William Ah Ket fought social prejudice in and out of court. At that time, people born in Australia were British citizens by right, regardless of their parents origins. He joined the ranks of barristers the following year, and is widely understood to have become the first Australian lawyer of Chinese descent to practise as a barrister at the independent bar in the state of Victoria. Neither of us will ever be made a judge, you because you are a woman. In a High Court case called Ingham v Hie Lee,[8] Ah Ket represented a Chinese laundry owner who was charged with an offence under the Factories and Shops Act 1905 in Victoria. He was also the acting consul-general for China in 1913-14 and in 1917. That includes our servers. During his career Ah Ket battled the harsh effects of the White Australia Policy in 1908. His father had There is little doubt that William Ah Ket's [1] Helen Penrose, To Build a Firm: The Maddocks Story (Maddocks, 2010), 11[2] See William Lye OAM, Introduction to William Ah Ket at the Victorian Bar and Scholarship (William Ah Ket Inaugural Scholarship Launch at Maddocks, 21 November 2017), available at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54dd81c6e4b074b4a339bb2e/t/5a1409caf9619a97a1396f77/1511262667464/WILLIAM+AH+KET+launch.pdf. Chinese under the umbrella of the White Australia Policy, Blossom says her great grand-father's little-known story is still relevant to contemporary Australia. Sir Robert Menzies wrote that he and Mr Ah Ket "were great friends". 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. Both William Ah Ket and his wife were music-lovers and regular in Little Bourke Street or attending one of the city theatres a keen if not always successful punter. 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Popular among the press reporters and cartoonists of his William was particularly active in the fight against racial discrimination and appeared in many 'public interest' cases. After reading with (Sir) Stewart McArthur, He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . William Ah Ket (, 20 June 1876 - 6 August 1936) was a noted Australian barrister. La Trobe University In its decision, the High Court found that if the immigration legislation had intended to remove the rights of citizenship, it should have expressed its intention clearly. Mantova, utca. 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. '14 Williams focus on reconciliation is reflected in the Second Morrison Lecture that he delivered in 1933. * Associate Director (Asian Commercial Law), Asian Law Centre, Melbourne Law School. agitate against the Immigration Restriction Act in Dear Monument Australia visitors, we are a self-funded, non-profit organisation, dedicated to recording monuments throughout Australia. His mother, Hing Ung, had bound feet and spoke no English. His great grand-daughter, Blossom Ah Ket, recalls a family story of a white Australian man taunting the barrister on a train on the way to court. Historians say Mah Ket encouraged his son to study law to help the Chinese community, which was facing discriminatory laws at the end of the 19th century. [4] Citing Sir Robert Menzies, The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. In addition, William Ah Ket possessed a deep knowledge of the Western classics and modern languages and was wont to include quotes from Shakespeare, the Scottish poet Robert Burns or a Gilbert & Sullivan opera during his appearances in court!17. The keynote address is delivered by the Honourable Susan Kiefel AC, Chief Justice of The High Court of Australia, who makes the following comments: By all accounts, Mr Ah Ket was a remarkable man. William's client, James Minahan, was born in Australia to an Anglo-Australian mother and Chinese father. Special thanks to Jennifer Wood, Kate Bagnall, Pauline Rule and the National Library of Australia for helping with research. For example, in addition to a busy life at the bar, William Ah Ket spent time as a diplomat, serving as acting consul-general for China in 1913-1914 and in 1917. "He played the game of affluence and gambling and carding and living it up," she recalled. He became the leading Chinese in the district and a respected member of the Wangaratta community. Liu in Sydney who both obtained generous financial support 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. daughter Toylaan gained her BA(hons) degree at Sydney University 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. - either Her Majesty's or the Princess Theatre - for a Melba Please contact us. Following his youthful introduction to country horse-racing the efforts of William Ah Ket in Melbourne and William J. William Ah Ket became a leading figure in the Chinese Australian William specialised in civil cases, including lawsuits over divorce petitions, wills and contracts. Cheong 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. Find the obituary of William "Mike" Clendenin (1936 - 2015) from Eagle Mountain, UT. After completing his secondary education, he studied law at the University of Melbourne, and joined the law firm of Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks). The marginalised group has shifted but it's not that distant.". He fought against the White Australia policy and racist laws targeting Chinese workers as Australia's first barrister of Chinese descent. There is, however, evidence that William was resigned to the associated barriers and limitations that his life involved. Contact Andrew at a.godwin@unimelb.edu.au. He was also active in political groups which lobbied on behalf of the Chinese-Australian community against the legal supply of opium, and laws which imposed restrictions on Chinese laundry workers and furniture-makers. practice in Selbourne Chambers alongside such famous neighbours light opera or a Gladys Moncrief musical . "Rumpole" of the Victorian Supreme Court, gaining 14See 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 athttps://arrow.latrobe.edu.au/store/3/4/5/5/1/public/stories/wahket.htm. or a night of comedy at the Tivoli with Stiffy & Mo. Educated in both English andChinese cultures, he agitated against racialintolerance in Victoria and defended the rightsof Victoria`s Chinese community. Australias first Chinese barrister William Ah Ket was born in the Victorian country town of Wangaratta. Andrew Godwin is researching the life and times of William Ah Ket and is working with the descendants of the Ah Ket family for this purpose. 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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. His father had arrived in Victoria in 1855 and after some years on the goldfields established one of the earliest tobacco-farms on the King River. Ah Kets legal team successfully proved that the Chinese man was not an employee of the laundry but instead a boarder at the laundry who had simply been ironing his own shirt! In a passage that is still recognised as current law in Australia, Justice OConnor stated as follows: It is improbable that the legislature would overthrow fundamental principles, infringe rights, or depart from the general system of law, without expressing its intention with irresistible clearness [10], 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.'[11]. He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . I because I am Chinese. He supported the creation of a committee to 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. 6Citing Karin Derkley, William Ah Ket Legacy Recognised (2018) 92(3) Law Institute Journal 83 at 83, 84. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. Victoria 3086 The dictation test required all immigrants from China to write in English a passage of not less than 50 words that was dictated by a customs officer. He acquired a considerable reputation as a negotiator of settlements. That in itself was an "impressive feat", says Reynah Tang, the founding president of the Asian-Australian Lawyers' Association. in China and towards the Pacific nations including Australia. Dr Couchman says the changes William spoke out against were "very invasive". It was customary for them to celebrate the various anniversaries This panel discusses the role of Asian Australians in the legal profession in the past and today, including the challenges faced by Asian Australian lawyers. Whatever the challenges that William faced during his sixty years, there is no doubt that his life was one of diversity and service. [13] Isabel Carter, Woman in a Wig: Joan Rosanove, QC (Lansdowne Press, 1970), 13. in Chisholm Street. all born in Australia to his Chinese parents. On returning to Australia, he was threatened with deportation when he failed the dictation test that the law required "prohibited immigrants" to take. amendments to the 1896 Factories & Shops Act to In an interview with the National Library of Australia in 1993, she remembered her affluent childhood. After the formalities conclude, enthusiastic discussion ensues amongst 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. 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. Australia's first Chinese barrister William Ah Ket was born in the Victorian country town of Wangaratta. He said that "William Ah Ket did not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have been a very competent judge. "In the mid-1880s the colonies decided they were no longer going to naturalise Chinese, and then in 1903 that was enshrined in federal legislation. Andrew Godwin is researching the life and times of William Ah Ket and is working with the descendants of the Ah Ket family for this purpose. William Ah Ket in Selborne Chambers, Melbourne circa 1933.Source: http://monumentaustralia.org.au/. Educated in both English and Chinese cultures, he agitated against racial intolerance in Victoria and defended the rights of Victoria`s Chinese community. [10] (1908) 7 CLR 277 at 307. For example, in addition to a busy life at the bar, William Ah Ket spent time as a diplomat, serving as acting consul-general for China in 1913-1914 and in 1917. Sir Robert Menzies wrote that he and Mr Ah Ket "were great friends". William Ah Ket [] was born in Wangaratta in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 1876. '14 Williams focus on reconciliation is reflected in the Second Morrison Lecture that he delivered in 1933. Chinese language. He of their happy marriage with a small party at a Chinese banquet William Ah Ket as a young man Source: by kind permission of the Ah Ket family, 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. 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]. I because I am Chinese. One case he was involved in successfully challenged the Immigration Restriction Act better known as the White Australia policy in 1908. 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. including Carole Hinchcliff, helping me with my researchfor into William Ah Ket and also for promoting William's legacy and story generally. So commences the biography of William Ah Ket [] in the Australian 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. times, William Ah Ket was affectionately regarded as the Chinese Sir Robert Menzies practised with William in Selborne Chambers. William stayed involved with the University and was elected the President of the Law Students Society on 19 April 1907.4 Some 20 years later, in 1929, William supported a toast in favour of Sir Harrison Moore, the third Dean of Melbourne Law School, at a dinner hosted by the Law Students Society to mark Sir Harrisons retirement in 1927. opinions expressed in these stories do not necessarily reflect those of La Trobe University 14See 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. William Ah Ket (, 20 June 1876 6 August 1936) was a noted Australian barrister. community during the early years of Federation. would increase friendship and understanding between the people William was born in 1876, in the north-east Victorian town of Wangaratta one of eight children. The reason why the Chinese laundry owner had been charged was that a Chinese man had been found in the laundry between 9 and 10 pm at night ironing a shirt, apparently in breach of the after-hours work prohibition. The story of William Ah Ket is a significant one in the history of the Australian legal profession. of Australia and the people of China - albeit at the academic We should have done Medicine.[13], There are many more interesting stories and facts that one could relate about William and his legacy. master the Confucian skills of reading and writing in the l do mun ln n war phuc william khiu chin v xc phm danh tnh ca tao by gi tao yu cu my k vo y tao i bn ci u ch ca my r i ln ci mt ln ca my. [1][2] His daughter Melaan was the mother of the guitarist John Williams. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the We will never satisfy our ambitions. The Asian Australian Lawyers Chinese called by Dr. Sun Yat Sen to attend the first National William's personal interests were widely diversified. Ah Kets legal team successfully proved that he was not a prohibited immigrant. Keblem kirja ken l a trnjn S eg nap oj okatlan, jti jkedv Emelget a fldrl, vg rzetekkel. for reciting pithy quotations from either Shakespeare, Robby He advocated and promoted peaceful coexistence.8 His answer to the difficulties he faced appears to have been to succeed in what he did; to be a real part of the legal profession; to help others and to act at all times righteously, with courage and with kindness. "It's about a person's right to identity and the place they were born, so it was pretty important," he says. 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. youthful experience in 'bridging' the two worlds of East and level and not merely through trade. This article commemorates the life of William Ah Ket, Australias first barrister of Chinese descent. 7Citing Sir Robert Menzies, The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. for China in Melbourne in 1913-14 and again in 1917. In addition, he had the advantage in Chisholm Street. "Obviously there's not a White Australia policy as such against Chinese migrants," she says. Toylaan Margaret Allen,his last surviving child, passed away in New South Wales on 16th July 2015. 5 Law Students Society Dinner to Sir Harrison Moore, Farrago 5(5), April 23, 1929. Fax: +61 3 9479 1880 to Australia, William Ah Ket was appointed as Acting Consul-General Contact Us, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7. Th my scam n ni ng r xc phm g cu. eyewitness of the Test matches between England and Australia. After completing his training as a lawyer in 1899, William won the Supreme Court Judges Prize in 1902, and was admitted to practice in 1903. Despite his high profile and achievements, it would seem that others were advanced while he was not.6 He was neither appointed Silk nor a judge. He was also a delegate to the first interstate Chinese convention held at Melbourne in 1905 and was co-founder and president of the Sino-Australian Association, considered to be the first Australian-Chinese club. in Melbourne, publicly opposed discriminatory laws against Maddocks CEO named judge for 2021 William Ah Ket Scholarship. Each August since 2017, the William Ah Ket Scholarship committee has accepted applications for the most outstanding research paper on a topic dealing with equality, diversity, and the legal profession or the law from legal trainees, graduates, final year students and lawyers with less than five years of practice. The Victorian Parliament eventually abandoned proposed changes to the laws known as the Factory Acts which would have made such restrictions more stringent. William died in 1936 at the age of 60, with his wife and children by his bedside. schools. 16Isabel Carter, Woman in a Wig: Joan Rosanove, QC (Lansdowne Press, 1970), 13. 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. and friendship between the West and the East led him to accept Ah Ket appeared in another High Court case called Potter v Minahan.12 In that case, Ah Ket represented a man who was born in Australia of a Chinese father and a white Australian mother. 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