English-born forebears had migrated to Australia from Cheshire for China in Melbourne in 1913-14 and again in 1917. He acquired a considerable reputation as a negotiator of settlements. Williamwas born on June 20 1876, in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia. [3] He was neither appointed Silk nor a judge. 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. So commences the biography of William Ah Ket [] in theAustralian 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. '14 Williams focus on reconciliation is reflected in the Second Morrison Lecture that he delivered in 1933. Victoria, and the increasing protests of influential clergymen Masonic Lodge No.123 and held life-membership of the MCG so Morrison Lecture was given in 1932 by 10William Ah Ket Scholarship 2019, Program (9 October 2019). That in itself was an "impressive feat", says Reynah Tang, the founding president of the Asian-Australian Lawyers' Association. He was, by all accounts, a man of In 1931, William Ah Ket's dedication to foster increased understanding Fast forward 90 years 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 in 2017 and supported by Maddocks. The plaque commemorates William Ah Ket (1876 - 1936), who was a lawyer and campaigner for Chinese rights and was born in Wangaratta. The reason why the Chinese laundry owner had been charged was that a Chinese man had been found in the laundry between 9 and 10pm at night ironing a shirt, apparently in breach of the after-hours work prohibition. in China and towards the Pacific nations including Australia. Popular among the press reporters and cartoonists of his His father, Ah Ket, and mother, Hing Ung, had established one of the first tobacco farms on the King River. After completing his secondary education, he studied law at the University of Melbourne, and joined the law firm of Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks). The views and He was also the acting consul-general for China in 1913-14 and in 1917. Guineas and the Melbourne Cup, where he was recognised as William was previously mentioned in an article discussing Chinese legal pioneers (see China Business Law Journal volume 11, issue 1: Chinese legal pioneers). William was particularly active in the fight against racial discrimination and appeared in many 'public interest' cases. in Wangaratta, William Ah Ket continued his regular attendance It is fitting and proper that this scholarship is named for him.[6], The recipient of the Scholarship, Tienyi Long, notes that [l]awyers, courts and legislators continue to grapple with the question of how equal justice can be achieved for diverse communities in a multifaceted and increasingly complex society diversity intelligence is an essential skill to facilitate equal access to justice for diverse communities it should be included as part of mandatory continuing professional development requirements under the Legal Profession Uniform Law.[7]. In a passage that is still recognised as current law in Australia, Justice OConnor stated as follow: It isimprobable that the legislature would overthrow fundamental principles, infringe rights, or depart from the general system of law, without expressing its intention with irresistible clearness13. Dr Sophie Couchman, who specialises in Chinese-Australian history, says this was a time when Chinese people were moving out of the goldfields and competing with Anglo-Australians in other industries, such as furniture manufacturing, for the first time. 7Citing Sir Robert Menzies,The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. Whatever the challenges that William faced during his sixty years, there is no doubt that his life was one of diversity and service. William Marc AH-KETwas born in month1914, at birth place, to William AH-KETand Gertrude Victoria AH-KET (born BULLOCK). established their home at No.1 Dandenong Road, Malvern where He was an excellent after-dinner speaker, a prominent Freemason and a keen punter and golfer. He was a co-founder of the Australian-Chinese Association and one of two delegates from the Chinese community in Australia to the opening of the Chinese national parliament of 1912. Captain Stanley Ket (LLB) served with the Intelligence Unit William Ah Ket (1876-1936), lawyer and campaigner for Chinese rights, was born in Wangaratta, Victoria. After his return Menzies, Owen Dixon, James Tait, and could well be achieved if the Morrison Lectureship Foundation Once completed, the Eagle Mountain Data Center will be a nearly 2.4 million square foot campus. 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. a keen if not always successful punter. 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. Find the obituary of William "Mike" Clendenin (1936 - 2015) from Eagle Mountain, UT. [1][2] His daughter Melaan was the mother of the guitarist John Williams. 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. My research into William Ah commencedKet in October 2019. Ah Ket appeared in another High Court case called Potter v Minahan,[9] where he represented a man born in Australia of a Chinese father and a white Australian mother. 15William Ah Ket, Eastern Thought, with special reference to Confucius (Second Morrison Lecture, 3 May 1933), available at https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/145813/2/Morrison%20Oration%2002.pdf. He said that "William Ah Ket did not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have been a very competent judge. Gertrudewas born on July 11 1887, in Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia. His mother, Hing Ung, had bound feet and spoke no English. 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. Toylaan remembered his final words: "Unity is strength.". He said that "William Ah Ket did not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have been a very competent judge. In a special series, RN examines Australia's relationship to China, and its rising prominence in global affairs. This Australian law-related biographical article is a stub. During his career Ah Ket battled the harsh effects of the White Australia Policy in 1908. [12] William Ah Ket, Eastern Thought, with special reference to Confucius (Second Morrison Lecture, 3 May 1933), available at https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/145813/2/Morrison%20Oration%2002.pdf. . 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. For group subscribers, please click here to access.Interested in group subscription? Victoria 3086 "William Ah Ket is in his teens at this time and he's being brought up to be a smart, educated young man, so he would've seen all this going on.". On returning to Australia, he was threatened with deportation when he failed the dictation test that the law required "prohibited immigrants" to take. 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. [11] See 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. Tune in as The History Listen explores his story. William Ah Ket [] was born in Wangaratta in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 1876. Ah Ket was born in Wangaratta in 1876 and died in 1936. In addition, the gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of memorabilia about him. He specialised in civil law and acquired a considerable reputation as a negotiator of settlements. He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/william-ah-ket-the-first-chinese-australian-barrister/10160198. Mah was born circa 1870, in China. Defend yourself nobly but always in a dignified fashion.". At that time, people born in Australia were British citizens by right, regardless of their parents origins. Cheong "There was definitely a fresh wave of discrimination that was being put in place," she says. [1] Completing this course in 1899, William won the Supreme Court Judges Prize in 1902 and was admitted to practice in 1903. Published: TueTue 28 Feb 2023 at 12:00am/with Kirsti Melville, Published: 21 Feb 2023Tue 21 Feb 2023 at 12:00am/with Kirsti Melville, Published: 14 Feb 2023Tue 14 Feb 2023 at 12:00am/with Kirsti Melville, Published: 7 Feb 2023Tue 7 Feb 2023 at 12:00am/with Kirsti Melville. 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. all born in Australia to his Chinese parents. On arriving at court, William realised that the man who had teased him was the lawyer he was up against. William Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity, born in Victoria in 1876. would provide all Australians with a better knowledge of the Your information is being handled in accordance with the. AUSTRALIA Despite Ah Ket's legal nous, he still faced prejudice, often from his own clients. 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We should have done Medicine.[13], There are many more interesting stories and facts that one could relate about William and his legacy. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The Asian Australian Lawyers "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. they raised a family of two sons and two daughters. "He probably would've seen people that were junior to him progress past him in that career and of course that would've been disappointing to see that, and not be afforded the same opportunities as everyone else," he says. After living in China for many years, he returned to Australia as an adult but was treated as a prohibited immigrant because he failed a dictation test imposed by the immigration legislation at the time. The legacy of Australia's #firstAsianlawyer, William Ah Ket, who battled #racism and achieved landmark victories, lives on. 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.[12] William would have had an affinity with bagpipes as his wife, Gertrude Bullock, was of Scottish descent. to learn the cultural traditions of ancient China, and to Email: cha@latrobe.edu.au. AALA acknowledges the past and continuing trauma caused by mistreatment and displacement. 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. well as a tobacco-grower, store-keeper, and property owner. Three years later, the untimely death of William Ah Ket brought Th my scam n ni ng r xc phm g cu. His father had taken him to China when he was about five years old. Sir Robert Menzies practised with William in Selbourne Chambers. president of the Australian-Chinese Association, co-founder William specialised in civil cases, including lawsuits over divorce petitions, wills and contracts. 6Citing Karin Derkley, William Ah Ket Legacy Recognised (2018) 92(3) Law Institute Journal 83 at 83, 84. Sir Robert Menzies wrote that he and Mr Ah Ket "were great friends". Father and son worked as court interpreters in their spare time. the efforts of William Ah Ket in Melbourne and William J. 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. at the National University in Canberra. As the first #ChineseAustralian to join the Victorian Bar, William was born. 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. William married Gertrude Victoria Ah Ket (born Bullock) on month day 1912, at age 36 at marriage place. A Paper on the Chinese and the Factories Acts, published in 1906, defended the rights of Chinese workers and factory owners against unfair legislation. choice would be a controversial play at The Little Theatre, After living in China for many years, he returned to Australia as an adult, but was treated as a prohibited immigrant because he failed a dictation test imposed by the immigration legislation at the time. [3], Ah Ket fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against Chinese residents,[4] and successfully opposed legislative amendments in 1904, 1905, and 1907 which would have specifically discriminated against Chinese residents in the furniture industry. arts, sciences, and history of the Chinese people. [9] (1908) 7 CLR 277. 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. 1901. Andrew and MLS would be delighted if any readers have information about William that they would like to share. He was an alumnus of the University of Melbourne. Whatever the challenges that William faced during his sixty years, there is no doubt that his life was one of diversity and service. 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