Series Classification: G (General Audiences) | Find the series here.
Early Life in Nam Mun 南文 as described by daughter Lily Lee:
"Shew Shee [Sue She], my mother, was not given a name but called Ngee Goo in the village and Ma by our family in New Zealand. She was born in February 1901 (the year of the ox), just after Chinese New Year, in the market village of Nam Mun, in the district of Dai Chung, where all people spoke Loong Du -- a non-Cantonese dialect. That was our mother tongue when she brought us up in New Zealand. Ma was the second eldest of a family of three daughters and two sons born to Sue Lum.
"Her father had a meat stall at the local market and was a seller of fresh pork. He died when she was about 12 or 13 years old. Ma told me that they frequented the local tea shops, where he smoked opium.
"After her father died, Ma left Nam Mun and spent a few years with a Luma aunt in On Tong, her mother's village. She did not return to Nam Mun until she was 18.
"What was extremely sad for Ma was tragically losing one of her brothers on what was supposed to be an auspicious day. Her brother took on the trade of his father, a seller of pork.
"He was beaten in front of his shop by village bandits the very day she dressed in her wedding garments and was carried in a sedan chair to be married. This brother was 28 with a wife and young baby girl.
"The baby was given away to dung gar lol 南文 -- the Tanka river boat people -- because the family could not afford to keep her."
Shew Shee's husband, Chew Chong, was born in 1891. He had first arrived at Princes Wharf, Auckland, on 24 May 1922 aboard the Navua from Suva. He was age 31, and his poll tax receipt number was 815.
Early in 1927, Shew Shee was to marry Chew Chong, but as he was absent for the wedding ceremony, a rooster was substituted in his place. This is known as 'Sarng gei bai tong' -- a 'Rooster Wedding'.
Once he returned, he lived with his new wife for nine to ten months before leaving again for New Zealand in April 1928. Their daughter, Bik Wun (Rita), was born after his departure.
From the 1930s, Chew Chong was in partnership with Lum Chin in the Jang Hing fruit shop at 177 Broadway, Newmarket.
When the Japanese invaded Chung Shan County, Shew Shee and daughter Rita (Ho Bik Wun), age 11, fled for their lives. They made it to Hong Kong, where they boarded a boat headed for New Zealand.
They were reunited with Ho Chew Chong at Princes Wharf, where the Aorangi had berthed on Monday 27 November 1939.
Shew Shee's daughter Lily Lee is the author of the publication Farewell Guangdong: Refugee Wives and Children Arrive in Aotearoa New Zealand, 1939-1941.
This publication is the inspiration behind our documentary series.
Farewell Guangdong was commissioned by the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust in 2018. The challenge for Lily and her voluntary team of researchers was to find the names and records of the women and children who were able to come to New Zealand under a special refugee concession.
Searching for historical records of 256 refugees and 244 children took Lily and the team over four years as they reached out to Aotearoa's Chinese New Zealanders. Farewell Guangdong was published in 2021 and remains a taonga (treasure) to our community.
- Record no: C. 33/12/1090: Two-year temporary permit approved 26 September 1939.
- Arrived: 27 November 1939, age 38 with her daughter Rita, in Auckland on the Aorangi.
- Granted permanent residence: Ho Shew Shee and three children (Lily, Jack and Ray) on 11 September 1947. Her daughter Rita married and left for Hong Kong in April 1946, prior to the granting of permanent residence.
- New Zealand citizenship: 1963.
- Husband: HO Chew Chong 何兆昌 from Gum Kei,112 Chung Shan, fruiterer.
Photo: NZ On Air
