Ah Kew Henry Auckland

By edmondsallan December 9, 2010 862 views 2 comments

edmondsallan - hello - These next journals , come from other researchers . Many of them are in the Dictionary of NZ , Biographies
I have also come across the same sort of website in Australia , called Dictionary of Australia , biographies ,which I thought we might open up sometime in the future. It could assist us to find a lot of our ancestry whom many went to Australia first before coming to NZ. If we co back into many of the older journals & information for all to peruse , we can see that a lot of material came & still is coming from these sites . They are invaluable sites to use . Whether we use part of or all , copy an paste / others alter it around and still do the same thing - Longer or Shorter . Many of the people searching ancestry just don't get the time to hunt this sort of information out singularly from thousands of entries, you may be one of them , and rely on others to assist them . I think I have metioned before . Nearly all ancestry records thro' out the world including the ( LDS )are already been documented some where . others have collatted the information and put it on a website Most of those web sites have charges all tho' if you know how you can secure 94 % of their info for free . If you have time - do the research yourself . If not follow ,this free website journals for free which is trying to bring it to you from many other researchers / records / biographies / BDM records world wide already recorded / grave yards / cemetries / churches and so on . All are from other already recorded sites.Today it is hard to find Genuine new research data . you can use the sites I have mentioned also . Have ago . Here is an exanple from the Nz biographies
Henry Ah Kew was born in Auckland on 22 September 1900, the son of James Ah Kew and his wife, Mellie Guey, also known as Mary Fong. Henry’s father, whose Chinese name was Yan Kew, was born in the Chinese province of Guangdong. He moved to Victoria, Australia, and in December 1871 arrived in Auckland. In 1879 he was naturalised, his occupation being described as fancy goods merchant. It is not known when his wife arrived in New Zealand, but in 1888 they were married, making the Ah Kew family one of the longest-resident Chinese families in Auckland.

James Ah Kew’s business flourished and he had two stores, one in Queen Street, the other in Rutland Street. However, within a few years of Henry’s birth the family’s fortunes had faltered. Alexander Don, the Presbyterian missioner to the Chinese, visited Auckland in 1904 and described James as a ‘once rich Chinese merchant, now old opium-smoker, living on his clansmen’. Three years later, in 1907, he was dead.

James’s death left his wife with two young children to raise. Henry went through the local school system, attending the Auckland Normal School in Wellesley Street East for his secondary education. He then enrolled at Auckland University College, graduating in 1924 with a law degree. It is said he was the first Chinese in New Zealand to do so.

The decision to enrol at university was most unusual for a Chinese New Zealander at that time. Most were restricted by family obligations, lack of education and anti-Chinese prejudice from going on to tertiary education and the professions. Henry, born and educated in New Zealand, and free from the necessity of working in a family business, was less bound by these restrictions. On leaving university he joined the Auckland law firm Oliphant and Oliphant. By 1928 he had set up his own practice, which he continued until shortly before his death. Most of the clients were Chinese.

On 26 June 1940, in Auckland, Henry Ah Kew married Mavis Eileen Reardon. Like many Chinese–European marriages of the time, the match was not approved of by either the Chinese or European communities. The couple lived in Epsom and in 1944 a son was born. In 1948 Mavis suffered a brain haemorrhage and died. Henry threw himself into his work, leaving the raising of his young son mostly in the hands of various Chinese friends.

Much of Ah Kew’s spare time was subsequently taken up with cultural activities. He had always been interested in painting and music: he sang, played the piano and clarinet, and was a life member of the Auckland Junior Symphony Orchestra and an executive member of the Auckland Amateur Operatic Society. His support of local painters was generous, and his house was full of New Zealand art. He was a member of the Auckland Society of Arts, the Connoisseurs’ Society and a trustee of the Mackelvie Trust.

Ah Kew also maintained a strong connection with his Chinese heritage. He studied and gave lectures on Chinese culture and society and was an excellent cook of Chinese food. A member and president of the Chinese Young Men’s Club in Auckland, he helped organise an annual China ball, the proceeds of which went to a nurses’ fund. A leader of the Auckland Chinese community, he supported the local Chinese in both his public lectures and in his legal work.

In Auckland on 2 October 1964 Henry married again. His second wife was 23-year-old Elizabeth Mary Brainsby, a shop assistant. He retired from his practice shortly afterwards. Henry Ah Kew died on 19 January 1966 of a heart attack. He was survived by his wife and the son of his first marriage. You can see the information it can give you and if you read it you are researching for the info you want and if it is so . copy it for your personal use . Till we meet again - Regards - edmondsallan

Related Surnames:
AH KEW

Comments (2)

ngairedith

of course we use the sites from the net - that is why they are there

other peoples research is invaluable in finding what we need
(we write journals on here just for that reason - so others can find it and learn)

But to copy and paste without giving credit to the reearchers, or without citing the sites as requested and/or linking back to the source of others hard work and thereby claiming it as ones own work is a no no

Just tell your readers where you got the info and who did the hard yards ... they will still read and enjoy your journals

edmondsallan

edmondsallan - Thank you for pointing out my wrong doings . I know you have brought to my attention a couple of times .I was not sure exactly what you were requiring . I personally did not think I was claiming them as mine as I said in one of the journals that the info came from other researchers and my own researching . Both were true . I can see you are correct and should nominate where the article / reference came from . Does it matter if that information is abreviated ? For example . NZ Bio' edmonds or does need to contain all . I would appreciate your assistance - Kind regards - edmondsallan