Mavis Chun

Mavis or May, is the eldest child of Chun Yee Hop and Wun Chu Lin. She's our family matriarch, and she spent years bringing up the younger Chun children when Yee Hop and Chu Lin passed away in the late 1940s. Bright and capable Mavis, held the Chun family together. She later spent more than 20 years in Hong Kong, pursuing a career that had been put on hold because of family responsibilities. She returned to New Zealand in the 1980s.

A Mavis story written down by Nigel

Mavis told me at a birthday party at Homewood on 4 April 1998 that, apropos her hard life – that it was fate – her whole life has been dictated by fate. She had to bring up those children – who else was going to do it? She feels maybe God sent her to look after those kids. She even looked after her parents. As an example when her father was older and her Mum sick she’d say, around ten o’clock –‘you go home now, I’ll finish up.’ She’d then stay until 2 or so finishing up. (if Riddiford St, shop and house were in same building, so not sure which shop she might be talking of . . . )

A Mavis story written by Stan

The matriarch.

Proud and strong.

Great sense of family responsibility which as kids we could not understand the iron hand required, but do now.

A strong belief in Chinese herbals and it took me 60 years to realize she was right.

She has a tremendous balance of both East and West and this she utilizes in word and will.

A straight backed martinet who was also very attractive in her younger days.

Emphasized cleanliness to the nth degree and shoved a ton of halibut oil capsules down our throats to maintain our health.

Her belief in health and herbals has taken her today to over 90 plus years.

A pretty rare person.