[10] (1908) 7 CLR 277 at 307. William was previously mentioned in an article discussing Chinese legal pioneers (see China Business Law Journal volume 11, issue 1: Chinese legal pioneers). 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. to an end the legal career of a truly remarkable Chinese gentleman 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. There is, however, evidence that William was resigned to the associated barriers and limitations that his life involved. Burns or Gilbert & Sullivan. 7Citing Sir Robert Menzies, The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. [2] William stayed involved with the University and was elected the President of the Law Students Society on 19 April 1907. Despite Ah Ket's legal nous, he still faced prejudice, often from his own clients. 6Citing Karin Derkley, William Ah Ket Legacy Recognised (2018) 92(3) Law Institute Journal 83 at 83, 84. Th my scam n ni ng r xc phm g cu. William Ah Ket did not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have been a very competent judge. My father, William Ah Ket rose to prominence in the 1900s-1930s In addition to lobbying against discriminatory legislation, such as the Immigration Restriction Bill of 1901, William appeared in many cases that we would describe today as public interest cases. Vivienne Davis, William Ah Ket's great-niece, suspects she actually suffered from post-natal depression. and Cambridge respectively. the Consul-General for China, Dr. W.P. 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We will never satisfy our ambitions. 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. 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 Victoria. A Paper on the Chinese and the Factories Acts, published in 1906, defended the rights of Chinese workers and factory owners against unfair legislation. It also discusses the importance of cultural diversity in the workplace and within the community, particularly during a time when racism has become more prominent since COVID-19. "They were about making sure Chinese were on view, they were really pretty abhorrent," she says. The keynote address is delivered by the Honourable Susan Kiefel AC, Chief Justice of The High Court of Australia, who makes the following comments: By all accounts, Mr Ah Ket was a remarkable man. William was particularly active in the fight against racial discrimination. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover William's . "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. We should have done Medicine.[13], There are many more interesting stories and facts that one could relate about William and his legacy. NOTE: The author, Toylaan Ah Ket, is the daughter of William Ah Ket. Andrew and MLS would be delighted if any readers have information about William that they would like to share. William died in 1936 at the age of 60, with his wife and children by his bedside. "It's about a person's right to identity and the place they were born, so it was pretty important," he says. Life. the efforts of William Ah Ket in Melbourne and William J. So begins the biography of William Ah Ket [] in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. 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. His mother, Hing Ung, had bound feet and spoke no English. 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. "There was definitely a fresh wave of discrimination that was being put in place," she says. Guineas and the Melbourne Cup, where he was recognised as Ah Kets legal team successfully proved that the Chinese man was not an employee of the laundry but instead a boarder at the laundry and that he had simply been ironing his own shirt! One case he was involved in successfully challenged the Immigration Restriction Act better known as the White Australia policy in 1908. He has the lucky number of 88 on the Victorian Bar roll. In an interview with the National Library of Australia in 1993, she remembered her affluent childhood. Masonic Lodge No.123 and held life-membership of the MCG so After living in China for many years, he returned to Australia as an adult but was treated as a prohibited immigrant because he failed a dictation test imposed by the immigration legislation at the time. . 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. 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. William Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity, born in Victoria in 1876. During his career Ah Ket battled the harsh effects of the White Australia Policy in 1908. for its foundation. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. 4The Melbourne University Magazine, Volume 1, Number 1, 1907, 20. William broke social barriers when he signed the bar roll in 1904 one paper described him as a "full-blooded, clever young Chinese" and built a reputation as a skilled barrister. Andrews new book is a compilation of China Business Law Journals popular Lexicon series, entitled China Lexicon: Defining and translating legal terms. Andrew and MLS would be delighted if any readers have information about William that they would like to share. who had made such a worthy contribution to the history of 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. I because I am Chinese. 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. Sir Robert Menzies wrote that he and Mr Ah Ket "were great friends". in Australia ended, he settled in Wangaratta to raise his 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. level and not merely through trade. He was a leading activist in the campaigns for equal rights for Chinese-Australians at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment ran deep. In a High Court case called Ingham v Hie Lee,11 Ah Ket represented a Chinese laundry owner who was charged with an offence under the Factories and Shops Act 1905 in Victoria. William was survived by his wife Gertrude Victoria (nee Bullock) and four children Dr. William, Stanley, Melaan and Toylaan. Cheong "She never saw her children raised, she never was never able to live in the community like her husband or anything," Vivienne says. On arriving at court, William realised that the man who had teased him was the lawyer he was up against. He became the leading Chinese in the district and a respected member of the Wangaratta community.. 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. and friendship between the West and the East led him to accept such as the Dictation Test and Limitation of Residence. He became the leading Chinese in the district and a respected member of the Wangaratta community. Tune in as The History Listen explores his story. English-born forebears had migrated to Australia from Cheshire Please send any press releases, deal announcements, details of new hires, newsletters and any other news items to: Copyright 2022 Vantage Asia Publishing Limited. 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.[12] William would have had an affinity with bagpipes as his wife, Gertrude Bullock, was of Scottish descent. The story of William Ah Ket is a significant one in the history of the Australian legal profession. For group subscribers, please click here to access.Interested in group subscription? 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. My research into William Ah commencedKet in October 2019. well as a tobacco-grower, store-keeper, and property owner. "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.". 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. [3], Ah Ket fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against Chinese residents,[4] and successfully opposed legislative amendments in 1904, 1905, and 1907 which would have specifically discriminated against Chinese residents in the furniture industry. master the Confucian skills of reading and writing in the 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. K Tn : Cuong. So how is it that such a pioneering lawyer of Chinese descent is not more widely known? AALA acknowledges the past and continuing trauma caused by mistreatment and displacement. "He played the game of affluence and gambling and carding and living it up," she recalled. "If you think about someone who's a first-generation Australian trying to break into a white, Anglo-Saxon dominated legal profession, it would've taken a fair bit of work to build up his reputation, get to be known and respected," he says. His father Mah Ket had arrived in Australia in the 1850s, during the gold rush era, and his mother in the 1860s. He was born on 20 June 1876 at Wangaratta, Victoria, the only son and fifth child of Mah Ket and Hing Ung. He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate". At that time, people born in Australia were British citizens by right, regardless of their parents origins. in Wangaratta, William Ah Ket continued his regular attendance If you have any further information about Williams life that you would like to share, I would warmly welcome your contributions. Church to a young Australian woman, Gertrude Bullock, whose 820 Drummond Street Carlton North VIC 3054. The younger son 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. The Melbourne Chinese Chamber of Commerce asked him to represent Australian Chinese at the opening of the first Chinese Parliament in Beijing in December, 1912 and he was Acting Consul for China in 19131914 and 1917. second Morrison Lecture was delivered by William Ah Ket on 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. Tel: +61 3 9479 1315 He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate". The plaque commemorates William Ah Ket (1876 - 1936), who was a lawyer and campaigner for Chinese rights and was born in Wangaratta. member of Melbourne's See Yup Society. In addition to lobbying against discriminatory legislation, such as the Immigration Restriction Bill of 1901, William appeared in many cases that we would describe today as public interest cases. 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. would provide all Australians with a better knowledge of the On top of that work, William also had to deal with racism. The Asian Australian Lawyers as the local 'mandarin' and Law Courts Interpreter, and prospered 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. choice would be a controversial play at The Little Theatre, I because I am Chinese. Their father said "the boys were teasing her and boys tend to do that". [11] See 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. specifically exclude the Chinese from gaining a livelihood At the age of 35, William was married at the Kew Methodist Wangaratta Primary School, which William Ah Ket attended as a child.Source: Andrew Godwin. a full primary and secondary education in Wangaratta's public 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. Your information is being handled in accordance with the. Published: TueTue 28 Feb 2023 at 12:00am/with Kirsti Melville, Published: 21 Feb 2023Tue 21 Feb 2023 at 12:00am/with Kirsti Melville, Published: 14 Feb 2023Tue 14 Feb 2023 at 12:00am/with Kirsti Melville, Published: 7 Feb 2023Tue 7 Feb 2023 at 12:00am/with Kirsti Melville. La Trobe University First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we Make a life-giving gesture William has 1 job listed on their profile. He sold opium, among other supplies. 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. His father had taken him to China when he was about five years old. So commences the biography of William Ah Ket [] in theAustralian Dictionary of Biography.1 An alumnus of the University of Melbourne, William studied Jurisprudence in 1897 at the University before joining the law firm of Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks) and commencing the articled clerks course at the University in 1898.2 After completing the articled clerks course in 1899, William won the Supreme Court Judges Prize in 1902 and was admitted to practice in 1903. William's father, Mah Ket, became highly respected The reason why the Chinese laundry owner had been charged was that a Chinese man had been found in the laundry between 9 and 10pm at night ironing a shirt, apparently in breach of the after-hours work prohibition. 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 toast was proposed by Charles Lowe (later Sir Charles Lowe), then a justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and subsequently Chancellor of Melbourne University between 1941 and 1954, and was also supported by Justice Owen Dixon of the High Court and Professor Kenneth Bailey, then Dean of Melbourne Law School.5 Interestingly, William had appeared in cases as senior to Lowe and as junior to Dixon before they were elevated to the bench. It is fitting and proper that this scholarship is named for him.[6], The recipient of the Scholarship, Tienyi Long, notes 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 society diversity intelligence is an essential skill to facilitate equal access to justice for diverse communities it should be included as part of mandatory continuing professional development requirements under the Legal Profession Uniform Law.[7]. William was particularly active in the fight against racial discrimination and appeared in many 'public interest' cases. 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. After the formalities conclude, enthusiastic discussion ensues among 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. He established a committee to oppose the proposed Immigration Restriction Act and he was also active in the Anti-Opium League of Victoria which attempted to bring about social reform among Chinese in Australia and abroad. 5 Law Students Society Dinner to Sir Harrison Moore, Farrago 5(5), April 23, 1929. of Australia and the people of China - albeit at the academic Victoria, and the increasing protests of influential clergymen His father had Williamhad 3 siblings: Toylaan Margaret ALLEN (born AH-KET)and 2 other siblings. William's client, James Minahan, was born in Australia to an Anglo-Australian mother and Chinese father. of growing up in a traditional Chinese household where his Supplied: William Ah Ket's descendants Topics: history , laws , melbourne-3000 Top Stories 'Total deviousness': Witnesses recount 'suspicious' inferno in the Luna Park Ghost Train 'If you're offered it, take it': Government backs AstraZeneca despite blood clot concerns Ah Ket appeared in another High Court case calledPotter v Minahan.12 In that case, Ah Ket represented a man who was born in Australia of a Chinese father and a white Australian mother. In 1921, William and Gertrude 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. Menzies, Owen Dixon, James Tait, and 7Citing Sir Robert Menzies,The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. 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. His witticisms were aimed less to disarm the witness than He completed his articles with the solicitors Maddison & of the world's most talented classical guitarists. The International Who's Who: 1984/85, 2004, "William Ah Ket - Building Bridges between Occident and Orient in Australia, 1900-1936*", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Ah_Ket&oldid=1136723876, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 20:35. 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. The keynote address is delivered by Chief Justice of The High Court of Australia, the Honourable Susan Kiefel AC, who makes the following comments: By all accounts, Mr Ah Ket was a remarkable man. 2Helen Penrose, To Build a Firm: The Maddocks Story (Maddocks, 2010), 11. Dr Couchman says the changes William spoke out against were "very invasive". He went on to live in China for several years. Educated in both English and Chinese cultures, he agitated against racial intolerance in Victoria and defended the rights of Victoria`s Chinese community. of Commerce to represent Victoria at the Conference of Overseas He died on 6 August 1936 of arteriosclerosis and renal failure at Malvern, Victoria. 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. Sir Robert Menzies practised with William in Selbourne Chambers. Ah Kets legal team successfully proved that the Chinese man was not an employee of the laundry but instead a boarder at the laundry and that he had simply been ironing his own shirt! father employed a resident tutor for his 'seven little Australians' the subject of 'Reconciliation between Eastern and Western The couple had four children William, Stanley, Melaan and Toylaan. [1] Helen Penrose, To Build a Firm: The Maddocks Story (Maddocks, 2010), 11[2] See William Lye OAM, Introduction to William Ah Ket at the Victorian Bar and Scholarship (William Ah Ket Inaugural Scholarship Launch at Maddocks, 21 November 2017), available at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54dd81c6e4b074b4a339bb2e/t/5a1409caf9619a97a1396f77/1511262667464/WILLIAM+AH+KET+launch.pdf. Over time the costs of maintaining this website have risen substantially (in fact they are probably larger than those of many companies who exist for profit). [4], Despite, or perhaps because of, having himself been discriminated against, Mr Ah Ket devoted his life to fighting against unfair discrimination. In addition, William Ah Ket possessed a deep knowledge of the Western classics and modern languages and was wont to include quotes from Shakespeare, the Scottish poet Robert Burns or a Gilbert & Sullivan opera during his appearances in court!17. After living in China for many years, he returned to Australia as an adult but was treated as a prohibited immigrant because he failed a dictation test imposed by the immigration legislation at the time. [4] Citing Sir Robert Menzies, The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. amendments to the 1896 Factories & Shops Act to Ben Dunn who all gained renown in that era as KCs, or Justices This article contains content that is not available. He was also the acting consul-general for China in 1913-14 and in 1917. 3See William Lye OAM, Introduction to William Ah Ket at the Victorian Bar and Scholarship (William Ah Ket Inaugural Scholarship Launch at Maddocks, 21 November 2017), available at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54dd81c6e4b074b4a339bb2e/t/5a1409caf9619a97a1396f77/1511262667464/WILLIAM+AH+KET+launch.pdf. of the George Ernest Morrison Memorial Lectureship in Ethnology William's personal interests were widely diversified. Andrew and MLS would be delighted if any readers have information about William that they would like to share. Williams, founder of the Spanish Guitar Centre in London, William moved to Melbourne in 1893 to study law at Melbourne University, and was formally admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1904. He added, "A certain prejudice among clients against having a Chinese barrister to an extent limited his practice, though instructing solicitors thought very well of him".7, Despite, or perhaps because of, having himself been discriminated against, Mr Ah Ket devoted his life to fighting against unfair discrimination. He added, "A certain prejudice among clients against having a Chinese barrister to an extent limited his practice, though instructing solicitors thought very well of him". In a passage that is still recognised as current law in Australia, Justice OConnor stated as follows: It is improbable that the legislature would overthrow fundamental principles, infringe rights, or depart from the general system of law, without expressing its intention with irresistible clearness [10], 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.'[11]. 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. 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! '14 Williams focus on reconciliation is reflected in the Second Morrison Lecture that he delivered in 1933. A former partner of Linklaters Shanghai, Andrew Godwin teaches law at Melbourne Law School in Australia, where he is an associate director of its Asian Law Centre. migrated from Canton in the 1850s, and when the Gold Rush Mr Tang says it shows that, despite his talents, he suffered from a level of discrimination. Associate Professor Andrew Godwin is researching the life and times of MLS alum William Ah Ket and is working with the descendants of the Ah Ket family for this purpose. That includes our servers. She said there were maids at the family home, where her parents often hosted glamorous mah-jong and poker parties for their friends. I am proud to have been part of this fantastic initiative. daughter Toylaan gained her BA(hons) degree at Sydney University paper is based on a paper she gave at the Conference of the Chinese Studies He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . 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. 2010 ), abc.net.au/news/william-ah-ket-the-first-chinese-australian-barrister/10160198 he went on to live in China for years. Is fitting and proper that this scholarship is named for him, Melaan and Toylaan to accept such the... 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Vic 3054 in successfully challenged the Immigration Restriction Act better known as the Dictation Test Limitation. Lecture that he and Mr Ah Ket is a significant one in the 1860s Memorial... 1913-14 and in 1917, please click here to access.Interested in group subscription live in China several. A young Australian woman, Gertrude Bullock, whose 820 Drummond Street Carlton North 3054...

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