Our beginning
In the early 1908s, Sun Sun Restaurant on the first floor of 23 Customs Street East, Auckland, was the first choice restaurant for Auckland’s Zhongshan people. Owned and operated by the late Alun Wong and his wife Lana, they were among the first restauranteurs in Auckland to bring authentic Chinese dishes, including fresh hor fun and tofu, to dining in Auckland.
The genesis of the Auckland Zhong Shan Clan Association, Inc. (hereafter AZSCA) was a chance meeting in 1984 between my family and Alun’s family at Sun Sun Restaurant. My parents and I were dining at the restaurant and by pure coincidence and with good fortune, Alun’s Dad was present. Introductions took place, a conversation struck up, the idea of forming a Zhong Shan Clan Association was floated, and the rest is history as we proudly celebrate the 40th anniversary of the AZSCA.
The protagonists
To form an incorporated society, we needed a minimum of 15 members. Our historical records show an invitation to Auckland’s Zhongshan families to join the Association was signed by these “proposers”:
Chas Wong (deceased)
Jilnaught Wong
Sam Young (deceased)
Norman Choy (deceased)
Billy Fong (deceased)
Jimmy Lum
Alun Wong (deceased)
Tony Wong
Jack Chong
Chris Sue (deceased)
Lee Tong (deceased)
Buen Sue
George Wong (deceased)
Hong Ku
The proposers then visited Zhongshan families all over Auckland, and the overwhelming enthusiasm and support provided a clear mandate to incorporate an association.
The Auckland Zhong Shan Clan Association, Inc. was incorporated under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 on 29 April 1985. While this is the formal registration date, we attribute our formation to 1984 when the idea was conceived and the preparatory work undertaken to form the association.
Leadership
Our inaugural Chairman Chas Wong (deceased) provided the guidance and laid the foundation for the subsequent leadership of the Association by the following Chairmen:
1984 – 1986 Mr Chas Wong (deceased)
1987 – 1988 Mr Sam Young (deceased)
1989 – 1990 Mr Tony Wong (Honorary Life President)
1991 – 1992 Mr Tony Wong (Honorary Life President)
1993 – 1994 Professor Jilnaught Wong
1995 – 1996 Professor Jilnaught Wong
1997 – 1998 Mr Alun Wong (deceased)
1999 – 2000 Mr Alex Cheung (Honorary Life President)
2001 – 2002 Mr Tony Wong (Honorary Life President)
2003 – 2004 Mr Tony Wong (Honorary Life President)
2005 – 2006 Professor Jilnaught Wong
2007 – 2008 Professor Jilnaught Wong
2009 – 2010 Professor Jilnaught Wong
2011 – 2012 Mr Alex Cheung (Honorary Life President)
2013 – 2014 Mr Alex Cheung (Honorary Life President)
2015 – 2016 Professor Jilnaught Wong
2017 – 2018 Professor Jilnaught Wong
2019 – 2020 Professor Jilnaught Wong
2021 – 2022 Emeritus Professor Jilnaught Wong
2023 – 2024 Emeritus Professor Jilnaught Wong
Links to Zhongshan
From the inception of our Association in 1984, we have maintained close links with the Office of Zhongshan Municipal People’s Government and its various agencies. We have hosted their delegates to New Zealand, and they have welcomed and hosted us on numerous occasions on our group tours to Zhongshan.
Members of our Association have attended several of the Worldwide Zhongshan Association Conventions, like the 8th Convention in Kuala Lumpur in 2008, the 9th Convention in San Francisco in 2012, 10th Convention in Singapore in 2014, and the 11th Convention in Fiji in 2017.
We receive magazines regularly that keep members abreast of developments in Zhongshan, for example, Zhongshan Overseas Chinese Journal, Longdu Shaxi Overseas Chinese Semi Yearly, and East District Overseas Edition.
Social functions
In the 1980s, our social functions comprised the Anniversary Dinner in May and the August Moon Festival Dinner. These were held at the Auckland Chinese Community Centre in Mangere. The buffet dinners were prepared in the Community Centre kitchen under the leadership of our own Zhong Shan chefs: Alun Wong (deceased), Tony Wong, Lee Tong (deceased), Sammy Lee, and ably supported by their chef friends.
Lee Tong oversaw roasting the pigs in his earth oven in his Mangere market garden, and he was skillfully assisted by his sons Tony and Kevin and brothers Jack and Ray Chong. During our dinners, the roast pork was auctioned by our professional auctioneer, the late Bill Fong. The auction proceeds were a major source of fund raising for the Association, thanks to generous bids from members, and particularly Mr Joe Gock QSM.
Cooking and roasting pigs became more strenuous as our committee members got older and the Association moved with the times to host dinner functions at restaurants.
Over the years, we have held our dinners at Sun Sun Restaurant, Fortune Star Restaurant (also Alun and Lana Wong’s restaurant), Swan Sun Restaurant (Tony and Mary Wong’s restaurant), The Great Wok of China (Jilyin Wong’s restaurant), Crown Restaurant, Lucky Star Restaurant, and Imperial Seafood Restaurant.
Over the past 40 years, other social functions included (1) the Chinese New Year yum cha which was free to members, and this was subsequently revised to a Chinese New Year Dinner at a reduced price of $10 for members, (2) a Senior Members’ Dinner for members 65 and over, (3) members’ tours to Zhongshan (the last one in March and pril 2019), (4) an annual picnic in the summer, and (5) an annual one-day tour including lunch and dinner, around November.
The success of an association comes from its members. Without members who attend and support our functions, there would be no AZSCA. Hosting successful functions requires a dedicated Committee who willingly give up their time to plan, organise, and run the functions.
We are fortunate to have our three Vice Chairpersons Chistine Ng, James Pak Yin Wong, and Lok Ming Yee leading these activities over many years. At this 40th anniversary juncture, they will pass the baton for social events to a subcommittee led by our English Secretary Kylie Hewitt and Committee Member May Fong, and we are confident they will come up with novel ideas and events that members will enjoy.
Academic Awards
To recognise our younger members’ academic performances, our Association presents annual Academic Awards for the successful completion of high school studies, university degrees, and trade completions. Committee Member Dr Vernon Choy chairs our Awards Subcommittee and he presents the awards at our Anniversary
Dinner, so our younger members make a special effort to attend this event and hopefully continue to attend in the future.
Our Committee makes the occasional special award such as the Meritorious Award to Sam Low who was New Zealand’s MasterChef 2022. Sam is the youngest son of our Committee Member Low Hon Chong.
Investments
In 1993, our Committee had the vision to get on “the property ladder” to secure our financial future. We bought a residential property in Glendene, West Auckland, in February 1993 for $95,000, funded as follows:
Association’s accumulated funds $20,000
Members’ donations $50,000
Bank loan $25,000
Total funds $95,000
Nine years later, in 2002, the Association sold the residential property and invested the proceeds, together with mortgage finance, in a commercial property at 236 West Coast Road, Glen Eden, Auckland 0602. The purchase price of the property was $398,000. The Association retained one of the building’s offices for its club room, and the rental income from three shops and an office was used to service the mortgage.
Ten years later, the mortgage was paid off in 2012. Our Association has benefited from the capital growth of the commercial property and based on the 2022 Auckland Council Capital Valuation (CV) the property’s value is several multiples of the purchase price.
Challenge for the future
Our Association has been fortunate to have a dedicated and hard-working Committee who are committed to hosting events that bring our Auckland Zhong Shan people together. We can be proud of our achievements over the past 40 years, and our challenge is to sustain and grow this commitment into the next 40 years.
As age creeps up on all of us, we need to refresh our Association with new members and those of our younger generation who can bring new ideas and suggestions. We also welcome members who would be committed to contribute to the Committee and leadership roles as Chairman, Vice Chairmen, Chinese Secretary, English Secretary,
and Treasurer.
Best wishes to members for excellent health, family harmony, and happiness always.
Emeritus Professor Jilnaught Wong
Chairman
奧克蘭屋崙中山同鄉會簡史
我們的開始
在1980年代初期，奧克蘭中山人首選的餐廳是位於23 Customs Street East,第一层的Sun Sun新新酒樓。這家酒樓由已故的Alun Wong王定倫及其妻子Lana簫燕瓊擁有和經營，他們是奧克蘭最早引入正宗的中式菜餚，包括新鮮的河粉和豆腐的餐館之一。
奧克蘭屋崙中山同鄉會（以下簡稱AZSCA）的創始是在1984年，我的家人和王定倫的家人在新新酒樓偶然相遇。我們全家當時在餐廳用餐，純粹的巧合和好運，王定倫的父親也在場。我們开始自我介紹并闲聊，之后提出了成立一個中山同鄉會的想法。其餘的便成為了歷史，因为我們正在自豪地慶祝AZSCA成立40週年。
主要人物
成立一個法人社團，我們需要至少15名會員。我們的歷史記錄顯示，一份邀請奧克蘭的中山家庭加入該同鄉會的信函由以下“提議人”簽署：
Chas Wong黃仕超（已故）
Jilnaught Wong黃志諾
Sam Young楊漢威（已故）
Norman Choy郭日維（已故）
Billy Fong方惠霖（已故）
Alun Wong王定倫（已故）
Tony Wong王定熊
Jack Chong何澤祺
Chris Sue蕭兆康（已故）
Lee Tong李錦棠（已故）
Buen Sue簫如斌
George Wong黃有福（已故）
Hong Ku古熊
提議人隨後拜訪了奧克蘭各地的中山家庭，他们受到了廣泛的熱情和支持，这为我们提供了一個明確的授權來成立一個同鄉會。
奧克蘭中山同鄉會於1985年4月29日依1908年社團註冊法成立。 雖然這是正式的註冊日期，但我們將組建歸功於1984年建會的構想，並進行了籌備工作以成立該同鄉會。
與中山的聯繫
自1984年我們同鄉會成立以來，我們一直與中山市人民政府辦公室，中山海外聯誼會及其各個機構保持著密切的聯繫。我們多次接待了他們派往新西蘭的代表團，他們多次接待我们的访问团。
我們同鄉會的成員參加了多次世界中山宗親會大會，如2008年在吉隆坡的第八屆大會，2012年在三藩市的第九屆大會，2014年在新加坡的第十屆大會，以及2017年在斐濟的第十一屆大會。
我們定期收到雜誌，讓會員了解中山的最新發展，例如《中山僑刊》、《龍都沙溪僑界半年刊》和《東區僑版》。
社交活動
在80年代，我們的社交活動包括五月份的周年晚宴和八月份的中秋節晚宴。這些活動在奧克蘭華人社區中心的Mangere舉行。自助晚宴是由我們自己的中山廚師Alun Wong王定倫（已故）、Tony Wong王定熊、Lee Tong李錦棠（已故）、Sammy Lee李錦漢以及他們的廚師朋友準備的。
多年來，我們在新新酒樓、Fortune Star福星酒樓（也是王定倫和簫燕瓊的酒樓）、Swan Sun天鵝酒家（王定熊和盧麗英的酒樓）、The Great Wok of China中國大鍋（Jilyin Wong黃志遠的酒樓）、Crown皇冠酒樓、Lucky Star鴻星酒樓和皇庭大酒樓舉辦過活動和晚宴。
一個同鄉會的成功來自於其成員。沒有我們成員的参与和支持，就不會有AZSCA的今天。舉辦任何成功的活動都离不开一個願意花時間去計劃、組織和筹备的敬業理事们。
我們很幸運得到三位副會長Chistine Ng潘鳳屏、James Pak Yin Wong黃伯賢和Lok Ming Yee余樂明多年來領導和支持。在這第40週年的重要時刻，他們將會把社交活動的接力棒交給由我們的英文秘書Kylie Hewitt柯文瑛和理事May Fong蘇燕美領導的小組，我們相信他們會有更多會員喜歡的新穎构思，想法和活動呈现给大家。
未來的挑戰
隨著年齡的增長，我們需要透過新會員和年輕一代的加入來為我們的會注入新鮮血液，他們能夠帶來新的想法和建議。 我們也歡迎那些願意為同鄉會和領導職務，如主席、副主席、中文秘書、英文秘書及財務，作出貢獻的成員。
祝福所有會員身體健康、家庭和睦、幸福快樂。