Name/Title
WALL PLAQUEEntry/Object ID
2015.4.1Tags
Historic Significance, Scientific Significance, Social Significance, Condition Significance, Interpretive Significance, Provenance Significance, Rarity SignificanceContext
This wall plaque is believed to have hung on the front of the old Kong Chew Society building at 242-244 Little Bourke Street. The building was demolished in the 1970s. The date of the plaque is written down the right hand side (16th year of the Guangxu emperor = 1875 + 16 = 1891). A rough translation of the four main characters is: ‘Take care (look after, protect, nurture) the prosperity of your brotherhood (clanspeople)’. The society also still hold: couplets that sat on either side of altar, candle holders for altar (not full set), wall couplets believed to have been on outside of this plaque.
The Kong Chew Society is the oldest Chinese community organization in Australia. It was established in 1854 in the same year as, but shortly before, the See Yup Society. The Society supports people from the Sunwei (Xinhui) district in the See Yup (Siyi) area in Guangdong. The Society built their first club rooms at 242-244 in 1862. This was one of the first Chinese-owned properties in the area. The building was demolished in the 1960s and the Society moved to their current premises at 4 Tattersalls Lane. This is a significant remnant of this building.
Historic: This wall plaque is believed to have hung on the front of the old Kong Chew Society building at 242-244 Little Bourke Street. The building was demolished in the 1970s. The date of the plaque is written down the right hand side (16th year of the Guangxu emperor = 1875 + 16 = 1891). A rough translation of the four main characters is: ‘Take care (look after, protect, nurture) the prosperity of your brotherhood (clanspeople)’. The society also still hold: couplets that sat on either side of altar, candle holders for altar (not full set), wall couplets believed to have been on outside of this plaque.
Scientific: This plaque will contain information about who made the plaque (possibly someone from Guangzhou) and is one of the physical remnants of the original Kong Chew Society building.
Social: Strongly tied to the history of the Kong Chew Society.
Provenance: Photographs of the exterior of the old Kong Chew Society building prove that one of the two sets of couplet plaques were on the exterior verandah of the building. Unfortunately the plaque we believe this to be is in shadow.
Rarity: Rare. This is also representative of the kinds of wall plaques found on the exterior entrances of Chinese temples and public buildings.
Condition: The Kong Chew Society also holds the couplet plaques which would have hung on either side of the plaque on offer. They also hold part of the altar set and the couplet plaques associated with the altar that was in the building.
Interpretive: We hold digital copies of two black and white photographs taken of the old Kong Chew Society building.Acquisition
Accession
2015.4Source or Donor
Kong Chew SocietyAcquisition Method
Unknown