Perth Voice Interactive

UWA’s Two Centuries of Chinese Heritage in Western Australia aims to discover, record, and tell stories of Chinese communities’ contributions. Explore the digital portal and podcasts: www.chinesewa.net

CHINESE market gardeners represent an important chapter in the state’s agricultural and multicultural history. 

Arriving in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Chinese immigrants established market gardens in areas like Bibra Lake, Bayswater,  Northbridge and Fremantle, driven by limited economic opportunities and racial discrimination in other industries, such as gold mining and pearling. 

Their contribution to the local food supply was significant, especially during periods of economic hardship, such as the Great Depression.

Bibra Lake’s fertile soil and access to fresh water made it an ideal location for market gardening, attracting people like Chew Lun, who was born in Canton in August 1861 and arrived in Western Australia in February 1889, working initially as a shopkeeper before changing tack some time around the turn of the century.

Like other Chinese market gardeners, Lun, also known as Chew Lung or Chew Lang, grew a variety of vegetables, including cabbages, onions and carrots, which were sold to Perth’s growing population. 

Despite access to limited resources and relying on traditional farming methods like hand irrigation, composting and intercropping, the market gardeners thrived through ingenuity and resilience.

A testament to Lun’s success came from an unlikely source; a correspondent known as The Pagan in the Sunday Times, who wrote in 1913: “The Celestial has about 550 acres of land on lease, and last year he is stated to have grown £700 worth of cauliflowers on three or four acres. Which will convey some faint idea of the wonderful soil in the garden of Fremantle.”

In somewhat derogatory terms, The Pagan describes Lun having a workforce of “white men” grafting for him, all having nothing but praise for their employer. Two of his four children were also attending the local state school

There was one stain on Lun’s reputation; being fined £10 in 1907 when police seized a quantity of opium from his home.

Opium

The West Australian reported at the time that customs authorities had long suspected large amounts of the drug were being smuggled into the state, but it wasn’t until Commonwealth examining officer Smith and Tide-waiter Tapper staked out Lun’s house that they made the breakthrough.

They were rewarded by finding about £15 worth of opium in a meat safe, which they suspected had been smuggled off the Singaporean steamer Charon while in Fremantle.

A year after Lun’s wife May Chew died in 1919, he packed up their four children and returned to China, returning to WA by himself in 1927.

But there’s some mystery around who continued to work his lease, as his name pops up in 1924 in the Sunday Times over the purchase of a “sturdy little truck”.

“A few weeks ago a Gray truck was sold to Mr Chew Lung, of Bibra Lake, conditionally, that it would pull one ton from his place to the road,” the Times reported.

“To anyone knowing the country round about Bibra Lake, there is no need to dwell on the severe test the agents were putting this truck to.”

But the Gray negotiated the distance without problem, leading to “a very pleased Mr Lung”, who’d now get to the Fremantle markets in just one hour.

While it’s known Lun was in China at this time, it was common for Chinese immigrants to use several names, so it’s possible that to keep the lease, one of his colleagues simply appropriated his name knowing authorities might struggle to tell the difference.

The Chinese gardeners faced considerable challenges, including racial prejudice and restrictive immigration policies under the White Australia Policy. 

Despite this, they maintained a strong sense of community and cultural identity, often living in communal dwellings and celebrating traditional festivals. 

Their legacy persists today in the enduring presence of Chinese-Australian families in the region and their contributions to Western Australia’s agricultural history.

Tucked away in Coolbellup you’ll find Hilory Street, named after one of Lun’s contemporaries, Hi Lory, who’ll be featured in a future story, including his link to a tragic murder in Spearwood.