Cairns man’s family lives on
Chinese herbalist Kwong Sue Duk made his home in Cairns in the early 1900s — leaving a legacy of 900 descendants.
CHINESE herbalist Kwong Sue Duk made his home in Cairns in the early 1900s — leaving a legacy of 900 descendants who are now spread around the globe.
This weekend 120 descendants gather in Cairns for the biennial Kwong Family Reunion.
Known as “a man of family”, Kwong Sue Duk landed in Darwin and spent time on the Palmer River Goldfields before setting up business in Sachs St (now known as Grafton St).
With him were three of his four wives, who produced 21 children.
A prominent member of the Cairns community, Kwong’s fluency with English meant he was a vital link — a pseudoconsul and intermediary between European and Chinese residents.
While Kwong moved to Melbourne and later Townsville, where he passed away in 1929, many of his children remained in Cairns and produced families of their own.
They include members of the Lee Long, Sue Yek, Wah Day and Sang families. Some are members of the Cairns and District Chinese Association Inc (CADCAI) and other community and industry organisations. They have also played a role in the city’s progress through engineering, law, property, business and education.
Like all good Chinese celebrations, the 2016 Kwong Family Reunion in Cairns will revolve around food.
Events include a meet and greet, family photos tonight, a family brunch tomorrow, a heritage tour of Grafton St and viewing of the CADCAI Lit Sung Goong Temple artefact collection, a Chinese banquet on Sunday and yum cha on Monday.
The Cairns Historic Chinatown heritage installation highlights Kwong’s contributions to Cairns.
Sixth-generation Kwong descendant and CADCAI vicepresident Nathan Lee Long said it was a privilege to be part of such a special family.
“We take pride in the sheer size of our family and how, even though we have Chinese origins, we now have many different cultures, beliefs and backgrounds in our members,” he said. “We do celebrate our family.”