cairns

In the 1850s, tens of thousands of Chinese people traveled to the Australian goldfields. Written accounts, artworks, photographs, and artifacts from a vivid picture of Chinese people in Australia at the time of the gold rush. This writing is complemented with the same photo of Kwong Sue Duk, his three wives, and 14 children. Yet, no other explanation is and info is provided. Source: www.sbs.com.au/gold/voices/

Kwong Sue Duk (1853-1929): His Life and Family in Australia + Kwong Sue Duk was a prosperous and generous Chinese gentleman who had four wives and twenty-four children and made Australia his chosen home, during and after the nineteenth-century northern Australian gold rush period. + Kwong Sue Duk was born in Guangdong Province, China, in 1853 and ventured abroad to the California goldfields at an early age to seek his fortune. After several years, he earned enough money for his family and passage home to Taishan, China, then embarked on education in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 1874, Kwong Sue Duk married his first wife, Gee An Gow. + In 1875, after the birth of his first son (Kong Sing), Kwong soon heard of the gold rush of Australia and took a ship to Cooktown, North Queensland. He made several trips home to China and in 1879 a daughter (Jon Gee) was born. In 1882, Kwong arrived in the prospering township of Southport in the Northern Territory, where he eventually established a successful general trade store and real estate enterprise, operating under his business name, Sun Mow Loong. He became well respected and influential amongst the Chinese and European communities and was consulted over many matters concerning the Chinese. + In 1884, Kwong Sue Duk married his second wife, Chun Ngor Gwei, and obtained his naturalization certificate in Australia. Kwong moved to Palmerston (early Darwin) and in March 1887 he met and married his third wife, Yuen Yuk Lau. He returned to China and another daughter (Toy Mee) was born to his first wife. Not long after the birth, he traveled back to Australia to tend to his thriving businesses and to buy a number of rental properties. In 1888, Kwong's third wife gave birth to a daughter, Ly Kin. + He returned to China in 1889 and subsequently brought out his first wife and three children to Palmerston, where she later bore him another daughter (Sum Gwai). Kwong and his three wives lived in harmony and supported the family together. Over the next twelve years, eleven more children were born - Thomas, Edward, Leslie, Elsie, Fred, Lim, Maizie, William, Kathleen, Mary, and Lily. By 1902, there were sixteen Kwong children. Kwong prospered well in the remote Northern Territory, purchasing rental properties and at least five large gold mining leases. If you want to know more please follow the link: arrow.latrobe.edu.au/store/3/4/5/5/1/public/stories/kwong...

Another variation: Powerhouse Museum (c1900) :

Yet another variation (1920's): pellethepoet:

Andy Brill Three's company! These are great, thanks for sharing.

Is four a crowd then?

Yes Aussie~mobs - And five's a party!

Read more about this image on the John Oxley Library blog blogs.slq.qld.gov.au/jol/?p=10357

The Boland’s Centre has direct associations with Michael Boland and his family, who built it and managed it for many years. Michael Boland was an early and important entrepreneur who established a large, long-lived commercial empire in Cairns and became one of the community's leading citizens. The Boland’s Centre is a rare surviving Far North Queensland example of a large, pre-World War I department store. Department stores were established in Brisbane and the main provincial centres of Queensland, including Cairns, but the Boland’s Centre is the only example in Far North Queensland. Although remodelled on its lower floors, its facade remains intact, elements of the original ceilings survive, and the top floor, with associated elevator machinery, has remained undeveloped. It is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of large department stores of the pre-World War I period. Its size and ornate detailing reflect the social aspirations and entrepreneurial strategies of the business elite who built such stores, while the surviving internal elements, particularly the undeveloped top floor and elevator, demonstrate the layout, design principles and technology employed. The Boland’s Centre is also associated with work of Edward Gregory Waters, a prominent Cairns architect who designed the building and was responsible for several important structures within the city. The building has aesthetic value due to the height, scale, and the detailing of the facade, which is largely intact. The facade is of cast concrete executed in an ornate style, based an eclectic mix of Classical and other design elements, which projects an imposing, elegant presence on the streetscape. The place has social significance as an iconic landmark due to its size, aesthetic appeal, and longevity within the streetscape of Cairns, and the role it has played in the business life of Far North Queensland. Source: lgaqld.applynow.net.au/jobs/PEAK380-manager-boland-s-centre