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I haven't yet established who exactly it was that organised James Minahan's legal representation; the Chinese consulate began its operations the following year. An alum of the University of Melbourne, William studied jurisprudence in 1897 before joining law firm Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks) and commencing the articled clerks course at the University in 1898. Life. Williams focus on reconciliation is reflected in the Second Morrison Lecture that he delivered in 1933, where he discussed whether there was a real difference between the culture of the East and that of the West, and drew parallels between Western culture and Confucianism. could well be achieved if the Morrison Lectureship Foundation
times, William Ah Ket was affectionately regarded as the Chinese
The Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA) offers our respects to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the true and traditional owners and custodians of the lands we gather on to live, work and learn. He built up a successful
William was born in 1876, in the north-east Victorian town of Wangaratta one of eight children. Andrew and MLS would be delighted if any readers have information about William that they would like to share. Ben Dunn who all gained renown in that era as KCs, or Justices
In addition, he had the advantage
Find the obituary of William "Mike" Clendenin (1936 - 2015) from Eagle Mountain, UT. the subject of 'Reconciliation between Eastern and Western
Australias first Chinese barrister William Ah Ket was born in the Victorian country town of Wangaratta. respect, not only within his legal fraternity, but within
AALA celebrates and shares in the respect for elders, land and community and continues to advocate for intersectional diversity and the empowerment of all first nations peoples worldwide. William Ah Ket (1876-1936), barrister, was born on 20 June 1876 at Wangaratta, Victoria, only son and fifth child of Ah Ket, storekeeper and grower and buyer of tobacco, and his wife Hing Ung, who were married in Melbourne in 1864. 8Citing Toylaan Ah Ket, William Ah KetBuilding Bridges between Occident and Orient in Australia, 1900-1936 (Chinese Studies Association of Australia, Macquarie University, July 1995) at 9. C. F. Yong, The Chinese in New South Wales and Victoria, 1901-1921 (Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University, 1966). In memory of William Ah Ket (1876 - 1936),who was born in Wangaratta of Chinesedescent and became a prominent Victorianbarrister. Parliament for the new Republic in 1912. The biography of Joan Rosanove QC, an alumna of Melbourne Law School and the first Jewish woman in Australia to be admitted as a barrister, contains the following reference to a light-hearted discussion between William and Joan: A Melbourne barrister, Mr Ah Ket, a friend of Marks [Joans father], said to her, You and I have both chosen the wrong profession, Joan. for its foundation. We will never satisfy our ambitions. In an interview with the National Library of Australia in 1993, she remembered her affluent childhood. . 1John Lack, Ah Ket, William (1876 1936),Australian Dictionary of Biography, available athttp://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ah-ket-william-4979. to an end the legal career of a truly remarkable Chinese gentleman
14See Toylaan Ah Ket, William Ah Ket - Building Bridges between Occident and Orient in Australia, 1900-1936 (paper delivered at the Conference of the Chinese Studies Association in Australia held at Macquarie University on 5 July 1995), available at https://arrow.latrobe.edu.au/store/3/4/5/5/1/public/stories/wahket.htm. 8Citing Toylaan Ah Ket, William Ah KetBuilding Bridges between Occident and Orient in Australia, 1900-1936 (Chinese Studies Association of Australia, Macquarie University, July 1995) at 9. Chen, and in 1933 the
including Carole Hinchcliff, helping me with my researchfor into William Ah Ket and also for promoting William's legacy and story generally. On returning to Australia, he was threatened with deportation when he failed the dictation test that the law required "prohibited immigrants" to take. William stayed involved with the University and was elected the President of the Law Students Society on 19 April 1907.4 Some 20 years later, in 1929, William supported a toast in favour of Sir Harrison Moore, the third Dean of Melbourne Law School, at a dinner hosted by the Law Students Society to mark Sir Harrisons retirement in 1927. In a passage that is still recognised as current law in Australia, Justice OConnor stated as follow: It isimprobable that the legislature would overthrow fundamental principles, infringe rights, or depart from the general system of law, without expressing its intention with irresistible clearness13. would increase friendship and understanding between the people
15William Ah Ket, Eastern Thought, with special reference to Confucius (Second Morrison Lecture, 3 May 1933), available athttps://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/145813/2/Morrison%20Oration%2002.pdf. Menzies, Owen Dixon, James Tait, and
"William Ah Ket is in his teens at this time and he's being brought up to be a smart, educated young man, so he would've seen all this going on.". place in The Stand during the season of The Oaks, the Caulfield
William stayed involved with the University and was elected the President of the Law Students Society on 19 April 1907.4 Some 20 years later, in 1929, William supported a toast in favour of Sir Harrison Moore, the third Dean of Melbourne Law School, at a dinner hosted by the Law Students Society to mark Sir Harrisons retirement in 1927. - either Her Majesty's or the Princess Theatre - for a Melba
invited scholars from interstate and overseas to deliver the
The dictation test required all immigrants from China to write in English a passage of not less than 50 words that was dictated by a customs officer. he signed the Bar Roll in 1904 and became the first Chinese
As the first #ChineseAustralian to join the Victorian Bar, William was born. That includes our servers. Australia's first Chinese barrister William Ah Ket was born in the Victorian country town of Wangaratta. 2Helen Penrose,To Build a Firm: The Maddocks Story (Maddocks, 2010), 11. Mantova, utca. barrister to practice in Melbourne. Ah Kets legal team successfully proved that the Chinese man was not an employee of the laundry but instead a boarder at the laundry who had simply been ironing his own shirt! From this summary of his early achievements, it is clear that William was a gifted student and lawyer, who succeeded in a time rife with racial discrimination. William was a member of the Chinese Empire Reform Association of 1904 and the Anti-Opium League of Victoria, organisations which supported modernisation and social reform among Chinese at home and abroad. He specialised in civil law and acquired a considerable reputation as a negotiator of settlements. Toylaan, the youngest daughter, died in 2015 at the age of 94. He made several successful submissions opposing the Victorian
The Australian Dictionary of Biography notes the following in its entry on William Ah Ket: Ah Ket built up a healthy practice at the Victorian Bar, specialising in civil law. New and compelling histories from Australia and around the world. Contact Us, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7. government's repeated attempts in 1904, 1905 and 1907 to make
Noting that music had a peculiar charm for Confucius, he mused that had Confucius lived then, it is quite likely that he would have found in the music of the bagpipes something particularly stirring and satisfying to the soul.15 William would have had an affinity with bagpipes as his wife, Gertrude Bullock, was of Scottish descent. Celebrating Asian Australian Lawyers: From William Ah Ket to Today, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ah-ket-william-4979, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54dd81c6e4b074b4a339bb2e/t/, https://arrow.latrobe.edu.au/store/3/4/5/5/1/public/stories/wahket.htm, https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/145813/2/Morrison%20Oration%2002.pdf. 16Isabel Carter,Woman in a Wig: Joan Rosanove, QC (Lansdowne Press, 1970), 13. 5 Law Students Society Dinner to Sir Harrison Moore, Farrago 5(5), April 23, 1929. Tune in as The History Listen explores his story. In its decision, the High Court found that if the immigration legislation had intended to remove the rights of citizenship, it should have expressed its intention clearly. Ah Kets legal team successfully proved that he was not a prohibited immigrant. "He played the game of affluence and gambling and carding and living it up," she recalled. in Little Bourke Street or attending one of the city theatres
It is fitting and proper that this scholarship is named for him.9, In the program notes, the recipient of the 2019 William Ah Ket Scholarship, Ms Tienyi Long, Legal and Governance Officer at Glen Eira City Council, Victoria writes that [l]awyers, courts and legislators continue to grapple with the question of how equal justice can be achieved for diverse communities in a multifaceted and increasingly complex societydiversity intelligence is an essential skill to facilitate equal access to justice for diverse communitiesit should be included as part of mandatory continuing professional development requirements under the Legal Profession Uniform Law.10. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . Toylaan Margaret Allen,his last surviving child, passed away in New South Wales on 16th July 2015. of the massive petitions raised by the Anti-Opium League of
Less is known about another person - Wu Ting Fang. the efforts of William Ah Ket in Melbourne and William J.
William was survived by his wife Gertrude Victoria (nee Bullock) and four children Dr. William, Stanley, Melaan and Toylaan. Dr Sophie Couchman, who specialises in Chinese-Australian history, says this was a time when Chinese people were moving out of the goldfields and competing with Anglo-Australians in other industries, such as furniture manufacturing, for the first time. One case he was involved in successfully challenged the Immigration Restriction Act better known as the White Australia policy in 1908. My father, William Ah Ket rose to prominence in the 1900s-1930s
Following his youthful introduction to country horse-racing
William was born in the Victorian country town of Wangaratta in 1876, the son of Mah Ket, who arrived from Canton during the gold rush, and his wife Hing Ung. Three years later, the untimely death of William Ah Ket brought
Mah was born circa 1870, in China. His father had taken him to China when he was about five years old. His father had arrived in Victoria in 1855 and after some years on the goldfields established one of the earliest tobacco-farms on the King River. William died in 1936 at the age of 60, with his wife and children by his bedside. Williamwas born on June 20 1876, in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia. First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we recital, a Gilbert & Sullivan production, a Franz Lehar
Victoria 3086
The reason why the Chinese laundry owner had been charged was that a Chinese man had been found in the laundry between 9 and 10 pm at night ironing a shirt, apparently in breach of the after-hours work prohibition. Prior to completing his tertiary studies at Melbourne University, William received a full primary and secondary education in Wangaratta's public schools. Fast forward 90 years to 9 October 2019 when an audience of some 50 persons are gathered in the Great Hall of the High Court of Australia to attend the third award ceremony for the William Ah Ket Scholarship a scholarship established by the Asian Australian Lawyers Association in 2017 and supported by Maddocks. We will never satisfy our ambitions. [1][2] His daughter Melaan was the mother of the guitarist John Williams. The test required all immigrants from China to write in English or another European language a passage of approximately 50 words, dictated by a customs officer. The story of William Ah Ket is a significant one in the history of the Australian legal profession. community during the early years of Federation. "She never saw her children raised, she never was never able to live in the community like her husband or anything," Vivienne says. 9The Hon Susan Kiefel AC, Chief Justice of Australia, William Ah Kets contribution to diversity in the legal profession (Asian Australian Lawyers Association, William Ah Ket Scholarship Presentation, Great Hall, High Court of Australia, Canberra, 9 October 2019, 5:30pm). [4] Citing Sir Robert Menzies, The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. He advocated and promoted peaceful coexistence.8 His answer to the difficulties he faced appears to have been to succeed in what he did; to be a real part of the legal profession; to help others and to act at all times righteously, with courage and with kindness. Chinese under the umbrella of the White Australia Policy,
Maureen Bedford - Great-niece of William Ah Ket, Vivienne Davis- Great-niece of William Ah Ket, Reynah Tang- Lawyer and founding president of Asian Australian Lawyers Association, Toylaan Ah Ket- Daughter of William Ah Ket, Blossom Ah Ket- Great-granddaughter of William Ah Ket, The Chinese and the Factories Acts by William Ah Ket,1906, The Measure of the Years by Sir Robert Menzies, 1970. He completed his articles with the solicitors Maddison &
6Citing Karin Derkley, William Ah Ket Legacy Recognised (2018) 92(3) Law Institute Journal 83 at 83, 84. We should have done Medicine.[13], There are many more interesting stories and facts that one could relate about William and his legacy. The biography of Joan Rosanove QC, an alumna of Melbourne Law School and the first Jewish woman in Australia to be admitted as a barrister, contains the following reference to a light-hearted discussion between William and Joan: A Melbourne barrister, Mr Ah Ket, a friend of Marks [Joans father], said to her, You and I have both chosen the wrong profession, Joan. In the lecture, William reflected on whether there was a real difference between the culture of the East and that of the West and drew parallels between Western culture and Confucianism. Special thanks to Jennifer Wood, Kate Bagnall, Pauline Rule and the National Library of Australia for helping with research. "There was definitely a fresh wave of discrimination that was being put in place," she says. William Ah Ket - A Life of Diversity and Service Andrew Godwin* William Ah Ket (1876-1936), barrister, was born on 20 June 1876 at Wangaratta, Victoria, only son and fifth child of Ah Ket, storekeeper and grower and buyer of tobacco, and his wife Hing Ung, who were married in Melbourne in 1864. choice would be a controversial play at The Little Theatre,
community, such as Quong Tart in Sydney and Cheok Hong. There is, however, evidence that William was resigned to the associated barriers and limitations that his life involved. His father had arrived in Victoria in 1855 and after some years on the goldfields established one of the earliest tobacco-farms on the King River. Popular among the press reporters and cartoonists of his
If Monument Australia is useful to you, please make a donation to keep this historical and educational resource available. 4The Melbourne University Magazine, Volume 1, Number 1, 1907, 20. [4], Despite, or perhaps because of, having himself been discriminated against, Mr Ah Ket devoted his life to fighting against unfair discrimination. He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . Liu in Sydney who both obtained generous financial support
William Ah Ket in Selborne Chambers, Melbourne circa 1933.Source: http://monumentaustralia.org.au/. they raised a family of two sons and two daughters. That in itself was an "impressive feat", says Reynah Tang, the founding president of the Asian-Australian Lawyers' Association. At that time, people born in Australia were British citizens by right, regardless of their parents origins. On top of that work, William also had to deal with racism. The younger son
All rights reserved. Fulfilling his fathers wishes, William studied law at the University of Melbourne. Each data center building is the size of a modern day aircraft carrier, nearly four football fields long. Despite his high profile and achievements, it would seem that others were advanced while he was not.6 He was neither appointed Silk nor a judge. which he moved. Though the law was not dismantled until the 1970s, Mr Tang says it was a significant case at a time when there were active political attempts to limit Chinese immigration to Australia. He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate". [10] (1908) 7 CLR 277 at 307. His father Mah Ket had arrived in Australia in the 1850s, during the gold rush era, and his mother in the 1860s. alleviation of all unreasonable conditions imposed on the
He sold opium, among other supplies. Sir Robert Menzies practised with William in Selborne Chambers. amendments to the 1896 Factories & Shops Act to
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