The first mention of a Chinese at Mittagong was in the Scrutineer of December 14, 1876, being a notice placed by Ah Lee who had a cabbage garden at Nattai (now Welby). His name appeared again in 1877 when a boy was charged with stealing melons from him. Nothing else about him or his garden is found, but around 1890 another Chinese, Tommy Hop Lee, is recorded as owning a market garden at Nattai, perhaps acquired from Ah Lee. 

Stories of Hop Lee’s garden were recorded by former Nattai Shire Clerk, Claude Lee, who was not Chinese, despite his surname. In written Chinese the surname is put first; thus for Ah and Hop, Lee is their first name.

Hop Lee’s garden was adjacent to a creek on which he built a dam on higher ground across the road (now Old Hume Highway) from his property. Claude noted that Hop used lengths of tree bark tied to posts as pipes for water to flow by gravity from the dam and prevailed on school children to help him by holding the lengths of bark while he tied them to the posts under the wooden road bridge. Apparently Hop’s thanks varied from a small reward or some vegetables for their parents along with threats of mortal injury if they stole his vegetables.

Hop’s garden became very productive and around 1910 he sold the land to local man Frank Solah who continued with the garden for several decades. It was near where today Mittagong Marketplace and Hub are located.

Another Chinese man, Jimmy Ah Moy, established a market garden in the 1880s at Mittagong and owned a separate house on the Main South Road. A Sydney tea merchant, he rented the house for 40 pounds a year to his brother Tommy who, along with other Chinese, worked the vegetable gardens. 

In July 1888, the Bowral Free Press reported that, after complaints from residents, Jimmy Ah Moy, Sam Sing and Ah Fat were charged at Mittagong Police Court with working on a Sunday. In court Jimmy said they were ‘obliged to do it’. His excuse was that a horse he had bought laid down in the stable and he had to get him up to put in a floor, so the horse would not hurt itself when it again assumed the horizontal on the Sabbath. The fines of 5 shillings each and costs were paid.

While there may have been other Chinese with similar names, it could have been this same group who, 18 months previously, were mentioned in the Sydney Morning Herald: “Ty Song, Ah Fat and Ah Moy were charged at the Water Police Court with having engaged in the unlawful game of fan-tan. Ty Song and Ah Fat were charged with having acted as bankers, and Ah Moy with being a manager of the place.” Described as notorious gamblers, they were found guilty and fined.

Relocating to Mittagong was perhaps a tactical move. The group made the news again on June 10, 1898 when, at dawn, the house with Tommy Ah Moy and five other men sleeping inside caught fire. All managed to escape except Jimmy Ah Moy’s 21-year old cousin, Ah Kin, who had only just arrived from China. 

The Robertson Advocate of June 14, 1898 provided an account: “Chinaman Literally Roasted. There were six Chinamen sleeping in the dwelling at their gardens situated near the site of the old iron mines. The place is a good deal isolated. The walls of the building were galvanised iron.” 

“How the fire originated seems to be a mystery. Five got clear without injury, but the sixth, Ah Kin, became partly over-powered by the flames and smoke and was unable to find the door and some of the red hot sheets of iron fell in on top of him. Eventually his countrymen succeeded in extricating him and anointed him liberally with mashed pumpkin. Later he was placed in a cart and hurried off to Bowral Hospital where he died the following morning.”

Further details were provided in the Town and Country Journal (Sydney): “the whole of the occupants' clothing was destroyed, together with 50 pounds worth of tea and 25 pounds in cash. Word was brought to the police by a distracted Chinaman in an almost nude condition. The house was insured for 200 pounds.” 

The subsequent inquest generated much interest.