By 1900 at least 10 Chinese were living in Bowral. One was Coon Sing who, as noted previously, had a thriving market garden and sold fresh produce daily from his cart.
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Stories from newspapers about the district’s early Chinese residents continue here.
The Bowral Free Press reported on 23 March, 1901 that “the ringing of the fire-bell last evening caused considerable alarm. The bright reflection in the sky was sufficient indication as to the whereabouts of the flames”.
“The fire brigade (under Captain Moses Jones) were soon hastening towards the scene, and in very little time had streams of water playing on the burning hut (some distance east of the hospital) occupied until six months ago by Hap Sing, who had left about that time for the Flowery Land. The whole structure was almost completely demolished before the fire extinguishers arrived. Nobody was burnt in the fire and tramps are blamed for the outbreak.”
Sydney’s Evening News reported in September 1901 that “Considerable amusement was caused at the Bowral Police Court. A Chinese named Charlie Coon Sung was charged with stealing a purse, gold ring and a pound note, from a fellow-countryman. When a constable appeared at the market gardens, the accused was very positive in asserting, 'Me no steal 'um: me no thief.' He was very obliging and without any hesitancy threw open his box, distributing its contents on the ground. He then divested himself of boots and socks.”
“The constable soon discovered a pocket inside the accused's shirt, which contained the missing articles. Accused asked to be dealt with summarily on account of his youth and poverty. He was 28 years of age. He was fined two pounds, or a month. The fine was paid by a couple of fellow-countrymen, the prosecutor standing half.”
Along with many local people, the Chinese cherished Berrima District Hospital, which had opened at Bowral in 1888, and supported it with gifts. A list of donors thanked in the Southern Mail in January 1916 included Mr Dobson, cordials; Mr Holmes, bag of flour; Miss Beer, fruit; and Coon Sing, pair of ducks.
On 13 December 1918 the Mail reported another Chinese market garden fire: “The huts and stables at the Chinamen’s gardens at Bowral were completely wiped out by fire at an early hour on Wednesday evening. The Chinamen were working in the gardens at the time and the fire had a good hold before being noticed.”
While no fatality resulted from that incident, a mysterious death occurred in 1925. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 27 June that “a Chinese named Charlie Ah Woon, aged 41, who for about five years had been employed as gardener at Craigieburn, suddenly and mysteriously disappeared on 1 June, and all efforts to trace his whereabouts failed. Yesterday afternoon his body, with the throat cut, was found in a dam on Hopewood Estate, an adjoining property.”
Asking “Was it suicide?” the Southern Mail provided inquest details on 30 June. Dr Watson deposed that he had inspected the body; death had been caused by drowning and he thought the wounds were self-inflicted. The body was fully dressed with money in the pockets. Charlie Coon Sing, the deceased’s uncle, said his nephew was 41 years of age and married with two children in China. He had recently been depressed, owing to his son in China having mortgaged his property. The Coroner returned a verdict of death by drowning, but how or by what means the evidence did not enable him to say.
Ah Woon was buried at Bowral General Cemetery. Other Chinese persons buried there include Sin Long, who died in 1936, and C S Choon who was buried in the Anglican section.
The previously mentioned Coon Sing died in April 1936. His obituary in the Southern Mail stated: “A familiar figure to two generations of Bowrallians, Coon Sing, the Chinese vegetable grower, returned to his ancestors at Berrima District Hospital on Thursday. He was a man of unbounded sympathy and his generous acts to those in distress would fill a volume. It is said he was over 80 years old, but though physical infirmities beset him in later years, he maintained his kindly interest in passing events almost to the end.”
This tribute concluded that “many men of greater eminence would be missed less than this kindly old Chinaman.”
- Berrima District Historical & Family History Society – compiled by PD Morton. Part 3 of a 6-part series. To be continued