Jar for soy sauce, ceramic, part of the shop stock, Wong Sat collection, maker unknown, [China], 1864-1875 - This brown stoneware soy sauce or oil jar was made in China between 1850 and 1875. It is part of a collection of personal effects and shop stock relating to Sat and Amelia Wong who operated general stores in the New South Wales gold mining town of Tuena and later on a sheep farm at Bolong, north of Crookwell during the 1800s.
Sat and Amelia opened their first store, the Guang Yu Long Trading House, selling European and Chinese goods, in Tuena, in 1864. Their customers were mainly Chinese miners. Gold was discovered in the rivers and creeks around Tuena in 1851. Within six years Chinese diggers were arriving in such numbers that several camps sprang up with small Chinese stores and restaurants. Between 1864 and 1875 Sat and Amelia sold large quantities of pork, clothing, and dry foods to Chinese customers. Like other Chinese stores, they also sold opium which remained legal until 1906. This object probably came from the Tuena store.
General stores were a vital part of the regional communities that developed throughout Australia in the 19th century. They were the link between their communities and the metropolis and overseas markets. Chinese immigrants were a dominant part of this retail trade across the country. By 1901 there were 800 people of Chinese descent working in NSW shops - a statistic that suggests the existence of several hundred 'Chinese stores in the state.
The significance of this jar derives from its relationship to an Anglo-Chinese family who ran a store near Crookwell in southwestern NSW.
Hand-made circular ceramic jar without a lid. It is glazed in dark brown. The underside has no glaze or markings. There are two openings at the top, one for filling the jar with sauce, and the smaller opening for pouring. The jar was possibly made in China. The jar was used between 1864 and 1875.
Wong Sat and Amelia Wong were married in 1864. Seven of their 10 children were born there. Both Amelia and Sat had migrated to Australia in the 1850s. Amelia arrived with her family from Manchester where they had a drapery business. Like many other Chinese men, Sat made his way to Australia alone and in search of gold. He too made his way to the Bathurst area. Again like many other Chinese migrants, Sat moved from mining into the trade - possibly as a butcher, shopkeeper, or carrier. |
| Sat and Amelia were selling supplies to Chinese and European customers in the gold mining town of Tuena from 1864 to 1875. In that year the family moved south to the Fullerton/Bolong area near Crookwell where they continued to trade and farm on a rented property. In 1879 Sat was naturalized which allowed him to purchase land. Several hundred acres were bought in 1880 and a small wooden store was built on the property. Built on a sheep farm well away from link roads, the rudimentary wooden building was a 'convenience store' supplying local families on the properties and occasional travelers with a vast array of goods from foodstuffs to clothing, the school needs to farm supplies. Where city and large country department stores were utilizing sophisticated display techniques the Wong store had a functional set of shelves. Most goods were stored in boxes or cupboards to be brought out upon request. Like other general stores, the Wongs' business also served an important economic function as a provider of credit for families waiting for returns on their wool clip or harvest. The Wongs became highly respected members of the local community. The store traded until Sat's death in 1916.
Following the closure of the Wong store in 1916 the stock remained largely undisturbed until the growth in interest in 'Australiana' in the 1970s. At that time restaurateur Peter Doyle bought a considerable amount of stock from Robert Wong who then owned the property. Doyle had known the family since being evacuated to the Crookwell area as a young boy from Watson's Bay in 1942. At that time he visited the farm, was taken into the store, and given a 'new' pair of shoes. Over the next 30 years, he continued to visit the area and became friends with the Wong family. Having developed an interest in 'Australiana' in the 1970s he bought some of the material still left in the shop.
Doyle passed much of his collection on to Sydney dealer and collector Anne Schofield. She, in turn, donated this to the Museum in 1984. Twelve years later the Museum purchased more shop stock, fittings, account books, and family photographs from the family.
In 2002 Peter Doyle donated most of the remaining items that he purchased in the 1970s. The jar was used between 1864 and 1875.
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