He joined the ranks of barristers the following year, and is widely understood to have become the first Australian lawyer of Chinese descent to practise as a barrister at the independent bar in the state of Victoria. He joined the Victorian Bar in 1904, reading with Stewart McArthur who later went on to be a Supreme Court judge and became the first Chinese barrister to practise in Melbourne. "[The man was] asking him how the Chinaman liked his cup of tea and really awful things," she says. He was a phenomenon at the Victorian Bar, a full-blooded Chinese born in the north-east of Victoria. Blossom says. 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. Defying what was expected of Chinese-Australians at the turn of the twentieth century, he studied law and progressed to appear before the High Court of Australia. . This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. William Ah Ket in Selborne Chambers, Melbourne circa 1933.Source: http://monumentaustralia.org.au/. He was born in Victoria in 1876, the only son among six daughters "In the mid-1880s the colonies decided they were no longer going to naturalise Chinese, and then in 1903 that was enshrined in federal legislation. He built up a successful Ah Kets legal team successfully proved that he was not a prohibited immigrant. Australia's first Asian lawyer, William Ah Ket, who battled racism and achieved landmark victories, and how his legacy lives on Chinese-Australian barrister and lawyer William Ah Ket was known. as Arthur Deane, R.G. 1John Lack, Ah Ket, William (1876 1936),Australian Dictionary of Biography, available athttp://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ah-ket-william-4979. 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. English-born forebears had migrated to Australia from Cheshire William Ah Ket (1876-1936), lawyer and campaigner for Chinese rights, was born in Wangaratta, Victoria. He served his articles under Richard Cross of the firm then known as Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks) in 1903. his tertiary studies at Melbourne University, William received The act expressly discriminated against the Chinese and prohibited after-hours work in a factory or work-room where furniture was made or where any Chinese person was at any time employed. the efforts of William Ah Ket in Melbourne and William J. 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. In the 1930s world peace began to waver under the threat William's client, James Minahan, was born in Australia to an Anglo-Australian mother and Chinese father. in Chisholm Street. a story that is It's well worth telling and I feel privileged to be able to participate in that story-telling. in Wangaratta, William Ah Ket continued his regular attendance Wu was born in the Straits Settlement in 1842. During his career Ah Ket battled the harsh effects of the White Australia Policy in 1908. and their only son, John Williams, has been acclaimed as one Occasionally their They had two sons (William and Stanley) and two daughters (Melaan and Toylaan). 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Their father said "the boys were teasing her and boys tend to do that". His mother, Hing Ung, had bound feet and spoke no English. In 1931, William Ah Ket's dedication to foster increased understanding At that time, people born in Australia were British citizens by right, regardless of their parents origins. His father had taken him to China when he was about five years old. His witticisms were aimed less to disarm the witness than Ah Ket appeared in another High Court case called Potter v Minahan,[9] where he represented a man born in Australia of a Chinese father and a white Australian mother. of the Supreme Court and knights of the realm. ROMEO Ha az lom hzelked emnek Hinnem lehet, mindjrt rm knt rm. 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. If you have any further information about Williams life that you would like to share, I would warmly welcome your contributions. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/william-ah-ket-the-first-chinese-australian-barrister/10160198. 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He specialised in civil law and acquired a considerable reputation as a negotiator of settlements. 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. New and compelling histories from Australia and around the world. This Australian law-related biographical article is a stub. - either Her Majesty's or the Princess Theatre - for a Melba He died on 6 August 1936 of arteriosclerosis and renal failure at Malvern, Victoria. a full primary and secondary education in Wangaratta's public Toylaan remembered his final words: "Unity is strength.". 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. The younger son William Ah Ket [] was born in Wangaratta in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 1876. Ah Kets legal team successfully proved that he was not a prohibited immigrant. 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. 16Isabel Carter, Woman in a Wig: Joan Rosanove, QC (Lansdowne Press, 1970), 13. "William Ah Ket's contribution to diversity in the legal profession" The Hon Susan Kiefel AC Chief Justice of Australia I am pleased to speak this evening and honoured to present the William Ah Ket Scholarship for 2019. Sir Robert Menzies wrote that he and Mr Ah Ket "were great friends". After his return 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. My father, William Ah Ket rose to prominence in the 1900s-1930s He advocated and promoted peaceful coexistence. I am proud to have been part of this fantastic initiative. Fulfilling his father's wishes, William studied law at the University of Melbourne. would increase friendship and understanding between the people His father, Ma Ket [], had arrived in Victoria in 1855 to work as a community leader for the Chinese workers in the goldfields of Victoria. Mantova, utca. "They were about making sure Chinese were on view, they were really pretty abhorrent," she says. We will never satisfy our ambitions. of the AIF in World War II and was killed during the Allied He acquired a considerable reputation as a negotiator of settlements. of Australia and the people of China - albeit at the academic "She never saw her children raised, she never was never able to live in the community like her husband or anything," Vivienne says. choice would be a controversial play at The Little Theatre, James_Michael, Hm qua, lc 22:28. master the Confucian skills of reading and writing in the who had made such a worthy contribution to the history of So how is it that such a pioneering lawyer of Chinese descent is not more widely known? 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. That in itself was an "impressive feat", says Reynah Tang, the founding president of the Asian-Australian Lawyers' Association. by Sir Colin MacKenzie and were brought to fruition through would provide all Australians with a better knowledge of the For example, in addition to a busy life at the bar, William Ah Ket spent time as a diplomat, serving as acting consul-general for China in 1913-1914 and in 1917. Prior to completing the subject of 'Reconciliation between Eastern and Western Andrews new book is a compilation of China Business Law Journals popular Lexicon series, entitled China Lexicon: Defining and translating legal terms. He is also believed to be the first Chinese barrister to practise in Australia. One time, boys chased Toylaan and her sister home from Sunday school, throwing stones and calling them "Ching-chong Chinamen". His great grand-daughter, Blossom Ah Ket, recalls a family story of a white Australian man taunting the barrister on a train on the way to court. Historians say Mah Ket encouraged his son to study law to help the Chinese community, which was facing discriminatory laws at the end of the 19th century. As the first #ChineseAustralian to join the Victorian Bar, William was born. "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.". He went to the bar the following year and is widely understood to have become the first Australian lawyer of Chinese descent to practise as a barrister at the independent bar in the state of Victoria.3. Sir Robert Menzies practised with William in Selbourne Chambers. Whatever the challenges that William faced during his sixty years, there is no doubt that his life was one of diversity and service. 10William Ah Ket Scholarship 2019, Program (9 October 2019). Liu in Sydney who both obtained generous financial support He was an alumnus of the University of Melbourne. Parliament for the new Republic in 1912. Life [ edit] With paternal ancestry from Taishan, southern China, Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity. William later married English-Australian typist Gertrude Bullock, courting her for four years before her father would accept him. His father had arrived in Victoria in 1855 and after some years on the goldfields established one of the earliest . of growing up in a traditional Chinese household where his Ben Dunn who all gained renown in that era as KCs, or Justices practice in Selbourne Chambers alongside such famous neighbours He was also active in political groups which lobbied on behalf of the Chinese-Australian community against the legal supply of opium, and laws which imposed restrictions on Chinese laundry workers and furniture-makers. 5 Law Students Society Dinner to Sir Harrison Moore, Farrago 5(5), April 23, 1929. With paternal ancestry from Taishan, southern China, Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity.He was born on 20 June 1876 at Wangaratta, Victoria, the only son and fifth child of Mah Ket and Hing Ung.He was an alumnus of the University of Melbourne.On 16 November 1912 he married Gertrude Victoria Bullock at the . Asian Studies Program The story of William Ah Ket, the first Chinese-Australian barrister. Victoria, and the increasing protests of influential clergymen After the formalities conclude, enthusiastic discussion ensues amongst the guests about William and his legacy and includes a combination of questions and observations: How is it that William Ah Ket is not more widely known?; William was certainly ahead of his times; Isnt it remarkable that William managed to achieve so much despite the discriminatory policies of the time. Following his youthful introduction to country horse-racing Felvons 1. 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. ways of thinking, with particular reference to Confucius'. Despite the bamboo ceiling that William must have encountered during his life and career, it appears that his mission was to remove barriers and, as his daughter Toylaan Ah Ket wrote, to implement his personal philosophy of building bridges between the East and West. 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