We are saddened to hear of the passing of Mr. See Chu (Chas) Wong who was the inaugural Chairman of the Auckland Zhong Shan Clan Association.
Chas was an active proponent for setting up the Association in the early 1980s. He was one of the required fifteen willing members who drafted its mission and the Constitution to enable the incorporation of the Auckland Zhong Shan Clan Association, Inc. in 1984. Chas was our first Chairman from 1984 to 1986, then as Immediate Past Chairman for two years after that.
The early years of the Association’s life were an important part of our history. The pioneering work was to communicate our purpose to Clan members, to build a solid foundation of the membership and to set the financial grounding that enabled the Association to carry out its mission.
As a new Association, Chas recognized the importance of building relationships with the various Zhong Shan organizations in China. These included the Zhongshan Association of Returned Overseas Chinese and the various Zhongshan City officials. In New Zealand, Chas forged the Association’s relationships with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in New Zealand and the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Auckland.
Organising and running events to bring our members together, as well as fund-raising, kept the Association’s Committee busy, and Chas was in the forefront of these activities.
I remember Chas working with Lee Tong, Sammy Lee and Tony Lee roasting pigs – for our functions and auctions – in the underground oven at Lee Tong’s market garden in Mangere.
Chas worked tirelessly with the late Alun Wong and his brother Tony Wong in planning the banquet dinners that many of our Zhong Shan chefs prepared at the Auckland Chinese Community Centre Mangere Hall where we held our functions.
In everything that the Association did, Chas led by example.
I did not see Chas as frequently in recent years, but when I did, he always asked after our Association. He was very proud that we have come a long way; we have just celebrated our 34th anniversary.
A history of Chas’s family is on our website:
Our deepest condolences to his wife Kam Hung and his children Desmond, Stephen, Jennifer and Elizabeth and their families. The Auckland Zhong Shan Clan Association is grateful for Chas’s leadership and support over the years. Rest in peace.
Sincerely
Jinaught Wong黃志諾
Chairman
22 July 2018