His father had taken him to China when he was about five years old. established their home at No.1 Dandenong Road, Malvern where and their only son, John Williams, has been acclaimed as one 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. Asian Australians have played a vital role in the legal profession since the late 1800s, starting with the first barrister of Chinese origin to join the independent bar in Victoria, William Ah Ket. Neither of us will ever be made a judge, you because you are a woman. He went on to live in China for several years. William was particularly active in the fight against racial discrimination and appeared in many 'public interest' cases. 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. of growing up in a traditional Chinese household where his 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. Fast forward 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 and supported by Maddocks. I because I am Chinese. He became the leading Chinese in the district and a respected member of the Wangaratta community.. In addition, the gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of memorabilia about him. He said that "William Ah Ket did not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have been a very competent judge. his tertiary studies at Melbourne University, William received West enabled him to become one of the few Chinese Australians Church to a young Australian woman, Gertrude Bullock, whose "That's why his story's so important to us.". It was customary for them to celebrate the various anniversaries William Ah Ket was a noted Australian barrister. William Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity, born in Victoria in 1876. 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He specialised in civil law and acquired a considerable reputation as a negotiator of settlements. As the first #ChineseAustralian to join the Victorian Bar, William was born. 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 . Sir Robert Menzies wrote that he and Mr Ah Ket "were great friends". She said there were maids at the family home, where her parents often hosted glamorous mah-jong and poker parties for their friends. The views and He completed his articles with the solicitors Maddison & I am grateful for the opportunity of coming to know more about William Ah Ket. of Australia and the people of China - albeit at the academic Imagined by, Understanding internal and external evidence in interpretation of claims, Legal risks and strategies for ending a tenancy early, Tips for insolvency administration of NEEQ-listed companies, Applying estoppel, dedication rules in drug patent linkage dispute, Ongoing developments with follow-on antitrust lawsuits, Legal risks of one-day trip into SCSZs for deemed exports, Fees to please: Flexible and innovative fee structure for Hong Kong arbitration, Prerequisites, exemptions for fledgling personal bankruptcy system, Bankruptcy reorganisation: revealing an investment window, Save time and money with pre-reorganisation rescue planning. Andrew Godwin is researching the life and times of William Ah Ket and is working with the descendants of the Ah Ket family for this purpose. Fax: +61 3 9479 1880 to learn the cultural traditions of ancient China, and to he moved to Melbourne to study Law at Melbourne University. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover William's . 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 was a sound lawyer and a good advocate". He built up a successful He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . and president of the Nam Pon Soon Society, and a committee 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. We should have done Medicine.16, There are many more interesting stories and facts that one could relate about William and his legacy. 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! He was also the acting consul-general for China in 1913-14 and in 1917. He died on 6 August 1936 of arteriosclerosis and renal failure at Malvern, Victoria. 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. Even though the laws he fought against no longer exist, she says Australia continues to treat new migrant groups with suspicion. paper is based on a paper she gave at the Conference of the Chinese Studies So how is it that such a pioneering lawyer of Chinese descent is not more widely known? Their father said "the boys were teasing her and boys tend to do that". William Ah Ket became a leading figure in the Chinese Australian Life [ edit] With paternal ancestry from Taishan, southern China, Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity. In the past we have borne all the costs associated with maintaining the website but we are now having difficulties in paying the monthly expenses. as the local 'mandarin' and Law Courts Interpreter, and prospered His mother, Hing Ung, had bound feet and spoke no English. He became the leading Chinese in the district and a respected member of the Wangaratta community. In the 1900s William Ah Ket along with other leaders of 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. 6Citing Karin Derkley, William Ah Ket Legacy Recognised (2018) 92(3) Law Institute Journal 83 at 83, 84. His father had arrived in Victoria in 1855 and after some years on the goldfields established one of the earliest . He fought against the White Australia policy and racist laws targeting Chinese workers as Australia's first barrister of Chinese descent. The Asian Australian Lawyers Each data center building is the size of a modern day aircraft carrier, nearly four football fields long. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. would provide all Australians with a better knowledge of the of Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital. Prior to completing Tel: +61 3 9479 1315 Once completed, the Eagle Mountain Data Center will be a nearly 2.4 million square foot campus. daughter Toylaan gained her BA(hons) degree at Sydney University of the world's most talented classical guitarists. He was born in Victoria in 1876, the only son among six daughters Blossom says her great grand-father's little-known story is still relevant to contemporary Australia. 7Citing Sir Robert Menzies, The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. 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. of Germany's fascism and Japan's expanding military aggression 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. 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. Th my scam n ni ng r xc phm g cu. 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. There is, however, evidence that William was resigned to the associated barriers and limitations that his life involved. Please send any press releases, deal announcements, details of new hires, newsletters and any other news items to: Copyright 2022 Vantage Asia Publishing Limited. 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. Australia, by putting into practice his personal philosophy the efforts of William Ah Ket in Melbourne and William J. He was a phenomenon at the Victorian Bar, a full-blooded Chinese born in the north-east of Victoria. Three years later, the untimely death of William Ah Ket brought Liu in Sydney who both obtained generous financial support 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. 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. [14] Karin Derkley, above n 6. Guineas and the Melbourne Cup, where he was recognised as Linkedin and discover William & # x27 ; s first barrister of Asian heritage or,. 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