Fruitshop - recalled

[NZBC]

I know Carterton had Chinese were in business here also Greytown, if anyone knows SH2 towards Greytown from Carterton they will see remains of an old house in the middle of a paddock, that was a Chinese family home, he grew his own food and emptied the potty every day over the paddock! manure!!!! I will pass this on to folk thanks.. think the shop in Carterton was called UNEIDA by the Wong family.. so there is some history already! it was before my settling in Carterton area!

can remember a couple in Dunedin, one was on Kaikorai Valley Road near the petrol station and another was in South Dunedin.

caversham.otago.ac.nz/resource/oral/Caversham_NUDIST/
Chinese.txt

In Masterton the On Hings owned the fruiterer for many years. They were a very respected family. Their daughter Ivy was the first Chinese person to become an air hostess with NAC. I remember a photo and write up in the Wairarapa Times Age about her, probably during the early 1960s.

There were two in Waterloo, Lower Hutt in the 1970's. One was the Yee family and I think the other was owned by the Changs.

I remember Wing On's in George St, two in Rattray st, Lots in South Dn and down NEV

Hi,I remember the chinese fruit shop on the caversham main rd around the corner from david st my grandparents lived in david st and we used to stay for hols and visit heaps.I remember the chinese fish &chip shop on main shopping area,for a shilling you got three pieces of fish &scoop of chips,this is late fifties &sixties. Also my other grandfather worked for Mr.William Low i think.Maureen. Dunedins first Chinese dentist,his mother was Matilda Lo Keong

And not to forget about all the market garden owned by Chinese in Outram and other areas. We where told as children 'never put money in your mouth. It might have been in a Chinese's man's pocket". I remembering asking so why is that different from any one else's? To be told "they are market gardener's so their pockets might have mud in them.
There was at least 3 even in the late 1970's in Rattray St. And the Wing On's in George st was there thin 1970's/80's as well. There use to be about one on every corner , like the dairy's and fish & chip shops again owned by Chinese. Dunedin owes so much of it's history to them. Once they came of the gold fields as gold stopped being found in large amounts.
And the Sey Hoys (sp) well they had all sorts of business and kept many Dunedin people in employment for many, many years. Watched and read about what some Chinese did to their own people years ago. Taking money weekly by way of a funeral type fund and the people when they died where to be returned to China for burial. But never got there

[NZBC]

B. K. Young's fruiterer's and greengrocer's shop was at the Harp of Erin shopping centre, [Auckland] in the block between Woodbine Avenue and Wairakei St., through the 1950s and '60

ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerSe
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ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerSe
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Joe Kwong Lee & Co Palmerston North

digitallibrary.palmerstonnorth.com/awweb/main.jsp?fla
g=browse&smd=2&awdid=472

In the early 60's when I moved to the Hutt Valley for work, I recall that most of the main street of Petone was owned by ethnic Chinese. Mainly absentee owners who rented out the business premises. There were several Chinese fruit shops in the main street and several little premises selling Chinese products, Kungs furniture shop etc. The late George Gee, DSO who became Mayor of the Borough was a well respected man in the community and ran the biggest of the Jackson Street fruit shops which passed onto his son Brian. I have seen several books portraying old Petone with many photo's of the main street shops. If you could locate one of these I am sure you would find something of use. I cannot recall any titles though, sorry. During this same period the Joe family ran fruit shops in several of the Hutt Valley suburbs, Naenae & Taita come to memory.

Changs in Motueka

Sue Bun [Bun Sue?] in Palmerston North - Roslyn area. They had their own glass houses and several acres of fields out the back of the shop.They only bought in fruit - all the rest of the vegetables were grown by them.

[NZBC]

My daughter worked part time for the Shum family who still own the Caversham 4Square and the old fruit shop that was in the next block.

My son worked part time for the Wongs down on Hillside rd while at school before they closed the shop. I will check the local books for the Carterton one... Gareth at Masterton Archives should have some photographs?
Re Greytown Cemetery never did find out who the Chinese Headstones belonged to some years back... all written in Chinese..

A friend said up in Essex St. Carpark.. on Sunday mornings a Chinese family come over from Kapiti to sell greengrocery.. never been in Masterton at the right time!

[NZBC]

what about CHANGS in Newtown. Wellington, remember that place when I lived in Brooklyn, probably still in business! (my memorys from 1970 plus)

I remember the Kohings in Lyall Bay, and the Hong's in Newtown - went to school with members of both families

Wongs- Masterton
Jocelyn was a friend at Otago University and Warren lectured me in maths. He may have photos.

Wai Sing, Mailer street mornington dunedin. Now a fish and chip shop. Arthur and Nancy Wong owned it.

[NZBC]

Ng's fruit and vegetable shop was in Burnett Street, Ashburton:
www.ashburtononline.co.nz/site/local-news/local-news/
chinese-families-gift-land-for-all.html

They had a market garden in Allens Rd., where they all lived in basically huts, and a large market garden at the top end of racecourse Rd. At that time they used to sell vegetables from a truck which came around about weekly if I remember. At that time(about late 1940s) there were about 4 chi;lden going to the Allenton school( I sat at the same desk as Mary Shong in Standard 1). About that time, there suddenly arrived about 10 or 12 kids from China ranging in age from 5 to maybe 14. None of them could speak any English and they were taught the language by our headmaster, Mr Alan Bain.At that time they built some new houses and opened the shop in Burnett St. Most of these kids became successful business owners and professionals and I have good memories of them as nice friendly people.

[NZBC]

Fruit shop turn over 1924

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18795, 23 August 1924, Page 13

Attachments:

[NZBC]

Business for sale 1924

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18795, 23 August 1924, Page 13

Attachments:

[NZBC]

I remember the Kohings in Lyall Bay, and the Hong's in Newtown
Wongs- Masterton Jocelyn was a friend at Otago University and Warren lectured me in maths.
Wai Sing, Mailer street mornington dunedin. Now a fish and chip shop. Arthur and Nancy Wong owned it.

[NZBC]

Ng's fruit and vegetable shop was in Burnett Street, Ashburton: Chinese families gift land for all PDF Print E-mail
7 March, 2013 - By John Keast - Yep Ng was back home, across land that grew food for Ashburton, and a smile filled his face.
He and his family came with a gift - a gift of the use of land - for Ashburton.
They walked past the time-worn buildings with buckled facades: sleeping quarters, work sheds, a shop.
This, 50 years ago, was a market garden and thriving Chinese community.
Soon, it will be preserved. Ashburton District Council has welcomed an offer to take over the control and management of 2.3ha of land in Allens Road, and historical buildings associated with the Chinese community in Ashburton.
The council has entered into an agreement in which it will treat the land as a public recreation reserve. The many land titles, however, will remain with the families.
Council property manager John Rooney said the council was grateful to Mr Ng, who ran a vegetable business in Ashburton for many years, who helped track down all the descendants and owners.
The council, now, will work towards creating a community memorial to recognise the work of Chinese settlers in Mid Canterbury, and their contribution to the district.
``We recognise the historic value of these buildings and structures, and will be restoring and protecting them while the remainder of the land will be developed for recreation.
``We are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Yep as it gives us a chance to re-create with authenticity the living conditions that were experienced by the early occupants of the land,'' Mr Rooney said.
Restoration would be ongoing, and the council would welcome the support of agencies and service clubs to preserve the heritage. The project would not involve ratepayer money.
It would be developed so people could see how Chinese migrants in Ashburton lived and worked.
Mr Ng said at its peak, in the late 1940s and mid 1950s, there were about 12 houses in the settlement and, with children, as many as 80 people in the community.
Most came from southern China and worked in market gardening.
One family had a laundry and another a fruit shop.
Mr Ng said he was very pleased to hand the land over to council control for the people of Ashburton, and with no pull on ratepayer funds.
There are still houses and buildings on the land. Some were sleeping quarters; some packing areas, and the old King Bros shop.
Mayor Angus McKay said the land was a generous offer to the people of Ashburton.
One of the first priorities will be restoring a Chinese oven. It is cylindrical, lined with firebricks and has a gantry on which food was lowered by pulley for cooking.
Carolyn King said on Sundays the men all cooked, with families coming from across Canterbury for generous lunches. The settlement began around the 1920s and had its heyday from 1949 to 1955, after which families began to disperse.




www.ashburtononline.co.nz/site/local-news/local-news/chinese-families-gift-land-for-all.html

[NZBC]

They had a market garden in Allens Rd., where they all lived in basically huts, and a large market garden at the top end of racecourse Rd. At that time they used to sell vegetables from a truck which came around about weekly if I remember. At that time(about late 1940s) there were about 4 chi;lden going to the Allenton school( I sat at the same desk as Mary Shong in Standard 1). About that time, there suddenly arrived about 10 or 12 kids from China ranging in age from 5 to maybe 14. None of them could speak any English and they were taught the language by our headmaster, Mr Alan Bain.At that time they built some new houses and opened the shop in Burnett St. Most of these kids became successful business owners and professionals and I have good memories of them as nice friendly people.

One of the family, Mr Norman Ng, also started a large poultry farm there.

[NZBC]

There was one on next to the the dairy on Wainui Road and Whiles-line Woburn. It was there in the early 1960's when we arrived in Godley Street. It was possibly there for many years the son also went on and opened up a fruit and veg shop at the community shops at Maungaraki. Cant place the name at the moment possibly - Ngan? a daughter Jane.

There was Wongs shop in High Street Dannevirke. 1950's 1960's. I went to High School with their daughter Mary. A fire in town later destroyed the block of shops it was in. Only just saw this thread again. The Dannevirke Evening News was the paper at the time so maybe Dvke Library.They have a lot of papers on fiche there. There were about four or five shops about the middle of High Street that were affected. I cant recall whether Wongs re-opened when the shops were rebuilt. The site is approximately where Shires Fruit and Veg is now. There was also a Chinese Laundry which was Yees which was a couple of blocks away from the fruit shop.The fire was early to mid 1960's


When I was a kid growing up in Whakatane there used to be a Chinaman come around the streets selling fruit and vegetables from his horse and cart over 60 years ago. We used to call him Willie Washing but I believe his real surname was Wa Shing or similar. Joes family fruiterers were also on the Strand in Whakatane next to the old Bus/Service Car stop. The Joe family lived in Haig St. Whakatane. Family names I can remember are Ken, Gordon.

Northland Road, Wellington in early 1950s to about 1963 (when I left Wellington) there was a row of shops. From the tunnel end there was Benfield's grocery (it became an early self service shop), Bannan's butchery, a pharmacy, the Chinese fruit and vegetable shop, and the Post Office. Two Chinese men ran the greengrocer's, Their names I don't know, one spoke quite good English, the other (larger and older) very little. The shops there now are all takeaways!


Re your search for early Chinese immigrants, while researching some of my families arrival on the Shalimar in 1862 I came across an interesting story about Ah Foo a Cantonese who paid his way onto the boat at Melbourne and wound up working at 'Misha's Vinyard' in Central Otago. Two articles about him appear on the vineyards website or they can be located by googling 'The story of Ah Foo'. Several early photo's of his family attached also. Thought it may interest you.


The Joe Brothers in Stratford and New Plymouth 1950s-60s (web search says that it later became 'Eva Foods').

Charlie Lum Kee, in Broadway Marton. He was in Marton in the early 1900's. The family had a shop in town until the 1980's. A great town identity who everyone called Aunty Mary, used to run it. They had a big family, but unsure if any are still around Marton

Albert Chang fruiterer in Motueka. Son Alan, would be approximately 72 years now. May have been a teacher in Taupo. Daughter Esme plus another sibling. The Changs had a fruit shop at Tahunanui, Nelson in the early fifties.


Mr & Mrs Hoey had the fruit shop in Featherston in the 1950's and probably into the 1960's

Harry and Jimmy Low from Taumaranui - Jimmy was also NZ table tennis champion at one time-I used to watch Harry and Jimmy play when i went to stay with them-Harry maried my mothers sister. They went on to sell them and buy into the Motel chain and had the Christchurch, Rotorua and Auckland Travel lodge Motels. After they sold these they set Harrys sons up in chicken farms-one sells pultry and the other exports the large eggs. They came out to New Zealand around 1940 with nothing and ended up multi millionaires. Harry died about 10 years ago and Jimmy lives on.

[NZBC]

Joe Bros Stratford - Sorry I don't have anything to add except that they arrived from China in about 1947-48. One of the brothers had three children, Veta, Robert and Michelle. Veta married a fellow university graduate, Liang Hoe.

[david favel]

does anyone have photos of the Chinese settlement in Ashburton during its heyday?

[NZBC]

Nov 27, 2015 21:12:55 GMT 12 david favel said:

does anyone have photos of the Chinese settlement in Ashburton during its heyday?

Try contacting Carolyn King, author of Por Por's cookbook.