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. in Wangaratta, William Ah Ket continued his regular attendance 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. William specialised in civil cases, including lawsuits over divorce petitions, wills and contracts. 3See 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. in Little Bourke Street or attending one of the city theatres member of Melbourne's See Yup Society. 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. 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. family. to Australia, William Ah Ket was appointed as Acting Consul-General He also appeared before Justice Lowe after he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria. He believed his objective theatre-goers during the "Gay 20s" before the Depression. Prior to completing his tertiary studies at Melbourne University, William received a full primary and secondary education in Wangaratta's public schools. At the age of 35, William was married at the Kew Methodist He supported the creation of a committee to 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. 5 Law Students Society Dinner to Sir Harrison Moore, Farrago 5(5), April 23, 1929. All rights reserved. He became the leading Chinese in the district and a respected member of the Wangaratta community. New and compelling histories from Australia and around the world. in Chisholm Street. This article contains content that is not available. During his career Ah Ket battled the harsh effects of the White Australia Policy in 1908. 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. . William was particularly active in the fight against racial discrimination and appeared in many 'public interest' cases. He was born on 20 June 1876 at Wangaratta, Victoria, the only son and fifth child of Mah Ket and Hing Ung. Both William Ah Ket and his wife were music-lovers and regular 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. ROMEO Ha az lom hzelked emnek Hinnem lehet, mindjrt rm knt rm. He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate". 2Helen Penrose, To Build a Firm: The Maddocks Story (Maddocks, 2010), 11. 820 Drummond Street Carlton North VIC 3054. Indeed, as his daughter Toylaan noted in a paper on her father, this was an issue that he was passionate about, having been involved in forming a committee to agitate against the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 and the unreasonable conditions imposed, such as the infamous dictation test. On returning to Australia, he was threatened with deportation when he failed the dictation test that the law required "prohibited immigrants" to take. 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. West enabled him to become one of the few Chinese Australians "She never saw her children raised, she never was never able to live in the community like her husband or anything," Vivienne says. AUSTRALIA The toast was proposed by Charles Lowe (later Sir Charles Lowe), then a justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and subsequently Chancellor of Melbourne University between 1941 and 1954, and was also supported by Justice Owen Dixon of the High Court and Professor Kenneth Bailey, then Dean of Melbourne Law School.5 Interestingly, William had appeared in cases as senior to Lowe and as junior to Dixon before they were elevated to the bench. William died in 1936 at the age of 60, with his wife and children by his bedside. William was particularly active in the fight against racial discrimination. "But when it came to law, he knew very well what it was like to struggle and be poor and oppressed, so his sympathies were always on the side of the underdog.". In an interview with the National Library of Australia in 1993, she remembered her affluent childhood. 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. He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate". Contact Andrew at a.godwin@unimelb.edu.au. William Ah Ket was chosen as delegate by the Chinese Chamber Williams focus on reconciliation is reflected in the Second Morrison Lecture that he delivered in 1933, where he discussed 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. a keen if not always successful punter. Williamhad 3 siblings: Toylaan Margaret ALLEN (born AH-KET)and 2 other siblings. the Consul-General for China, Dr. W.P. 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. Each data center building is the size of a modern day aircraft carrier, nearly four football fields long. He was born in Victoria in 1876, the only son among six daughters in China and towards the Pacific nations including Australia. Fulfilling his fathers wishes, William studied law at the University of Melbourne. After completing his secondary education, he studied law at the University of Melbourne, and joined the law firm of Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks). In addition, the gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of memorabilia about him. English-born forebears had migrated to Australia from Cheshire William Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity, born in Victoria in 1876. In his more-than 30-year career, William was never promoted to the rank of senior barrister or appointed judge. daughter Toylaan gained her BA(hons) degree at Sydney University He said that "William Ah Ket did not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have been a very competent judge. 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. [4], Despite, or perhaps because of, having himself been discriminated against, Mr Ah Ket devoted his life to fighting against unfair discrimination. who had made such a worthy contribution to the history of William was a member of the Chinese Empire Reform Association of 1904 and the Anti-Opium League of Victoria, organisations which supported modernisation and social reform among Chinese at home and abroad. Guineas and the Melbourne Cup, where he was recognised as William moved to Melbourne in 1893 to study law at Melbourne University, and was formally admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1904. He fought against the White Australia policy and racist laws targeting Chinese workers as Australia's first barrister of Chinese descent. 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! He sold opium, among other supplies. "That's why his story's so important to us.". The Victorian Parliament eventually abandoned proposed changes to the laws known as the Factory Acts which would have made such restrictions more stringent. We will never satisfy our ambitions. of 'building bridges between the East and West.'. Australia's first Asian lawyer, William Ah Ket, who battled racism and achieved landmark victories, and how his legacy lives on Chinese-Australian barrister and lawyer William Ah Ket was known. Williams, founder of the Spanish Guitar Centre in London, His father, Ah Ket, and mother, Hing Ung, had established one of the first tobacco farms on the King River. community, such as Quong Tart in Sydney and Cheok Hong. in Australia ended, he settled in Wangaratta to raise his Chen, and in 1933 the Dr Couchman says the changes William spoke out against were "very invasive". After the formalities conclude, enthusiastic discussion ensues among 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. 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. arts, sciences, and history of the Chinese people. in 1982 and is currently writing the biography of her father. Sir Robert Menzies practised with William in Selbourne Chambers. His father had taken him to China when he was about five years old. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. I haven't yet established who exactly it was that organised James Minahan's legal representation; the Chinese consulate began its operations the following year. respect, not only within his legal fraternity, but within Chinese people. OK BAGUS nama galih ayuningtyas nim 202210631013327 kelas pgsd09 elaborasi pemahaman topik teknologi baru di sini, adalah materi disajikan dalam bentuk lisan Find the obituary of William "Mike" Clendenin (1936 - 2015) from Eagle Mountain, UT. The eldest daughter, Melaan, married Len of his time who could mix with ease, and enjoy widespread He has the lucky number of 88 on the Victorian Bar roll. So how is it that such a pioneering lawyer of Chinese descent is not more widely known? William Ah Ket also wrote articles and gave lectures in support Sir Robert Menzies wrote that he and Mr Ah Ket "were great friends". Contact Us, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7. 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. 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. At that time, people born in Australia were British citizens by right, regardless of their parents origins. as one of Melbourne's most talented and adroit barristers. The Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA) offers our respects to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the true and traditional owners and custodians of the lands we gather on to live, work and learn. William was educated in Wangaratta, and on gaining his matriculation 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. 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. His father had He served his articles under Richard Cross of the firm then known as Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks) in 1903. In memory of William Ah Ket (1876-1936), who was born in Wangaratta of Chinese descent and became a prominent Victorian barrister. father employed a resident tutor for his 'seven little Australians' 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! "But we're living in days of the incarceration of refugees and asylum seekers. This Australian law-related biographical article is a stub. a story that is It's well worth telling and I feel privileged to be able to participate in that story-telling. He advocated and promoted peaceful coexistence. William later married English-Australian typist Gertrude Bullock, courting her for four years before her father would accept him. A Paper on the Chinese and the Factories Acts, published in 1906, defended the rights of Chinese workers and factory owners against unfair legislation. AALA celebrates and shares in the respect for elders, land and community and continues to advocate for intersectional diversity and the empowerment of all first nations peoples worldwide. He specialised in civil law and acquired a considerable reputation as a negotiator of settlements. He was a sound lawyer and a good advocate. Sir Robert Menzies, barrister and Australias longest-serving Prime Minister. practice in Selbourne Chambers alongside such famous neighbours 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. [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. After his return 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. Menzies, Owen Dixon, James Tait, and He was also the acting consul-general for China in 1913-14 and in 1917. Toylaan Margaret Allen,his last surviving child, passed away in New South Wales on 16th July 2015. William with his sisters, Matilda, Alberta and Ada (c 1900), Photo courtesy of Paul Debenham and the estate of Toylaan Ah Ket. He was, by all accounts, a man of William's father, Mah Ket, became highly respected Please send any press releases, deal announcements, details of new hires, newsletters and any other news items to: Copyright 2022 Vantage Asia Publishing Limited. He went on to live in China for several years. William Ah Ket became a leading figure in the Chinese Australian community during the early years of Federation. He was also co-founder and One case he was involved in successfully challenged the Immigration Restriction Act better known as the White Australia policy in 1908. He said that "William Ah Ket did not ever sit on the Bench, though he would have been a very competent judge. Fax: +61 3 9479 1880 Despite these achievements, William Ah Ket's story is little-known. choice would be a controversial play at The Little Theatre, William Ah Ket was born on month day 1876, at birth place, to Mah Ah Ket and Hing Ah Ket (born Ung). He fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Act, which discriminated against . "Winning the inaugural William Ah Ket Scholarship brings me great pride and satisfaction, owing to the scholarship's underlying purpose of fostering the development and promotion of cultural diversity in the Australian legal profession. 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