Tong Family, c.1912, National Archives of
Australia, B13/0, 1920/13667, 'Fingerprints of Alice Tong,
Ethel Tong, Willie Tong and Elsie Tong, 4 Chinese children
departing by Eastern, 21 June 1912'.
At the turn of the century Chinese-born Mrs Tong lived with
her husband Chin Tong and their five children (Bou Youk (Alice)
Tong, Bow Jun Chung (Elsie) Tong, Kay Sing (Willie) Tong,
Boo Line (Ethel) Tong and Bow Meu Chin (Phylis Edna) Tong).
The Tong family should more correctly be referred to as the
Chin family, however all official records, including birth
certificates use Tong as the family name. In official records
Mrs Tong was also called Ah-Tong Youk, Hue Lue, Sue Tong and
Sue Hoe and Chin Tong was also known as Chun Toong, Chin Toong
or Chung Tong. Boo Line was also referred to as Boo Laan or
Lure.
The Tong family lived in one of a number of tiny houses in
Lacey Place that would have measured only about 20 by 14 feet.
The area where there house was located is now occupied by
the Chifley Hotel. In the foyer of the hotel there is a small
exhibition which displays some of the items found during an
archaeological excavation of the site. All five children were
born while they lived there as well as a boy named Chung Tee
and two baby girls who did not survive long enough to be named.
The children, including the girls attended school in the
area. Alice went to the Presbyterian Chinese Mission school
in Heffernan lane off Little Bourke Street, then St Peter's
Eastern Hill school near to top end of Little Bourke Street
and finally to Rathdowne Street State School in nearby Carlton.
Ethel attended the Central Mission kindergarten in Exhibition
Street. Possibly through her children's attendance at church
run schools, Mrs Tong became friendly with some of the European
women associated with these organisations, particularly Sarah
Shaw of the Presbyterian Chinese Mission, Sister Mary Emilie
Anthoness of the Central Mission. Miss Pye possibly a teacher
at Rathdowne Street Primary School also reported cried when
the family returned to China.
'Exercises in arithmetic', Australasian,
20 December 1902, p.10.
Sadly death took a heavy toll on Mrs Tong and her family.
In 1912 her husband Chin Tong died. He died on 27 April just
a day after completing his will, suggesting he was probably
very ill and knew he was close to dying. Chin Tong had worked
as a merchant and storekeeper possibly in partnership with
the merchant and herbalist Chin Wah Moon of 186 Little Bourke
Street. He would have been the primary income provider for
the family. In his will he appointed Chin Wah Moon as the
executor of the estate and, as was typical in Chinese families,
left all of his wealth to his eldest and only son, Kay Sing
for his 'sole use and benefit'. The estate came to £598/16.
Although Kay Sing was only nine years old he would now have
been considered the head of the household and responsible
for the family.
A couple of months after Chin Tong's death, Mrs Tong decided
to return to China with her family. It is not known why she
returned. It is possible that, like many other overseas Chinese,
she wanted to take her husband's body back to be buried in
his homeland. It was also stated in official documents that
they returned so the children could be educated in China.
However she may simply have been homesick and wanted to return
home to the support of village and family members.
Alice and Ethel Tong, 1918, National Archives
of Australia, B13/0, 1918/14419, Ethel Tong.
While in China Mrs Tong and her family met further hardship.
Both she and two of her daughters, Bow Jun Chung and Bow Meu
Chin, also died there sometime between 1912 and 1916. The
surviving children, Alice, Ethel and Kay Sing were placed
under the guardianship of Chin Wah Moon. Chin Wah Moon appears
to have been a fairly significant person within the Melbourne
Chinese community. He operated a firm at 184-186 Little Bourke
Street around 1912 and was also a herbalist between 1912 and
1932 with a business in Russell Street. In 1925 he was a shareholder
with the Reverend Cheok Hong Cheong in Walter Burley Griffin's
development of the suburb of Castlecrag in Sydney. They were
two of only five shareholders who commissioned Burley Griffin
to build them houses that were to be display homes for the
development.
Under the guardianship of Chin Wah Moon all three children
eventually returned to Australia. Alice returned in 1916 to
marry Fee Lan O'Hoy, probably a marriage arranged by Chin
Wah Moon. Fee Lan O'Hoy was from a well-known Bendigo family.
Alice brought Ethel back with her when she returned. On arrival
in Australia they encountered difficulties with Australian
immigration officials who refused to believe that they were
Australian-born and wanted to apply the Dictation Test to
them. Alice was interviewed on her memories of Little Bourke
Street and Chin Wah Moon wrote a letter supporting their case.
Eventually officials were convinced and they were both allowed
into Australia.
Wedding
of Bill Moy (Bor Nam) of Ruby Flat, Tasmania to Ethel Tong,
Museum of Chinese Australian History collection, FC052, N45-100.
Ethel stayed in Bendigo with her sister for a while before
returning again to China. She eventually returned permanently
to Australia in 1922. While living in Bendigo with her sister
she met Bill Moy. Bill was born in Ruby Flats near Branxholm
in Tasmania. He spent his early years and adulthood in that
area and was highly respected by the community of Branxholdm.
Bill, in partnership with a European, Tas Kincade, owned and
operated a tin mine in the area. Bill and Ethel married in 1927 and
after a brief stay in Melbourne moved to Geraldton, Western
Australia. Alice and Ethel are both affectionately remembered
by their children who also settled in Australia. Kay Sing
followed in the footsteps of his guardian Chin Wah Moon and
worked as a herbalist in Australia. He married a Chinese woman
in China in the early 1920s, but like many others they spent
most of their married lives apart. His wife was not able to
join him in Australia until the early 1960s after the loosening
of the White Australia policy. What is clear is that while
Mr and Mrs Tong may have considered themselves sojourners
in Australia, their descendants certainly didn't.
SOURCES:
National Archives of Australia (NAA), B13/0, 1920/13667, 'Fingerprints
of Alice Tong, Ethel Tong, Willie Tong and Elsie Tong, 4 Chinese
children departing by Eastern, 21 June 1912'.
NAA, B13/0, 1918/14419, Ethel Tong.
NAA, B13/0, 1922/9836, Boo Line Chin Tong (Ethel).
Public Records Office of Victoria (VPRO), VA 2624 (The Master
in Equity, Supreme Court), VPRS 7591/P2 (Probate), Unit 482,
Chin Tong (126/21). PROV, VA 2624, VPRS 28/P3 (Will), Unit
308, Chin Tong (126/21).
City of Melbourne, c1895, Melbourne Metropolitan Board of
Works, map collection, University of Melbourne.
M. Walker, A. Kabos & J. Weirick, Building for Nature:
Walter Burley Griffin and Castlecrag, Walter Burley Griffin
Society Incorporated, 1994, pp.9, 37.
Marjorie Law, recorded interview with Sophie Couchman, 1999,
Australia-China Oral History Project jointly conducted by
Australia-China Council, Museum of Chinese Australian History
and the National Library of Australia, Museum of Chinese Australian
History collection.
Marriage certificate of Ethel Tong, curtesy Marjorie Law.
Noela Hassell & Brian Hassell, 'Brief biography: Ethel
Tong (Boo Laan/Line?) and Bill Moy (Bonurn Ah Moy Ng)', unpublished
notes, 1999, author's collection courtesy Noela and Brian
Hassell.
NOTE:
This piece is constructed from research collected for my Masters
thesis. S. Couchman, 'Tong Yun Gai (Street of the Chinese):
Investigating Patterns of Work and Social Life in Melbourne's
Chinatown, 1900-1920', MA (Public History), Monash University,
2000. It is also discussed in 'Using database technology to
research individuals with Chinese names: A case study of Little
Bourke Street Melbourne' Locality, vol.11, no.2, 2000, pp.31-38
and a forthcoming publication, 'Selected women of Melbourne's
Chinatown' presented Chinese Heritage of Australian Federation
Conference, 1-2 July 2000, Chinese Museum, Melbourne.
