| Native Name: | 陈达枝 |
| Native Name Lang: | zh |
| Birth Name: | Chan Dah Chee |
| Birth Date: | 8 August 1850 |
| Birth Place: | Tarp Gwong, Imperial China |
| Death Place: | Guangdong, People's Republic of China |
| Spouse: | Joong Chew Lee |
| Children: | William Ah Chee, Clement Ah Chee and Arthur Ah Chee |
| Chan Ah Chee | |
Chan Ah Chee 陈达枝 (1851–1930), also known as Chan Dah/Dar Chee or Dar Chee Chan was a Chinese market gardener in Auckland, New Zealand.[1] He has been noted as one of the most significant pioneers in the early years of Chinese settlement.[2]
Ah Chee established the successful fruit and vegetable company, Ah Chee & Co and was a notable figure in the establishment of early Chinese migration to Auckland.
Ah Chee was born in the Chinese village of Tarp Gwong.[3] Originally set to travel to Dunedin, Ah Chee arrived in Auckland by ship in 1867 and decided to stay due to severe sea sickness. He was one of a large group of around 2,000 men that travelled from the Southern Chinese province of Guangdong in search of fortune in the Otago goldfields. Upon his arrival in New Zealand, immigration officials misread his name 'Chan Dar-Chee' and recorded him as Chan Ah Chee, which he was known as in newspapers and land lease documents throughout his time in New Zealand. His family and descendants are referred to as the 'Ah Chee' family.
Ah Chee was naturalised in 1882 and in 1886 brought Joong Chew Lee (also known as Rain Chan/See) to New Zealand to marry. Joong was one of only nine recorded Chinese women in Auckland according to the 1881 census.[4] She was also noted to be instrumental in the family's success due to her proficiency to read, write and speak English as well as Cantonese.
The couples wedding day was reported in newspapers:[5]
Ah Chee had five children, all of whom were born in Auckland. The first two children died at birth, Williiam Ah Chee (Chan Wah Fook) born in 1889, Clement Ah Chee (Chan Wah Dong) born in 1892 and Arthur Ah Chee (Chan Wah Ying) born in 1895. His grandson (son of Clement Ah Chee and May Yuk Doo) was Tommy Ah Chee, creator of New Zealand supermarket chain, Foodtown and fast-food restaurant, Georgie Pie.[6]
He and his family lived in Parnell, where they grew a market garden, known as Kong Foong Yuen which translates to Garden of Prosperity.[7]
Ah Chee retired in 1914, and left New Zealand with his wife for Canton (present-day Guangdong) in 1920. He lived in China until his death in 1930.[8] [9]
Ah Chee established two centrally located fruit shops by 1880, under the name Ah Chee & Co: one on 13 Queen Street, across from The Auckland Chief Post Office, and the other across from the Auckland Ferry Terminal on the corner of Queen and Quay Street. Between 1900 and the 1930s, the Ah Chee family owned at least seven shops in Auckland.
The Kong Foong Yuen market garden was established on seven and a quarter acres of land on Parnell's Gillingham Street which Ah Chee leased in August 1882. The market garden at this site remained for thirty-eight years.[10] The garden's soil of volcanic origin and its origins as a raupō swamp made it an ideal place to grow vegetables.
Over the years, the gardens housed many of Ah Chee's family as well as members of the Chinese settler community. The Ah Chee family were noted to support new Chinese settlers in providing accommodation and work as well as paying for travel expenses and poll taxes.
Archeological discoveries confirm the Ah Chee's lived a priviledged lifestyle, taking part in traditional Chinese celebrations with friends and workers as well as, reoccurring travel to China. Family accounts record that the family had servants who helped with housework and were a significant and integrated among Auckland social circles.
A 1894 article details the relationship between the Ah Chee family and prominent Auckland figures:[11]
By the 1890s Ah Chee established other market gardens, notably in the Auckland suburbs of Epsom and in 1905, Ah Chee purchased 35 acres on Rosebank Road in the Auckland suburb of Avondale which served as another market garden. This site was used as a market garden up until World War II when it was converted to a hospital for the US Navy. By the end of the war in 1945, the site was reimagined and Avondale Intermediate and Avondale College were built.Ah Chee was involved in multiple business ventures, including in the late 1800s and early 1900s, managing dining rooms and restaurants. These were on Customs Street East (from 1887-1888) and Queen Street (from 1889-1893). He opened fruit shops throughout Auckland city as well as in Newmarket. He also set up international exporting of dried fungus from Ne Zealand to China, reported in the Auckland Star:[12]
By 1920, the land had been under the Ah Chee family's care for close to 30 years. At this point the land and buildings were given back to the land owners who later leased to the Auckland Rugby League Club and the site became the Carlaw Park rugby league ground.
The overall success of The Kong Foong Yuen market garden contributed to the outcomes of Ah Chee's other business ventures.
In 2006 archaeological discoveries were made at the site of The Kong Foong Yuen market garden. These discoveries provided insight into the lives of the Ah Chee family and those early Chinese migrants who lived on the property. It is noted as a significant finding in historical record of market gardens in early Auckland as well to the early Chinese settlement community. Among findings were a large amount of clay and glass bottles used for rice wine which would have been drunk widely by workers in the gardens. As well as this there were remnants of houses which are believed to be where the Ah Chee family resided. These findings confirmed the communal style living that the Ah Chee family promoted.
Chan Ah Chee and his family thrived in both business and social life in Auckland at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment was evident through the immigration restrictions of the poll tax.