WONG QUANG

Description

Biographical informationWong Quang (aka Wong Quing & Wong Quan) was born in May 1879 in Canton, China. He migrated to Western Australia in 1901. He was five feet seven inches in height.

Wong Quang, under the name Wong Quan Quong, was caught up in a court case in 1905. In the early 1900s he was a partner in a market garden in Northam, known as the Ying Wah market garden, together with three of his brothers Wong Ging, Wong Cheong, and Wong Pee. In 1902 he, Wong Cheong and Wong Pee were unable to attain certificates of domicile and so departed on a boat to Hong Kong without paperwork. Wong Ging was left running the market garden. In late 1904 the other three brothers left from Singapore on the SS Charon as stowaways after bribing a crew member, stated to be Eng Seng. During the voyage, Wong Pee was allegedly hidden in a box, died, and his body was thrown overboard.

Wong Quang and Wong Cheong were discovered by customs officials, along with six other Chinese stowaways, upon arrival at Fremantle on the 13th January 1905. They were prosecuted as illegal immigrants. When they were released from custody, Wong Ging took them back to Northam, pending further proceedings against them. When the police investigated, they were told about the death of Wong Pee and charged Eng Seng, and two other Charon crew members, with murder. The case was much reported in newspapers but, after a long court case, the crew members were found not guilty due to lack of material evidence of a murder - no body was able to be produced. The brothers were ordered to pay 707 pounds and 10 shillings in damages and were forced to sell the Ying Wah market garden to pay for their debts.

He later worked as a market gardener at Osborne Park in 1908 (E), and worked on a market garden in Suburban Road, South Perth, in 1917.

In August 1918 he was charged with 'Breaching the Customs Act' (B).

He travelled overseas twice: March 1908 to March 1909; and February 1916 to July 1917 (D).

He died in Royal Perth Hospital in August 1919 (B).Other nameWong Quang 1879-1919 (differentiated name)WONG QUAN (also known as)WONG QUING (also known as)Date of birthMay 1879Date of deathAugust 1919

Person

WONG CHEONG (1)

WONG GING

WONG PEE

Document

Box-007-Green-Box-0099

Tragic Story of Smuggled Chinese - Stowaways from Singapore 30 Years Ago - by Alec Gollan

Organisation

Ying Wah Market Garden, Northam

Photograph of Wong Quang aged 37 in 1916 from his CEDT paperwork (source: NAA: K1145, 1916/59)

Employment

Job titleGardenerDate employed[date unknown]

Family

SiblingWONG PEEWONG CHEONG (1)WONG GING

Connections

Subject (organisation)Ying Wah Market Garden, NorthamSS CharonSubject (place)Osborne ParkSuburban Road, South PerthNorthamSubject (topic)Chinese heritage in Western AustraliaMarket gardeningRelated collectionAnne Atkinson CollectionRelated linkNAA CEDT File 1908NAA CEDT File 1916NAA War Registration File 1916-1920 <Not digitised #4272428 & 4283908>

Item information

ContributorSchool of Social SciencesSource of informationAsian immigrants to Western Australia, 1829-1901 (Atkinson, 1988)

Significant place

RelationPlace of birthPlaceCantonDate1879

Significant place

RelationImmigrated toPlaceAustraliaDate1901

UWA Collected

WONG QUANG

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA