Kwong Sue Duk was a prosperous and generous Chinese gentleman
who had four wives and twenty-four children, and made Australia
his chosen home, during and after the nineteenth century northern
Australian gold rush period.
Kwong Sue Duk was born in Guangdong Province, China, in 1853
and ventured abroad to the California goldfields at an early
age to seek his fortune. After several years, he earned enough
money for his family and passage home to Toishan, China, then
embarked on an education in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
In 1874, Kwong Sue Duk married his first wife, Gee An Gow.
In 1875, after the birth of his first son (Kong Sing), Kwong
soon heard of the gold rush of Australia and took a ship to
Cooktown, North Queensland. He made several trips home to
China and in 1879 a daughter (Jon Gee) was born. In 1882,
Kwong arrived in the prospering township of Southport in the
Northern Territory, where he eventually established a successful
general trade store and real estate enterprise, operating
under his business name, Sun Mow Loong. He became well respected
and influential amongst the Chinese and European communities
and was consulted over many matters concerning the Chinese.
In 1884, Kwong Sue Duk married his second wife, Chun Ngor
Gwei, and obtained his naturalisation certificate in Australia.
Kwong moved to Palmerston (early Darwin) and in March 1887
he met and married his third wife, Yuen Yuk Lau. He returned
to China and another daughter (Toy Mee) was born to his first
wife. Not long after the birth, he travelled back to Australia
to tend to his thriving businesses and to buy a number of
rental properties. In 1888, Kwong's third wife gave birth
to a daughter, Ly Kin.
He returned to China in 1889, and subsequently brought out
his first wife and three children to Palmerston, where she
later bore him another daughter (Sum Gwai). Kwong and his
three wives lived in harmony and supported the family together.
Over the next twelve years, eleven more children were born
- Thomas, Edward, Leslie, Elsie, Fred, Lim, Maizie, William,
Kathleen, May and Lily. By 1902, there were sixteen Kwong
children. Kwong prospered well in the remote Northern Territory,
purchasing rental properties and at least five large gold
mining leases.
In January 1897, a tropical cyclone damaged much of the town,
including Kwong's properties. His first wife had difficulty
adjusting to the harsh conditions and in 1898 he travelled
with her to China where she chose to remain with their four
children. In 1899, Kwong met and married his fourth wife,
Wong Kwei Far, and returned with her to Palmerston.
The cyclone of 1897 and the dwindling economy of the Northern
Territory had left Kwong Sue Duk in a poor financial state
and in 1902 he sought relief in the growing economy of the
Cairns region in North Queensland. The family set up a store
and business in Cairns where he sold mostly Chinese goods.
In the back of the store he had an office where he dispensed
Chinese herbal remedies. Displaying their respect for him,
both Chinese and European patients called him 'Dr Kwong'.
Whilst in Cairns, five more children were born, Harry, Annie,
Maud, Victor and Kong Won, to third and fourth wives. Kong
Won died at an early age and to compensate for this loss,
Kwong later adopted Violet and her brother, Lawrence.
In 1907, Kwong Sue Duk and his large family boarded a ship
for Hong Kong to visit his family and to select suitable wives
for his sons. In 1909, Ida, the youngest of the 24 children,
was born. He returned in 1910 to settle in Townsville, Queensland,
and in 1913 most of the family followed. Kwong established
another successful Chinese herbal medicine practice in Little
Flinders Street.
In 1917, Kwong made another major move to Melbourne, the
thriving capital of Victoria, where a large Chinese population
existed, with more eligible bachelors for his daughters (who
were now of a marriageable age). Kwong Sue Duk continued his
herbal medicine practice in Melbourne and country Victoria,
including the townships of Ballarat and Bendigo.
Whilst the children were establishing their own lives, wives
two, three and four moved to stay with them, and Kwong Sue Duk travelled to visit them all. In 1925,
at the age of 72 years, he visited his son in Shanghai and
his family in Hong Kong. In 1927, he returned to Melbourne
to visit his children and their families, and then retired
to live in Townsville where many of his eldest children had
settled. He continued with his herbal medicine practice from
Townsville until he died at the age of 76 on the 17th February
1929.
Many of the children of Kwong Sue Duk established careers
and families in North America and South East Asia. However,
a large proportion of the descendant families settled in Australia,
and through the years have played important roles in the development
and colour of the Australian community. Kwong Sue Duk's descendants
now number around 860, and include five generations spread
across eleven countries of the world.
SOURCES:
Rosalie Hiah and Warren Lee Long, 'Kwong Sue Duk' in Northern
Territory Dictionary of Biography, Vol.3, 1996
Nui Bo and Victor Kwong, 'Biographical Sketch of Kwong Sue
Duk' 1982.
The views and
opinions expressed in these stories do not necessarily reflect those of La Trobe University
or the editors of the website.
Last Updated:
27 February, 2009
