🎤 The Mystery Aussie, by Pam Wong

Presenter: Pam Wong

At a time when most Chinese villagers never strayed far from their birthplaces, Jan See Chin joined other sojourners seeking a way to make a living overseas. In 1884, at barely fifteen years old, he emigrated from Guangdong, China, to Queensland, Australia, by sea, at the time of British colonialism. Battling his way in a hostile white man’s society, he received meagre earnings working at odd jobs while he struggled to adapt to local culture. After working for a few years, he earned enough to lease a small storefront in Cairns where he sold locally-grown produce to the Chinese and European workers living there. He saved enough to buy a small farm, and then married a young half-Chinese, half-British woman named Maud Young. Together they raised thirteen children.  

The Mystery Aussie:  Jan See Chin is a self-published biography about a granduncle who left China as a poor farmer and made a fortune in Australia amid exclusion and bigotry in the time of the white Australia policy.  

This meeting will be held remotely via the Zoom web conferencing system. Several days before the date of the meeting, a link to the Zoom meeting will be sent to SMCGS eNews subscribers (both members and non-members) and will also be posted in the Members Only section of this website.

Social hour 10-10:30 AM, via Zoom

This event is free and all are welcome. For more information about our monthly meetings, click here.