william ah ketwilliam ah ket

could well be achieved if the Morrison Lectureship Foundation [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. Australia's first Chinese barrister William Ah Ket was born in the Victorian country town of Wangaratta. AALA acknowledges the past and continuing trauma caused by mistreatment and displacement. Crossing Time: Australia's transgender historypart 1. 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. Chinese under the umbrella of the White Australia Policy, "There was definitely a fresh wave of discrimination that was being put in place," she says. He fought against the White Australia policy and racist laws targeting Chinese workers as Australia's first barrister of Chinese descent. 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. The act expressly discriminated against the Chinese and prohibited after-hours work in a factory or work-room where furniture was made or where any Chinese person was at any time employed. Andrew can be contacted on a.godwin@unimelb.edu.au. [9] (1908) 7 CLR 277. level and not merely through trade. Despite his high profile and achievements, it would seem that others were advanced while he was not. He is also believed to be the first Chinese barrister to practise in Australia. Guidelines for the Lectureship had been initially proposed The International Who's Who: 1984/85, 2004, "William Ah Ket - Building Bridges between Occident and Orient in Australia, 1900-1936*", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Ah_Ket&oldid=1136723876, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 20:35. William's father, Mah Ket, became highly respected 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. It is fitting and proper that this scholarship is named for him.9, In the program notes, the recipient of the 2019 William Ah Ket Scholarship, Ms Tienyi Long, Legal and Governance Officer at Glen Eira City Council, Victoria writes 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 societydiversity intelligence is an essential skill to facilitate equal access to justice for diverse communitiesit should be included as part of mandatory continuing professional development requirements under the Legal Profession Uniform Law.10. C. F. Yong, The Chinese in New South Wales and Victoria, 1901-1921 (Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University, 1966). Ah Ket was born in Wangaratta in 1876 and died in 1936. Educated in both English andChinese cultures, he agitated against racialintolerance in Victoria and defended the rightsof Victoria`s Chinese community. 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. barrister to practice in Melbourne. of Australia and the people of China - albeit at the academic Source: MA,VMR William Ah Ket [] was born in Wangaratta in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 1876. He went on to live in China for several years. they raised a family of two sons and two daughters. I am proud to have been part of this fantastic initiative. At that time, people born in Australia were British citizens by right, regardless of their parents origins. In a special series, RN examines Australia's relationship to China, and its rising prominence in global affairs. Ah Kets legal team successfully proved that the Chinese man was not an employee of the laundry but instead a boarder at the laundry and that he had simply been ironing his own shirt! William Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity, born in Victoria in 1876. [1][2] His daughter Melaan was the mother of the guitarist John Williams. 7Citing Sir Robert Menzies, The Measure of the Years (Cassell Australia, 1970) at 249. In addition to lobbying against discriminatory legislation, such as the Immigration Restriction Bill of 1901, William appeared in many cases that we would describe today as public interest cases. 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. Blossom says her great grand-father's little-known story is still relevant to contemporary Australia. a full primary and secondary education in Wangaratta's public 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. "She never saw her children raised, she never was never able to live in the community like her husband or anything," Vivienne says. 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. 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. specifically exclude the Chinese from gaining a livelihood Their youngest 16Isabel Carter,Woman in a Wig: Joan Rosanove, QC (Lansdowne Press, 1970), 13. 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. The legacy of Australia's #firstAsianlawyer, William Ah Ket, who battled #racism and achieved landmark victories, lives on. In 1931, William Ah Ket's dedication to foster increased understanding He was, by all accounts, a man of 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. 5 Law Students Society Dinner to Sir Harrison Moore, Farrago 5(5), April 23, 1929. Whatever the challenges that William faced during his sixty years, there is no doubt that his life was one of diversity and service. This included a number of cases, Bishop v Chung Brothers, Potter v Minahan and Ingham v Hie Lee, that involved challenges to legislation that discriminated against those of Chinese origin. choice would be a controversial play at The Little Theatre, William Ah Ket (, 20 June 1876 6 August 1936) was a noted Australian barrister. and their only son, John Williams, has been acclaimed as one second Morrison Lecture was delivered by William Ah Ket on Guineas and the Melbourne Cup, where he was recognised as 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. Special thanks to Jennifer Wood, Kate Bagnall, Pauline Rule and the National Library of Australia for helping with research. He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate". He was born on 20 June 1876 at Wangaratta, Victoria, the only son and fifth child of Mah Ket and Hing Ung. 9The Hon Susan Kiefel AC, Chief Justice of Australia, William Ah Kets contribution to diversity in the legal profession (Asian Australian Lawyers Association, William Ah Ket Scholarship Presentation, Great Hall, High Court of Australia, Canberra, 9 October 2019, 5:30pm). 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. member of Melbourne's See Yup Society. William Ah Ket was chosen as delegate by the Chinese Chamber On arriving at court, William realised that the man who had teased him was the lawyer he was up against. "William Ah Ket's contribution to diversity in the legal profession" The Hon Susan Kiefel AC Chief Justice of Australia I am pleased to speak this evening and honoured to present the William Ah Ket Scholarship for 2019. We will never satisfy our ambitions. Ah Kets colleagues remembered him with warmth and affection as an amiable and gregarious man, greatly respected for his ability and integrity. William was well regarded as a barrister. He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . The award is sponsored by Maddocks where William Ah Ket was an articled clerk prior to joining the Victorian Bar, which is also a new sponsor this year along with the University of Melbourne Law School, where Mr Ah Ket studied. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Sir Robert Menzies wrote that he and Mr Ah Ket "were great friends". which he moved. Despite Ah Ket's legal nous, he still faced prejudice, often from his own clients. 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. 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. Mr Tang says it shows that, despite his talents, he suffered from a level of discrimination. Church to a young Australian woman, Gertrude Bullock, whose In addition to lobbying against discriminatory legislation, such as the Immigration Restriction Bill of 1901, William appeared in many cases that we would describe today as public interest cases. In the lecture, William reflected on whether there was a real difference between the culture of the East and that of the West and drew parallels between Western culture and Confucianism. Sir Robert Menzies practised with William in Selbourne Chambers. 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. 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. He said that "William Ah Ket did not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have been a very competent judge. William was born in 1876, in the north-east Victorian town of Wangaratta one of eight children. English-born forebears had migrated to Australia from Cheshire From this summary of his early achievements, it is clear that William was a gifted student and lawyer, who succeeded in a time rife with racial discrimination. 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. live, learn and work. The story of William Ah Ket is a significant one in the history of the Australian legal profession. Your help would be greatly appreciated. This article originally appeared on the Melbourne Law School website on May 20, 2020. He added, "A certain prejudice among clients against having a Chinese barrister to an extent limited his practice, though instructing solicitors thought very well of him". 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