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Post by nzbc on Nov 5, 2022 16:56:50 GMT 12
PAUL WAH OBITUARY
WAH, Paul:
On 24th October 2022, peacefully at home with his family, aged 90 years. Beloved husband of Shirley for 64 years. Brother of Esther Fung, Margaret Yung and the late Graham. Dad of Michael, Jeremy and Sarah. Father-in-law of Edwina and Linda. Yer Yer of Max, Amelia, Toby, Penina, Michael-Rita, Ashley and Genevieve. Goong of Lucy and Harry. Tai Yer of Lucius, Kahlo, Michael, Brooke and Noah. Much loved and treasured by us all. Special thanks to Te Omanga Hospice for their wonderful care of Paul. In lieu of flowers, donations to Te Omanga Hospice would be greatly appreciated and may be made online or left at the church. A celebration of Paul's life will be held at St James Anglican Church, 71 Woburn Road, Lower Hutt, on Thursday 3rd November at 11.30am, followed by private cremation. Please contact Gee & Hickton for the livestream link.
Published by Dominion Post from Oct. 26 to Oct. 29, 2022.
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Post by nzbc on Nov 5, 2022 16:59:59 GMT 12
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qwNluv44WU 3 views Nov 5, 2022 Wooden Man, Stone Heart is a confronting book that deals with racism in New Zealand. Its author, Paul Wah, was one of the first Chinese principals in New Zealand. Paul Wah: educationalist; b March 9, 1932; d October 24, 2022. The title of Paul Wah’s book, Wooden Man, Stone Heart, celebrates him as a man of strong determination and willpower, who could not be tempted. As a fourth-generation Chinese New Zealander, Wah battled racism and intolerance as he sought to create an identity for himself. Wah, who died earlier this month aged 90, is remembered as one of the first Chinese secondary school principals and as a “good Kiwi bloke” who saved Taitā College. He also had the claim to fame of being arrested in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square shortly after the infamous massacre in 1989, when he was teaching at the Shanghai International Studies University. * Unions decline Fu Wah migrant tradie application, citing exploitation * Beer and rugby helped Young deal with racism in 1960s New Zealand * Acting and gang prevention on CV of new Taita College, Lower Hutt, principal Karen Morgan * Obituary: Neurologist David Fung fought to address past wrongs In his early life Wah, who was born in Feilding, suffered racism and schoolyard bullying. It left him determined to succeed and with a resilience that helped with the frustration of being overlooked for jobs because he was deemed to be Chinese. In fact, he was a fourth-generation Kiwi, his great-grandfather Ng Leung Goo having arrived here in 1864, after paying the £100 poll tax aimed at keeping Chinese out of Aotearoa. Wah’s parents, Leslie and Dolly, had a fruit shop in Feilding but, from an early age, he showed a determination to break away and succeed in European society. supplied/Stuff Shirley and Paul Wah at their engagement party in 1958. Speaking only Cantonese when he went to school in Palmerston North, he quickly picked up English and played rugby to gain acceptance. It was a successful tactic and gave him the confidence to stand up to the schoolyard bullies. ”The game of rugby, with its egalitarianism, camaraderie, freedom and opportunity for emotional release became one of the formative influences of my young life, making it impossible to retreat behind the bamboo curtain of the Chinese community,” he wrote in his memoir. In 1951, he left school for a job with the Soil Bureau in Wellington. Raised to respect the Confucian tradition of respecting your family, he endured the opposition of his father, who wanted him to stay in the family business. In Wooden Man, Stone Heart, Wah wrote of his determination to establish himself in European society. ”Although there would be discrimination to overcome, I resolved to develop a thick skin and avoid a restricted life in the cradle of the Chinese community.” In Wellington, he had a number of jobs, including working on the wharves and as a freezing worker, before heading to Australia. When he went to get a visa, he was initially rejected after being reminded of Australia’s whites-only immigration policy. On returning to New Zealand, he decided he needed to find a profession and, in 1956, he enrolled at teachers’ college. Supplied Shirley, holding Sarah, Jeremy (back) and Michael with Paul Wah in 1969. Six years later he joined the staff at Taitā College, where he held a range of jobs before becoming principal. Dismayed at how badly the school was run, he wanted to bring about change but had to overcome prejudice from the white, mostly older, men who ran the school and who dominated the Ministry of Education. It was not easy for a Chinese teacher and, despite his popularity and doing a good job as deputy principal, he was initially overlooked when the top job became available. Wah believed that was because he was Chinese, and he wrote bitterly about some of the principals he worked under, whom he felt to be incompetent. Race relations were improving in the 1970s and he felt ready for the job. “Europeans allowed Chinese to wash their shirts, sell them vegetables, cut out their diseased appendixes, teach their children chemistry and prop up their incompetent principals, but appointment to an influential position and principal of a city secondary school was another matter.” Not put off, he kept applying and, in 1977, he got the job he so badly wanted. He found himself facing a significant problem. The suburbs surrounding Taitā were changing, with a growing Māori population, resulting in “white flight” to Hutt Valley High School. His tenure was judged as a great success. He rebuilt the roll and significantly raised educational standar
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Post by nzbc on Nov 5, 2022 17:01:01 GMT 12
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Post by nzbc on Dec 2, 2022 21:51:11 GMT 12
Ivan Paul Wah (Paul) 吳偉超 田心村 Tien-sum village
9 March 1932—24 October 2022
My parents although born in NZ, lived for a period in China returning to NZ in 1930 to run a
fruit-shop with my grandparents in the Manawatu town of Feilding. Times were hard during
the depression years - our tightly knit family lived a frugal life in the back of a shop -
maintaining our Chinese language and culture at home, while adapting to European ways at
school.
At age 9 our family moved to the small country town of Waverley, (population 800) to run a fruit-shop and mixed busi-
ness. With few local customers our shop opened for long hours to catch passing motorists. We earned only a modest
-living, but by hard work and my mother’s goodness we won over the town’s people.
In Waverley, I made friends from all races and backgrounds by playing sports for school teams, joining the Boy
Scouts and local club-teams I gradually blended into the European way of life.
The race hostility I occasionally encountered made me more determined to develop the courage, resilience and self-
belief that stood me in good stead in later life.
Education played an important part in my life. Since Waverley District High School did not have a 6th form, I spent my
two final school years boarding at Wellington College among the sons of Wellington’s rich, clever and privileged fami-
lies. The intense competition in the classroom and sports field delivered me many hard knocks and disappointments
but convinced me I was not inferior to my classmates despite their advantages from birth.
I left school with very few prospects, working briefly as a Technical Trainee for the Dept. of Scientific & Industrial Re-
search and later as a freezing worker and a wharf labourer where I learnt to hold my own in a harsh world. I enrolled
at Victoria University where my part-time study degrees led me into a fulfilling teaching career. I began Teaching at a
primary school, Fraser Crescent in Upper Hutt and briefly at Oxford Crescent nearby, followed by Taita Intermediate-
later moving to a secondary school, where I eventually taught senior Mathematics and Chemistry. The pinnacle of
my teaching career being my eight successful years as Principal of Taita College.
I loved sports. I have boxed, played club rugby, cricket and golf, skied and tramped the National Parks with friends
and family. For hobbies I loved the powerful motorcycles which I rode in company with my sons Michael and Jeremy,
and debated with the Wellington 22 Club, participating successfully in the Wellington Speaking Union Parliamentary
Shield competition. My proudest moments came in 1973 when I won the prestigious Kitts trophy for impromptu
speaking and Sir Don McKinnon awarded me the Canterbury Cup at the National Impromptu Speaking Champion-
ships in Auckland, where I beat New Zealand’s best public speakers.
After retiring, I published my memoir “Wooden Man Stone Heart” and a historical novel, “A Thin Slice of Heaven.”
These two books describe our family’s journey since migration and are my contribution to posterity.
I am especially grateful to the women in my life- a wonderful grandmother and mother, loved and guided me through
my formative years and instilled into me the best aspects of their Confucian culture- that is love of family, work ethic
and respect for elders. My wife Shirley has been a loving, loyal and selfless partner over more than sixty four years –
together we have raised three wonderful children, travelled the world, established a successful coffee-lounge busi-
ness in Naenae and shared a lifetime of exciting experiences.
My most life-changing experience came in 1988 when I was invited to teach English at Shanghai International Stud-
ies University. For a year Shirley and I immersed ourselves in a Chinese life-style, albeit within a harsh Communist
system. Being in China gave us an opportunity to reconnect with our Chinese roots, recover my first language of
Cantonese, learn the national Mandarin dialect and also visit our family villages of Tian Sum and Nam Cun near
Guangzhou.
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Post by nzbc on Dec 2, 2022 21:51:43 GMT 12
Unfortunately, I contracted the debilitating disease ME in China which cut short my working life and has affected me
badly ever since.
My greatest achievement with Shirley has been the raising of our 3 children, Michael, Jeremy and Sarah, to be inde-
pendent, happy and successful people with good ethical values that are reflected in their own children. They have
been the pride and joy of my life.
Despite the changes, conflict and injustice, the world I leave is a beautiful place, inhabited mostly by people who are
kind and generous. I hope in my time I have been able to make a small contribution to my fellow citizens. To all my
family, friends and relatives I say goodbye, good luck and may your continuing journey be as fruitful as mine has
been.
Paul’s funeral was held on the 3 November 2022 at the St. James’ Anglican Church in Lower Hutt and was attended
by many colleagues, friends and relatives..
He is survived by his wife Shirley, his three children Michael, Jeremy and Sarah and their respective families.
This obituary was adapted from the eulogy written by Paul himself before his death and read out at the funeral by the
conducting minister.
Paul Wah
Tung Jung Assoc newsletter December 2022
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Post by Kathy Xu on Jan 28, 2024 20:42:09 GMT 12
Dear Shirley, I only hear of Paul's passing now when I was going to send you an email. My heart goes to you at this moment.
Love,
Kathy
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