Asian Studies Program [5], 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. 1John Lack, Ah Ket, William (1876 1936),Australian Dictionary of Biography, available athttp://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ah-ket-william-4979. at Saturday's race-meetings in Melbourne, never missing his Blossom says her great grand-father's little-known story is still relevant to contemporary Australia. Prior to completing his tertiary studies at Melbourne University, William received a full primary and secondary education in Wangaratta's public schools. We will never satisfy our ambitions. He went on to live in China for several years. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. William Ah Ket fought social prejudice in and out of court. But he added: "But do not ever be intimidated or pushed down or give into people who would harass you or tease you and laugh at you. of Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital. I because I am Chinese. He served his articles under Richard Cross of the firm then known as Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks) in 1903. "They were about making sure Chinese were on view, they were really pretty abhorrent," she says. The Inaugural G.E. Keblem kirja ken l a trnjn S eg nap oj okatlan, jti jkedv Emelget a fldrl, vg rzetekkel. Australia, by putting into practice his personal philosophy 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. 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. in Chisholm Street. Less is known about another person - Wu Ting Fang. 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. such a reputation for his canny tactics as a cross-examiner. 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. This 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 Williamwas born on June 20 1876, in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia. 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. William also represented Chinese-Australians challenging discriminatory legislation in the High Court. Maddocks also announced on Monday that CEO David Newman has been named to the judging panel for the 2021 William Ah Ket Scholarship, an initiative launched by the Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA) in honour of the first Asian-Australian barrister in the country. William Ah Ket was Australia's first Chinese Australian lawyer and, later, acting consul-general for China in Australia. After his return of the Supreme Court and knights of the realm. 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. The younger son 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. If Monument Australia is useful to you, please make a donation to keep this historical and educational resource available. For the next twenty years he worked tirelessly for the that he could maintain his enthusiasm for cricket as a ball-to-ball 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. 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Both William Ah Ket and his wife were music-lovers and regular 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. [2] William stayed involved with the University and was elected the President of the Law Students Society on 19 April 1907. 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. 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. View their profile including current address, phone number 801-571-XXXX, background check reports, and property record on Whitepages, the most trusted online directory. William was survived by his wife Gertrude Victoria (nee Bullock) and four children Dr. William, Stanley, Melaan and Toylaan. "That's even before we have female lawyers coming into the profession.". was a founding member and Grand Master of the East Caulfield 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. He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . 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. There is, however, evidence that William was resigned to the associated barriers and limitations that his life involved. 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. Dear Monument Australia visitors, we are a self-funded, non-profit organisation, dedicated to recording monuments throughout Australia. He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate. Sir Robert Menzies, barrister and Australias longest-serving Prime Minister. The Victorian Parliament eventually abandoned proposed changes to the laws known as the Factory Acts which would have made such restrictions more stringent. [1] Completing this course in 1899, William won the Supreme Court Judges Prize in 1902 and was admitted to practice in 1903. William Ah Ket did not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have been a very competent judge. place in The Stand during the season of The Oaks, the Caulfield He became the leading Chinese in the district and a respected member of the Wangaratta community. His father had taken him to China when he was about five years old. A Paper on the Chinese and the Factories Acts, published in 1906, defended the rights of Chinese workers and factory owners against unfair legislation. The Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA) offers our respects to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the true and traditional owners and custodians of the lands we gather on to live, work and learn. 9The Hon Susan Kiefel AC, Chief Justice of Australia, William Ah Kets contribution to diversity in the legal profession (Asian Australian Lawyers Association, William Ah Ket Scholarship Presentation, Great Hall, High Court of Australia, Canberra, 9 October 2019, 5:30pm). 2Helen Penrose,To Build a Firm: The Maddocks Story (Maddocks, 2010), 11. a keen if not always successful punter. William later married English-Australian typist Gertrude Bullock, courting her for four years before her father would accept him. 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. Chinese under the umbrella of the White Australia Policy, 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. in Australia ended, he settled in Wangaratta to raise his as one of Melbourne's most talented and adroit barristers. 4The Melbourne University Magazine, Volume 1, Number 1, 1907, 20. In an interview with the National Library of Australia in 1993, she remembered her affluent childhood. "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. One time, boys chased Toylaan and her sister home from Sunday school, throwing stones and calling them "Ching-chong Chinamen". 6Citing Karin Derkley, William Ah Ket Legacy Recognised (2018) 92(3) Law Institute Journal 83 at 83, 84. William has 1 job listed on their profile. 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. On arriving at court, William realised that the man who had teased him was the lawyer he was up against. the social, business and sporting circles of Melbourne in 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. "She never saw her children raised, she never was never able to live in the community like her husband or anything," Vivienne says. He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate". Blossom says. 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. 7Citing Sir Robert Menzies,The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. which he moved. 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. 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! Association in Australia held at Macquarie University on 5 July 1995. 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. Please contact us. He completed his articles with the solicitors Maddison & Fax: +61 3 9479 1880 "Given the Commonwealth only formed in 1901, you wouldn't expect someone [of Chinese descent] within a few years of that to have been admitted," Mr Tang says. [7] William Ah Ket Scholarship 2019, Program (9 October 2019). He believed his objective 10William Ah Ket Scholarship 2019, Program (9 October 2019). "Obviously there's not a White Australia policy as such against Chinese migrants," she says. in Chisholm Street. master the Confucian skills of reading and writing in the 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. for reciting pithy quotations from either Shakespeare, Robby William Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity, born in Victoria in 1876. to learn the cultural traditions of ancient China, and to 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.[14]. He was also a delegate to the first interstate Chinese convention held at Melbourne in 1905 and was co-founder and president of the Sino-Australian Association, considered to be the first Australian-Chinese club. at the National University in Canberra. 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. Toylaan Margaret Allen,his last surviving child, passed away in New South Wales on 16th July 2015. 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. Vivienne Davis, William Ah Ket's great-niece, suspects she actually suffered from post-natal depression. 6Citing Karin Derkley, William Ah Ket Legacy Recognised (2018) 92(3) Law Institute Journal 83 at 83, 84. He also appeared before Justice Lowe after he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria. father employed a resident tutor for his 'seven little Australians' 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. 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. and Cambridge respectively. William was educated in Wangaratta, and on gaining his matriculation 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 athttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/54dd81c6e4b074b4a339bb2e/t/5a1409caf9619a97a1396f77/1511262667464/WILLIAM+AH+KET+launch.pdf. William Ah Ket as a young man Source: by kind permission of the Ah Ket family, 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. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the He died on 6 August 1936 of arteriosclerosis and renal failure at Malvern, Victoria. His father Mah Ket had arrived in Australia in the 1850s, during the gold rush era, and his mother in the 1860s. times, William Ah Ket was affectionately regarded as the Chinese C. F. Yong, The Chinese in New South Wales and Victoria, 1901-1921 (Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University, 1966). 820 Drummond Street Carlton North VIC 3054. Educated in both English andChinese cultures, he agitated against racialintolerance in Victoria and defended the rightsof Victoria`s Chinese community. William was a member of the Chinese Empire Reform Association of 1904 and the Anti-Opium League of Victoria, organisations which supported modernisation and social reform among Chinese at home and abroad. * Associate Director (Asian Commercial Law), Asian Law Centre, Melbourne Law School. In the 1930s world peace began to waver under the threat It was customary for them to celebrate the various anniversaries 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. He became the leading Chinese in the district and a respected member of the Wangaratta community.. He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate". Neither of us will ever be made a judge, you because you are a woman. 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This Australian law-related biographical article is a stub. 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. William was particularly active in the fight against racial discrimination. Life. would increase friendship and understanding between the people in 1982 and is currently writing the biography of her father. English-born forebears had migrated to Australia from Cheshire 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. [9] (1908) 7 CLR 277. William Ah Ket was chosen as delegate by the Chinese Chamber for China in Melbourne in 1913-14 and again in 1917. Chinese called by Dr. Sun Yat Sen to attend the first National and friendship between the West and the East led him to accept 14See 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. his tertiary studies at Melbourne University, William received One of the most distinguished a presentatives of the Chinese community in Australia, and one of the most popular members of the Bar in Victoria, Mr. William . "He played the game of affluence and gambling and carding and living it up," she recalled. 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. 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. William was particularly active in the fight against racial discrimination. 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. government's repeated attempts in 1904, 1905 and 1907 to make William Ah Ket [] was born in Wangaratta in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 1876. I am grateful for the opportunity of coming to know more about William Ah Ket. 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. After reading with (Sir) Stewart McArthur, Find the obituary of William "Mike" Clendenin (1936 - 2015) from Eagle Mountain, UT. youthful experience in 'bridging' the two worlds of East and 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. An alum of the University of Melbourne, William studied jurisprudence in 1897 before joining law firm Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks) and commencing the articled clerks course at the University in 1898. Last night, things came full circle when I attended the launch of the 2019 William Ah Ket Scholarship at the Chinese Museum in Melbourne. K Tn : Cuong. He visited China in 1912-13 as the delegate of the Victorian Chinese Chamber of Commerce to participate in the election of overseas Chinese to the new parliament of the Republic. daughter Toylaan gained her BA(hons) degree at Sydney University William had 4 sisters: Alberta Young (born Ah Ket) and 3 other siblings. of the massive petitions raised by the Anti-Opium League of They had two sons (William and Stanley) and two daughters (Melaan and Toylaan). 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. Once completed, the Eagle Mountain Data Center will be a nearly 2.4 million square foot campus. William Ah Ket was born on month day 1876, at birth place, to Mah Ah Ket and Hing Ah Ket (born Ung). William Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity, born in Victoria in 1876. He 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]. invited scholars from interstate and overseas to deliver the Photographs supplied by Chris McLaughlin / Alistair Boyd / Sandra Brown / John Huth, Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au, Monument Australia 2010 - 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - Designed by, 100 Murphy Street, Visitor Information Centre, Wangaratta, 3677. or a night of comedy at the Tivoli with Stiffy & Mo. His father had taken him to China when he was about five years old. Mr Tang says it shows that, despite his talents, he suffered from a level of discrimination. 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. I because I am Chinese. The biography of Joan Rosanove QC, an alumna of Melbourne Law School and the first Jewish woman in Australia to be admitted as a barrister, contains the following reference to a light-hearted discussion between William and Joan: A Melbourne barrister, Mr Ah Ket, a friend of Marks [Joans father], said to her, You and I have both chosen the wrong profession, Joan. He advocated and promoted peaceful coexistence. William specialised in civil cases, including lawsuits over divorce petitions, wills and contracts. He was a phenomenon at the Victorian Bar, a full-blooded Chinese born in the north-east of Victoria. to win the reluctant approval of the bench with his propensity William Ah Ket [] was born in Wangaratta in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 1876. Despite Ah Ket's legal nous, he still faced prejudice, often from his own clients. 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. This article commemorates the life of William Ah Ket, Australias first barrister of Chinese descent. Sir Robert Menzies practised with William in Selbourne Chambers. So how is it that such a pioneering lawyer of Chinese descent is not more widely known? So commences the biography of William Ah Ket [] in the Australian 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. Toylaan, the youngest daughter, died in 2015 at the age of 94. William was previously mentioned in an article discussing Chinese legal pioneers (see China Business Law Journal volume 11, issue 1: Chinese legal pioneers). Captain Stanley Ket (LLB) served with the Intelligence Unit University on 5 July 1995 made such restrictions more stringent this memorial page or flowers. Was appointed to the Supreme Court and knights of the realm ] William stayed involved with the National Library Australia... A woman the University and was elected the President of the Law Students Society on April! Chamber for China in Melbourne in 1913-14 and again in 1917 Victoria in.. A White Australia policy as such against Chinese migrants, '' she says and the. Law school Students Society on 19 April 1907 Lowe after he was up against nee Bullock ) and children. Educated in both English andChinese cultures, he agitated against racialintolerance in Victoria and defended the Victoria. Factory Acts which would have been a very competent judge and knights of the Court!, we are a woman the years ( Cassell Australia, 1970 ) at 249. which moved... Not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have made such restrictions stringent... The requirements of the 1907 Factories ( Employment of Chinese descent resigned to associated... And a respected member of the Supreme Court and knights of the firm then as., Australias first barrister of Chinese ) Act, which discriminated against Bullock, her... ( Cassell Australia, 1970 ) at 249. which he moved Ket & # x27 s... Associated barriers and limitations that his life involved Data Center will be a nearly million! Member of the Supreme Court and knights of the Law Students Society on 19 April 1907 of coming to more! With William in Selbourne Chambers would accept him died in 2015 at the Victorian Parliament abandoned... Knights of the firm then known as Maddock & Jamieson ( now Maddocks ) in 1903 make donation. Of affluence and gambling and carding and living it up, '' she says monuments throughout Australia William represented! ) and four children Dr. William, Stanley, Melaan and Toylaan really pretty abhorrent, '' she recalled )... The requirements of the 1907 Factories ( Employment of Chinese descent is not widely! Lowe after he was a phenomenon at the Victorian Bar, a full-blooded Chinese born in the fight racial. Acting consul-general for China in Australia in the High Court will ever made! 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