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O'Hoy family

Gallery

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    Family group at Bridge Street, Bendigo, 1940s, courtesy of R. Lew-Boar (Private collection).
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    Shooters holding 1955 pennants. Jan O'Hoy (left), Ming Balintong (right) and friend in foreground with gun., c. 1960, by Unknown creator (see disclaimer)
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    Left to Right: Nellie Lew-Boar Daisy Kong. Attending Wedding Melbourne Mid 50's, c. 1955, courtesy of Chinese Museum (Museum of Chinese Australian History).
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Alternative Names
  • Oh Hoy family (also used)
  • O'Hoy family (commonly used)

Details

The O’Hoy family have a long and important connection to Bendigo. Grandfather Louey O’Hoy (1836-1920) left a family of some wealth in the village of Wah Lock Lea in Taishan, Guangdong in about 1861 to seek his fortune. By the 1880s, he had a share in the general store of Ack Goon, and was sufficiently wealthy to bring his second wife, Ah Kit, to join him in 1884 and significant enough in the local Chinese community to be part of the welcoming committee to the Chinese Commissioners on their visit to Bendigo in July 1887.

His son Que (1875-1964), born to his first wife and educated in Taishan, joined him in 1886, and took primary control of the business, then Sun Ack Goon, in 1903. For the local Chinese community, the store stocked daily provisions like rice, tobacco and fire-crackers, the store’s clerk would write letters and post remittances, and Que regularly posted bail for those in trouble with the law. The business also supplied herbalists across north-western Victoria, and in the 1930s exported flour to Hong Kong.

Louey’s six children to Ah Kit had some role in the operation of the business, but also followed other careers. Kim (1884-1930) taught at Canton Provincial College, and later worked at a shipping office in Hong Kong. Suey (1887-1947) also worked as a shipping agent in Hong Kong, but travelled regularly to Sydney and Bendigo on business trips. Quong (1889-1923) worked at Sun Ack Goon and lived in Hong Kong for his short life. Fee (1890-1968) worked at Sun Ack Goon and lived nearby. Little is known of Meelan (1895-1958) and Sheow (1897-1962), who both spent most of their lives in Hong Kong.

The terms of the Immigration Restriction Act made nurturing a family in Australia very difficult for each of the brothers. Que and Fee were most successful. As Fee, his wife and children were Australian-born they had much less difficulty with immigration restrictions. Que had three children to his first wife, who lived out her life in Wah Lock Lea, and seven to Poon Suey Gook, who was able to join him in Bendigo for short stays from 1920 and indefinitely from 1938. Kim and Suey fought to live in Australia with their families, but as their wives and children were not Australian-born, immigration officials were intractable. Grandfather Louey had at least twenty-three grandchildren. The family was always highly respected in both the local Chinese and European communities for their business acumen and honesty and generous donations of time and money to charity, in particular to the annual Easter Fair.

Sources used to compile this entry: Bendigo Golden Dragon Museum collection; interview with Dennis O'Hoy; interview with Mrs Myrtle Wong; various NAA immigration files.

Prepared by: Amanda Rasmussen, La Trobe University

Related Families

Archival Collections

Chinese Museum (Museum of Chinese Australian History)

  • Lew-Boar family collection, RLB; Chinese Museum (Museum of Chinese Australian History). Details

Published Resources

Journal Articles

  • Dredge, Rhonda, 'Mining the past', Agora, Spring, 2001, p. 4. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • Brady, Nicole, 'The White way: A look at the past century casts light on our present', Age Green Guide, 8 March. Details

Images

Title
Family group at Bridge Street, Bendigo
Type
Photograph
Date
1940s
Place
Australia - Victoria - Bendigo (Sandhurst)
Details
Title
Que O'Hoy and bicycle
Type
Photograph
Date
c. 1903 - c. 1905
Place
Australia - Victoria - Bendigo (Sandhurst)
Details

See also

Title
Alice O'Hoy 1917
Type
Photograph
Date
1917
Place
Australia - Victoria - Bendigo (Sandhurst)
Details
Title
Jan O'Hoy, Ming Balintong and friend holding 1955 pennants
Type
Photograph
Date
c. 1960
Place
Australia - Victoria?
Details
Title
Nellie Lew-Boar and Daisy Kong at wedding of Janie O'Hoy
Type
Photograph
Date
c. 1955
Place
Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - St Kilda - Chapel Street
Details

Created: 1 April 2004, Last modified: 1 November 2005