Who was Wong Shi Geen (黄世彦) and what is his significance?

Posted on by Dr Andrew Huang
Source: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/23410134

Chinese name: 

黄世彦

Aliases in English: 

Various Romanisations of his name appear. E.g. Wong She Geen; Wong Shi Gun; W. Shi Geen; “William Shi Gean”

Birthplace: 

China, Guangdong province (Canton), 新会, 黄冲村

Source: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Huangchong+Village,+Xinhui+District,+Jiangmen,+Guangdong+Province,+China,+529152/@22.2967794,112.3968303,9z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x34018c5c3fa06df3:0x4cf9709bfcd83865!8m2!3d22.29677!4d113.05601!16s%2Fg%2F11nxqg57h2?entry=ttu

Year of birth:

Approx 1839 (birth registration of Ah Hing 1889) Wife Fong See

Approx 1840 (birth registration Goot Hong 1892) Wife Chow Ho

Genealogy: 

Descendants: 

  • 3 daughters, youngest Jessie Wong who became a pioneering Pentecostal Christian missionary/minister (Huang, 2021)

Associates/ Contemporaries:

Committee of Chinese Residents 1888 

(Chinese Remonstrance to the Parliament and People of Victoria, 1888, p. 7)

  • Cheong Cheok Hong 
  • Lew Tye Shing 
  • Louey Wah
  • Hang Hi
  • James Moy Ling
  • Ng Hock Seong
  • Kong Kee

Committee of Chinese residents, Melbourne 1888

(Chinese Remonstrance to the Parliament and People of Victoria, 1888, p. 16)

  • Cheong Cheok Hong
  • Lew Ah Mouy
  • Sun Suey Shing
  • James Moy Ling

Presentation to Chinese Commissioners 1887 

(Chinese Remonstrance to the Parliament and People of Victoria, 1888, p. 18)

  • Low Kong Meng
  • Cheong Cheok Hong
  • Lew Tye Shing

Honorary Magistrate? 1896

(‘Charges against Magistrates’, 1896)

  • Bear Rapiport

Chinese demonstration to raise funds for the Melbourne Hospital

(‘Chinese Demonstration – in Aid of the Melbourne Hospital’, 1900)

“Chinese gentlemen”

  • She Wah
  • Cheok Tan
  • Hoy Ling
  • Tseong Kang
  • Leong Mow
  • Bok Lay
  • Tse Shing
  • Tseong Hoo
  • W. Ah Ket
  • Rev Moy Ling

Melbourne hospital committee

Chinese committee members

  • Hoy Ling
  • Shi Hoo
  • Cheok Tan
  • She Wah
  • Yick Chun
  • Teong Hoo
  • Moy Ling
  • Cheok Cheong
  • Bok Lay
  • Ah Ket

Melbourne Citizens’ Committee Mar 1901 

(‘Citizens’ Committee’, 1901)

Wooragee Mine 1903

(‘A Chinese Enterprise.’, 1903)

  • James Ah Catt

Wooragee Mine 1904

(‘Application for a Gold Mining Lease’, 1904)

  • Wong Shi Hoo
  • T Kin

First Chinese Convention 1905

(Kuo, 2013, pp. 143–144)

  • “Chinese communities in six states appointed 17 representatives to the Convention: T Yee Hing, Samuel Wong, John Hoe, Yee Wing and John Young Wai for New South Wales; CH Cheong, Wong Shi-Geen (黃世彥 Huang Shiyan), Ho Nam (何南 He Nan also known as CA Honan), William Ah Ket (麥錫 祥 Mai Xixiang) for Victoria; Gee Wah (朱和 Zhu He) and Feng Zihong (馮子鴻) for South Australia; James Ah Get (蘇吉 Su Ji) and Yu Xihua for Tasmania; Chan Harr and James Moy Ling for Western Australia; and Yang Gengwu (楊庚午) and Lin You (林有) for Queensland.” 

Significance: 

Significant events/ contributions:

Death:

Leads to follow up:

Sophie Couchman’s masters thesis and PhD Thesis.

In summary:

Wong Shi Geen was my great-grand-father’s brother. He appears to have been a successful and well-respected Chinese businessman in Melbourne. He was bilingual and thus could act as a conduit between the English-speaking and Chinese-speaking communities. He became a community leader and Chinese civil rights activist. As part of his advocacy, he and other Chinese community leaders agitated against some of the discriminatory and racist policies enacted during the early years of the Australian federation.

Research questions:

  1. He was in Australia in 1866, but when did he first arrive in Australia?
  2. Where did he learn English? How did he learn English? Who taught him?
  3. What happened to his two other daughters Ah Kam and Ah Hing? What happened to his wife or wives?
  4. What does the jiapu tell us about Wong Shi Geen and his family?
  5. Given he was a close associate of Rev Cheong, what correspondence is contained in Rev Cheok Hong Cheong’s letters about him? https://find.slv.vic.gov.au/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9916375043607636&context=L&vid=61SLV_INST:SLV&lang=en&search_scope=slv_local&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=searchProfile&query=any,contains,cheok
  6. The Baron writes that Wong Shi Geen had considerable influence. With whom did he have influence?
  7. What happened to the business Gee Cheong (怡昌號) when he died in 1911? Who took over? Was it disputed? Was it sold? Was the business wound up?
  8. The article on the hospital charity appeal mentions a banner presented to the Chinese community by the Women’s Hospital in 1886 as recognition of the funds raised. What do we know about this 1886 appeal and what do we know about the banner?
  9. What do contemporary Chinese language sources reveal about him?

References:

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Published by Dr Andrew Huang

I am an enthusiastic medical educator who has commenced a PhD in Medical Education through the University of Melbourne in 2019 focusing on the use of video technology. I also have postgraduate specialist qualifications in Anaesthesia, Pain Medicine, and Medical Administration, having obtained fellowships with the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and the Faculty of Pain Medicine, ANZCA. I previously held the position of Supervisor of Training at Austin Health (2014-2021) and am the medical lead for Pain Medicine at Eastern Health. My interests include education, governance, leadership and most importantly, family.