FESTIVE CHINESE MASONIC SOCIETY GATHERING BIG CROWD IN CLUB HALL. From far-off market
gardens, from their laundries and their fruit shops, four hundred of
Auckland's Chinese gathered yesterday in the club hall of the Chinese Masonic Society, next to the chop suey restaurant
in Grey's Avenue, to do honour to Gin Gook Yin, the venerable grand
master of the society, who celebrated his 30th year of office. There
were also among the number interpreters and professional men. The
outside of the building in the evening was festooned with electric
lights, and the illuminations drew curious Europeans who .wanted to
watch the Oriental take his pleasure. Luncheon and afternoon tea started
the day and a dinner followed. The evening was mostly t musical, and it
was a happy, noisy gathering, typical of the nation. Gin Gook Yin was
given a gold pendant from the Auckland members of the society, while
Wellington followers also sent a gift. The festivities ended at
midnight.
Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 54, 5 March 1928, Page 10
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Kindness Appreciated. i Mr. T. Ling said that the Chinese greatly
appreciated the kindness and sympathy of the people of Auckland. This
sympathy had done more to bring China closer to New Zealand than any;
thing their forefathers had done in cenjturii's. China wanted to conquer
the i world by goodwill, and not by bombs.
Mr. A Chong said that the Auckland branch of the Chinese Association expressed heartfelt thanks for assistance for Chinese in the war areas. He added that one shipping company had offered to carry a whole consignment free- of charge from Sydney to Hongkong.
Mr. E. P. Bartlev, who spoke with knowledge of Shanghai, said that in an area of ten square miles there were
I .iiimi.ooo Chinese and 40.000 foreigners. The Chinese population had now in creased to two millions, and 100.04H) were d' stitute. living on garbage from refuse tins and sleeping in alleyways. One hundred and twenty refugee camps had been established. Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 287, 3 December 1937, Page 8
Mr. A Chong said that the Auckland branch of the Chinese Association expressed heartfelt thanks for assistance for Chinese in the war areas. He added that one shipping company had offered to carry a whole consignment free- of charge from Sydney to Hongkong.
Mr. E. P. Bartlev, who spoke with knowledge of Shanghai, said that in an area of ten square miles there were
I .iiimi.ooo Chinese and 40.000 foreigners. The Chinese population had now in creased to two millions, and 100.04H) were d' stitute. living on garbage from refuse tins and sleeping in alleyways. One hundred and twenty refugee camps had been established. Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 287, 3 December 1937, Page 8
CLOTHING APPEAL.CHINA WAR REFUGEES
With the approach of midwinter in China, urgent need has arisen for supplies of warm clothing for war refugees, many of whom have been compelled to ae«?k shelter in open spaces. The New Zealand Chinese Association is making a strong appeal in this respect for castoff clothing of all descriptions. The Australian Oriental Line has offered to carry supplies of clothing from Sydney free of freight charges. Donations of footwear will be welcomed, but the greatest need is for serviceable clothing, which may be deposited, states Mr. Andrew Chong secretary of the Auckland branch of the association, at any Chinese shop in Auckland, or will be called for on ringing one of the telephone number advertised to-day. Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 266, 9 November 1937, Page 8
With the approach of midwinter in China, urgent need has arisen for supplies of warm clothing for war refugees, many of whom have been compelled to ae«?k shelter in open spaces. The New Zealand Chinese Association is making a strong appeal in this respect for castoff clothing of all descriptions. The Australian Oriental Line has offered to carry supplies of clothing from Sydney free of freight charges. Donations of footwear will be welcomed, but the greatest need is for serviceable clothing, which may be deposited, states Mr. Andrew Chong secretary of the Auckland branch of the association, at any Chinese shop in Auckland, or will be called for on ringing one of the telephone number advertised to-day. Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 266, 9 November 1937, Page 8
CHINESE REFUGEES. WOMEN AND CHILDREN. HAVEN MAT BE GIVEN.
Women and children left destitute by the destruction of their homes and loss of property in the fall of Canton will be brought to Auckland if their relatives here can obtain the necessary permission from the Government.
Most of the Chinese in Auckland come from the war zone, and many of them have dependents anion? the refugees. Keeking to bring wives and children out ,of danger and give them a temporary refuge hero, some have already applied for permission to the .Minister of Customs. According to Mr. Andrew Chong. secretary of the Auckland Chinese Association, a favourable reply has been received.
One applicant has been notified that untler certain conditions his requeet to be allowed to bring his wife into New Zealand for a period of two yeare will be considered. The conditions include the signing of a £.1OO bond, and if permission is allowed, the payment £200 deposit to be forfeit in the event of the conditions being broken One of the conditions is that any children born to his wife while she is 5n New Zealand will be taken out of the country on the expiry of the two years allowed. Sorry Plight. "Refugees from Canton are in a sorry plight," eaid Mr. Chong, "even the more fortunate ones who have been able to reach safety in Hongkong. Some of
the Chinese living in Auckland who had dependants in Canton have had no news of wives or children since the fall of the city last year, and a few have gone home to China to search for them." Mr. Chong said that the exchange control under the import licensing scheme had not. so far, prevented Auckland Chinese from sending money to assist refugees, where they could be located. Licenses were allowed for the first six months of the year to obtain drufts, the amount varying according to the number of dependants. With the tightening of control by the banks in the past few weeks, however, drafts had been refused in some cases, even although licenses were held. Applicants have been informed that the funds were not available.
According to Mr. Chong, the Chinese community is well satisfied with the consideration shown by the Government in their difficult time. Only a few have returned to China this year, and they have been nllowed to take out of the country a sum of money not exceeding Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 127, 1 June 1939, Page 13
Women and children left destitute by the destruction of their homes and loss of property in the fall of Canton will be brought to Auckland if their relatives here can obtain the necessary permission from the Government.
Most of the Chinese in Auckland come from the war zone, and many of them have dependents anion? the refugees. Keeking to bring wives and children out ,of danger and give them a temporary refuge hero, some have already applied for permission to the .Minister of Customs. According to Mr. Andrew Chong. secretary of the Auckland Chinese Association, a favourable reply has been received.
One applicant has been notified that untler certain conditions his requeet to be allowed to bring his wife into New Zealand for a period of two yeare will be considered. The conditions include the signing of a £.1OO bond, and if permission is allowed, the payment £200 deposit to be forfeit in the event of the conditions being broken One of the conditions is that any children born to his wife while she is 5n New Zealand will be taken out of the country on the expiry of the two years allowed. Sorry Plight. "Refugees from Canton are in a sorry plight," eaid Mr. Chong, "even the more fortunate ones who have been able to reach safety in Hongkong. Some of
the Chinese living in Auckland who had dependants in Canton have had no news of wives or children since the fall of the city last year, and a few have gone home to China to search for them." Mr. Chong said that the exchange control under the import licensing scheme had not. so far, prevented Auckland Chinese from sending money to assist refugees, where they could be located. Licenses were allowed for the first six months of the year to obtain drufts, the amount varying according to the number of dependants. With the tightening of control by the banks in the past few weeks, however, drafts had been refused in some cases, even although licenses were held. Applicants have been informed that the funds were not available.
According to Mr. Chong, the Chinese community is well satisfied with the consideration shown by the Government in their difficult time. Only a few have returned to China this year, and they have been nllowed to take out of the country a sum of money not exceeding Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 127, 1 June 1939, Page 13
STRICKEN CHINESE.
STRICKEN CHINESE.
AUCKLAND RELATIVES LITTLE HELP POSSIBLE.
MONEY DRAFTS RESTRICTED. Anxious to send help to who lost homes and
possesions in the destruction of Canton, Chinese in Auckland find
themselves blocked by the new regulations restricting the transfer of
money overseas. Here, in Wellington, most of the Chinese
community comes from Canton, and the Government's licensing scheme is
for them the latest of a series of disasters. Mr. Andrew Chong,
secretary of the Auckland Chinese Association, said that cables for
assistance were being received regularly from dependents who had found
refuge under British protection in Hongkong. Previously they had
required little assistance, but now those who had found safety were left
destitute. Efforts had been made to obtain drafts from Auckland banks
to send them help, but these had been restricted to £8 in English
currency, which was of little use to large families who had lost
everytliiug. To obtain more, application had to be made for a special
permit from the Government, but so far none had been obtained. In any
case, said Mr. Chong, many of
the Auckland Chinese could speak little English and could not understand
how to go about the business of applying for permission. It was only
because of the urgency of the situation that more money was required, he
said, as normally they do not send away half the amount that has been
going to China from Auckland since the fall of Canton. Previously their
dependents in Canton, most of them farming their own plot of land, could
supply most of their own needs. The position was changed when the
hostilities moved south and their homes and crops were destroyed. This
is not the greatest of their troubles, for many have lost their families
as well as homes. For weeks after the fall of Canton the Auckland
Chinese, while going about their business in their usual imperturbable
style, knew nothing, of the fate of their people. Then numbers of cables eante from those who had reached the safety of Hongkong,
and later letters telling of the horrors of the assault and capture of
their home city. Numbers are still anxiously waiting for news of wives
and children, who have either lost their lives or taken refuge in the
interior. Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 308, 30 December 1938, Page 9
Friday, June 22, 2012
Chinese secret society recalled
Life for a Chinese migrant was extraordinarily difficult during the late 1800s and early 20th century.
Racism was rife in the staunchly British domain of New Zealand and arrivals from the Orient were generally regarded as second-class citizens.
Officialdom had little time for the Chinese and its disregard for them is evident in the lack of archival information available to modern-day researchers.
Language barriers also contributed to an uneasy environment and a haphazard approach to record-keeping.
Some of this may explain the story of Wong Chong, a 37-year-old market gardener who died in 1918 and is buried in a section set aside for his countrymen at Waikumete Cemetery.
Chong's headstone stands out among an assortment of memorials bearing epitaphs written in Chinese.
It includes the English words: Erected by the Gee Kung Tong Society.
Little is known of Chong – aside from his single status and address at 58 Albert St in Auckland.
But it is his membership of Gee Kung Tong that makes him of special interest.
The organisation formed as a secret body in 1674 to lobby for the return of the Chinese Ming dynasty overthrown by invading Manchurian armies three decades earlier.
It went by various titles, including the Triad Society which now has criminal underworld connotations in China and abroad.
A branch formed in New Zealand in 1907 and was better known as the Hung League or Chinese Masonic Society.
It had no links to western Freemasonry despite the similarity in title and was, first and foremost, a support network for people like Chong struggling to make a living in foreign and often hostile surrounds.
Members worked with the wider Chinese community on numerous projects – mediating in disputes, assisting with education and promoting aspects of the culture many were keen to preserve in a colonial setting.
The organisation also provided a patriotic link for people interested in keeping tabs on the political situation back home.
It seems likely that those accepted into the society took on new names as part of their initiation.
Chong, who died in the midst of a global flu epidemic, is a classic example.
His name, when translated from the epitaph on his stone, is Goh Gum.
The same situation applies to two other men buried nearby.
"It was common practice for Chinese at the time to assume different names following a major change in life or circumstance," historian Nigel Murphy says.
"So it is a distinct possibility that Goh Gum is a Gee Kung Tong name."
Interest in the society dropped after World War Two as communism swept through China and many immigrants abandoned plans to ever return.
Membership was virtually nil by the time a decision was made to disband in 1975.
- © Fairfax NZ News
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/local-blogs/tales-from-the-crypt/4101262/Chinese-secret-society-recalled
Racism was rife in the staunchly British domain of New Zealand and arrivals from the Orient were generally regarded as second-class citizens.
Officialdom had little time for the Chinese and its disregard for them is evident in the lack of archival information available to modern-day researchers.
Language barriers also contributed to an uneasy environment and a haphazard approach to record-keeping.
Some of this may explain the story of Wong Chong, a 37-year-old market gardener who died in 1918 and is buried in a section set aside for his countrymen at Waikumete Cemetery.
Chong's headstone stands out among an assortment of memorials bearing epitaphs written in Chinese.
It includes the English words: Erected by the Gee Kung Tong Society.
Little is known of Chong – aside from his single status and address at 58 Albert St in Auckland.
But it is his membership of Gee Kung Tong that makes him of special interest.
The organisation formed as a secret body in 1674 to lobby for the return of the Chinese Ming dynasty overthrown by invading Manchurian armies three decades earlier.
It went by various titles, including the Triad Society which now has criminal underworld connotations in China and abroad.
A branch formed in New Zealand in 1907 and was better known as the Hung League or Chinese Masonic Society.
It had no links to western Freemasonry despite the similarity in title and was, first and foremost, a support network for people like Chong struggling to make a living in foreign and often hostile surrounds.
Members worked with the wider Chinese community on numerous projects – mediating in disputes, assisting with education and promoting aspects of the culture many were keen to preserve in a colonial setting.
The organisation also provided a patriotic link for people interested in keeping tabs on the political situation back home.
It seems likely that those accepted into the society took on new names as part of their initiation.
Chong, who died in the midst of a global flu epidemic, is a classic example.
His name, when translated from the epitaph on his stone, is Goh Gum.
The same situation applies to two other men buried nearby.
"It was common practice for Chinese at the time to assume different names following a major change in life or circumstance," historian Nigel Murphy says.
"So it is a distinct possibility that Goh Gum is a Gee Kung Tong name."
Interest in the society dropped after World War Two as communism swept through China and many immigrants abandoned plans to ever return.
Membership was virtually nil by the time a decision was made to disband in 1975.
- © Fairfax NZ News
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/local-blogs/tales-from-the-crypt/4101262/Chinese-secret-society-recalled
MATTHEW GRAY
Last updated 05:00 07/09/2010
PROMINENT HEADSTONE: The grave of Gee Kung Tong member Wong Chong at Waikumete Cemetery.
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