Barry Shying was previously unknown to the Australian Chinese community. For most of his life, he did not realize that he was a direct descendant of the first immigrants from China to Australia 200 years ago.
Barry Shying's great-grandfather, Mai Shiying (Mak Sai Ying), was the first documented immigrant from China to Australia 200 years ago. Aaron Francis/The Australian
As he sought information about his family history and his great-grandfather, (Mak Sai Ying, later named John Shying) in English, the Australian Chinese community opened its arms to him during the year.
Mr. Barry Shying, 86, flew across Australia this year, or even to China for the first time to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Chinese immigrants to Australia.
His great-grandfather, Mae Shiying, arrived in Sydney's Port Jackson on Feb. 27, 1818, just 30 years after the arrival of Britain's first Fleet in Australia and decades before the gold rush that attracted large numbers of Chinese miners to Australia in the 1850s.
"I would say he set a model for a hardworking, interesting family man, and set a good example for immigrants to come here, learn languages, work hard and succeed," Mr. Shying told the Australian newspaper.
Three decades ago, when a family history researcher discovered his family connection, Mr. Shying first learned that he had Chinese ancestry.
"for most of my life, I was just an ordinary person, and suddenly they (the Chinese community) wanted to know me, want to see me, want to take pictures with me," Mr. Shying said. "it was a" wonderful year. " And people in the Chinese community are "very enthusiastic".
(Barry Shying () with his two grandsons, Nicholas Shying (right) and Ben Holland (left) at Melbourne's Australasia Museum. Aaron Francis/The Australian.
Malaysian Chinese restaurant owner Ian Chin has lived in Perth for more than 25 years. He was excited to have the opportunity to invite Mr. Shying and his wife to dinner in his new restaurant, which he specifically named after Myung.
"when I learned that they were invited to Perth, I thought it was a fate arrangement," Mr. Chin said. He also hopes to repackage Guangdong's traditional tea-drinking cuisine using this special restaurant combined with Australia's craft beer culture.
Two centuries after his arrival, 1.2 million people of Chinese ancestry now live in Australia; overall, 5.6 percent of Australians believe they are of Chinese ancestry.
Many of the family stories of generations of Chinese have also been highlighted by major celebrations across Australia so far this year.
Among them is Ms. Betty Walker, the fifth-generation descendant of the first Chinese immigrant in Western Australia recorded to be full of (Moon Chow), a Chinese immigrant who arrived in Western Australia in October 1829; Barry Sue's father, Jack Wong Sue, was the first Chinese hero to participate in World War II in Western Australia. And representatives from many historic community groups, including the Chinese Club, founded by Chinese settlers more than a hundred years ago, and the Australian China Friendship Association, a pioneer promoter of local Chinese language education.
Ms. Walker described her high grandfather as "highly respected by the Fremantle people" and said he had "overcome many obstacles because the culture of 200 years ago must have been very difficult for him to be alone".
"I am very proud of him and for his courage and ability to move forward," Ms. Walker told more than 500 guests attending the event marking the 200th anniversary of the Chinese coming to Australia in Western Australia.
It is important to recognize the identity of Chinese Australians, not just Chinese, according to Mr. (Pierre Yang), the Lords' whip in the upper house of Labour, a member of Parliament in Westminster, who told the Australian newspaper that it is important to recognize the identity of Chinese Australians. "I think I'm first and foremost an Australian. I am proud of my cultural heritage and I am proud to be an Australian citizen, "he said.
"I want to encourage more people from different backgrounds to participate in our community organization and become part of your community," said the father of the two children and a devout Catholic. "if you try to be an Australian, You will be accepted with open arms. This is my experience since I came to this country 20 years ago. "