- Born
- 14 November 1907
Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 1975
East Kew, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- fruit merchant
- Alternative Names
- Quon, Charles Junior (also used)
- Quon, Charlie (commonly used)
- Quon, Vernon Charles (also used)
Details
Charles Vernon Quon (junior) (1907-1975), commonly known as Charlie was a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, born on November 14 in 1907 at Rutherglen, Victoria. He was the son of Charles Quon senior, restaurateur and shopkeeper, and his wife Violet Geechoun. Charlie’s father came to Australia from Guangdong province in Southern China. At age 32, he married Violet Geechoun from Bendigo. She was aged 17 when they married and one of twelve children. It was an arranged marriage. Violet’s father was a market gardener.
Charlie junior was one of seven children, the eldest son and second born child. In the Quon family there was Aimee (born c.1906), then Charlie, Lorna, Alma, Norman, Dennis and Iris (born c.1928). Charlie’s father wore western dress but did keep his original queue. The Quon family store was in Main Street, Rutherglen. Charlie’s father would look after the miner’s gold for them, keeping it in the shop. Up until the late 1990s, the family name could still be seen on the shop's façade.
The Quon family were part of a small Chinese community in Rutherglen made up of grape vine labourers and market gardeners. The vine labourers in this region at this time were predominantly Chinese, noted for their reliability and ability to refrain from intoxication.
In the late 1920s, the whole Quon family moved to Melbourne. They lived in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy staying at the house of a Chinese herbalist named Ming. The house was a 15-room terraced villa opposite the Cathedral Hall, near the Eye and Ear Hospital. The Quons’ knew Ming from his weekly visits to Rutherglen as part of his work as an herbalist.
Charlie also moved to Melbourne with the rest of the family. Work was difficult to find in the country for someone of Chinese descent. When the family moved to Melbourne, Charles senior worked for Kwong Yee Lum, a cabinet-maker on Little Bourke Street.
Charlie married Daisy Kim in 1930 and they moved back to Rutherglen, where Charlie worked as a grape picker. From here they moved to Beechworth with their two young children, Len (Lenny) and Norma. In Beechworth, they ran a small milk bar selling homemade cakes and pies.
It was while they were living in Beechworth that Charlie contracted rheumatic fever forcing the family to move back to Melbourne where he would spend the next six months recuperating. When Charlie was recovered he worked for Tim Young & Co, wholesale fruiterers at Victoria Markets, then Prahran Markets. During the Second World War, he made machinery for the war effort. In 1946, he worked in a fruit shop in Ashburton remaining there until 1964. Over the years they lived in various suburbs in Melbourne including Carlton, Prahran, Ashburton and East Kew where Charlie died in 1975.
It was during their early years in Melbourne, that both Daisy and Charlie became involved in the Young Chinese League. Being part of the League was to take up a large part of their lives. Untold hours of devotion were spent making the Young Chinese League a place of companionship and friendliness for hundreds of people.
Charlie was respected and admired for his organising ability, his genius at getting things done, and for his dedication to bring together the Chinese community and the Australian people. Nowhere is this more evident than in his longstanding role as coach of the Young Chinese League football team. He was President of the Young Chinese League a number of times, from 1969 to 1971 and 1973 to 1974. He was also Vice President from 1967 to 1969 and was a committee member from 1949 to 1968. Charlie was made a life member of the League in the 1950s.
In 1956, a new dragon and sea lion were specially made and imported from Hong Kong for the Young Chinese League and Chinese community. Both of these have taken part in a number of Moomba parades and many exhibitions. Charlie was the chief organiser for many years of the dragons’ appearances.
Charlie passed away in 1975.
Events
- 1930 - 1975
- marriage - married Daisy Kim of Castlemaine
Sources used to compile this entry: Museum of Chinese Australian History collection - Daisy Quon & Alma Quon histories; Young Chinese League newsletters.
Prepared by: Brendan O'Donnell, Monash University
Related Subjects
Children
Family
Parent
Sibling
Wife
Images
-
-
- Title
- Charles Quon (1907-?) in his Sunday best
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- c. 1921
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Rutherglen
- Details
-
-
- Title
- Charles Quon and Dulcie Chong from Albury
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- 1925 - 1929
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne
- Details
-
-
- Title
- Charles Quon Senior's children
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- c. 1915
- Place
- Australia - New South Wales - Corowa
- Details
-
-
- Title
- Chinese Athletic Association
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- c. 1922 - c. 1923
- Place
- Australia - Victoria
- Details
-
-
- Title
- Procession with Chinese Dragon
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- 1960s
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne?
- Details
-
-
- Title
- Two men dressed for dragon parade
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- c. 1925 - c. 1930
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne
- Details
-
-
- Title
- Young Chinese League football team, 1947
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- 1947
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - Little Bourke Street
- Details
-
-
- Title
- Young Chinese League sports team
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- c. 1947
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne
- Details
See also
-
-
- Title
- Young Chinese League football team, 1947
- Type
- Photograph
- Date
- 1947
- Place
- Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - Little Bourke Street
- Details
Created: 15 July 2005, Last modified: 23 January 2010
