回禄，损失四千金镑。不得已学做行商，来往于城乡和牧场。从这种机会，他得到不少的耕种和牧蓄智识，弃去行商业，购地为农，勤敏的结果，获利加倍。后来领地日广，兼营牧蓄，遂做了羊经纪人，关于羊毛智识，亦日益丰富。数年后他成了一殷实的羊毛商，雇用八十个白人做羊毛洗刷和打包的工作。在很好景象中，遇着澳洲七年大旱灾，他损失了羊四万头。黄柱君仍然继续奋斗，次年羊毛市况良好，获利一万五千镑。一九一四年大战光临，英澳政府统制羊毛以供士兵衣料，羊毛市场遂暂行停息。和平后他再做羊毛事业，并由乡镇迁居雪梨城。他是做了三十八年的羊毛事业，华侨中著名的羊坝佬。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. | 其次我到美利滨车站，第一个与我握手的维多利亚华侨，就是澳洲大名鼎鼎的麦锡祥大律师，我觉得很光荣。麦君以一八七六年生于维多利亚，习法律于美利滨大学，在一九〇二年毕业考试冠军，并得到高等法庭的法官资格。一九〇三年任高等法庭律师，出庭辩护，办了许多公私大案件。对于华人的利益，尤极力维护,著有“A Paper on the Chinese and the Factories Acts.” “The Second George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology.” “Concerning Herbalists.”等书。一九一二年麦君代表澳洲华侨归国。其后曾代理中国驻澳总领事两次。现时除任大律师外，他并为Footscray钢铁厂董事会的主席。麦君不独为华侨中出色人物，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. | 雪梨中华总商会会长朱松庆君，为华侨后起的俊秀，他以三十余岁的青年，代表华侨，向当地政府争回华人的利益和光荣不少。 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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