THE BROTHERS CHUN
It is very interesting to write of other people and other things but maybe it is time I wrote of relatives closer to home, the guys I grew up with, who determined our future paths, whom we looked up to, emulated and simply followed their ways simply because they were older brothers…or in my case I had 5 brothers above and 1 below.
So this is a story of the Seven Brothers Chun, perhaps the Chinese Magnificent 7 of their time.
Well perhaps not gun slinging cowboys but indeed every brother was quite different in characteristic from each other.
Brother 1.
Brother 1 was William.
For the most we called him Will and the girls had a kind of Chinese English pronunciation of Wiiyum.
He later was called Bill more in the English tradition of shortening the long name of William
The sisters often referred to him as Dai Jai meaning Big Brother and his mates nominated him JB.
Bill has lead a very eventful life being born the oldest he fell right into the lap of responsibility for looking after the tribe that was the Chun family of 18.
I mean that is harrowing stuff for real. No wonder early photos of him show a serious looking guy that later on escaped into the army and air force during WW2 for a sojourn in the Emirau Islands.
Bill’s education went as far as the Wellington Technical College and then it was off to manage the fruit shops that dad had set up in Newtown and Kilbirnie.
I don’t think he was running things for too long when the WW2 beckoned.
Dad bought a small market garden in Somerset Road , Carterton and by chance Bill’s unit was stationed about a mile away at Anderson’s Line.
I remember he drove a small Austin car with a luggage tray at the rear which a couple of us would sit on as he drove around the streets and farmlet.
2.
I also remember the time he arrived with his friend called Mac in a bren gun carrier and thrilled us as we bumped around in the metal tank over the ups and downs between the rows of carrots and Swedes.
I was scared stiff but remember brother Dave just loving it.
It was here that I learnt how to siphon petrol from a tank just watching Bill put a hose into the gas tank of the carrier and suck. Petrol shot out and into a metal petrol canister and there was enough gas for the Austin for a while.
Bill later applied for a transfer into the air force because the pay and conditions were better.
He told the examining officers that he was a photographer but the problem was that he wasn’t.
He was asked to develop some film so sauntered off to try his hand at developing them.
He had no luck in the Kiwi unit so tried the American one.
He was struggling with the process until asked by a GI what was he trying to do.
“I am trying to print these negatives” said Bill.
“ Here, I can do that” offered the GI and in short time present Bill with some sparkling prints that impressed the Kiwi officers so much that they put him in the blue uniform of the RNZAF.
So that is how Bill learnt a part of the photography technique and was something he passed down to me.
When Bill was in the services we waited anxiously to hear from him. No he was not in the front line but he had this habit of regularly sending home packs of things from the US canteens as Planters peanuts and American chewing gum, nylon stockings and such.
I believe mum and dad shed tears when they received presents out of the blue from their eldest son.
This trait of giving was very very strong in Bill.
No matter where he went he was always sending gifts back to us even after the war.
His honeymoon in the east or his trips to the west could well be documented by the gifts he would send back.
3.
I still recall when I was knee high Bill taking me out for my first restaurant meal. It was the Rendezvous restaurant in Lambton Quay. Then he bought me my first jacket made of brown leather.
Some things just stick in your mind.
But anyway it was after the war that he returned home and virtually turned Sang Lee of 25 Coutts Street upside down and renamed it the Pacific Fruit Supply, a bright new shop with a more modernistic look.
And also there was a new 1946 blue Ford V8 truck which we were proud of. This was later swapped to a 1947 V8 with the Yee Family of Masterton and was slightly larger. We had that truck for many years.
Bill had this thing about him that belied his education level.
I think it was forward thinking balanced with business logic and chance.
I remember his quote that “ We were at the lowest level so why not take chances as we had nothing to lose..??”
He knew that the fruit shops in Newtown and Kilbirnie were not enough to sustain the whole family so when his then father in law Ted Ting offered the sale of the Zenith Seeds in Manners Street Bill leapt at it.
There were two adjoining shops and the Zenith Seeds and Zenith Fruit Co was born.
Zenith Fruit was very busy and was later passed on to Arthur to run while Bill took the seed business over himself.
This spawned more shops one in Lower Hutt run by Ron then later a tie in with Ben Ching of Christchurch to start another plant shop eventually to be managed by Ron and David.
While the fruit was at its zenith Bill opened what was to be the first garden centre in Lower Hutt and the rest is history.
His businesses were prospering, the boys Neville and Danny growing and so was his property developments.
Manners Street was becoming more and more derelict and the incoming Land Tax Law was going to put us right out of business in the area.
It was fortunate that by forethought Bill had bought the property along with shareholders in the fruit shop but having this chunk of land at the time no one seemed to want it was proving to be more of a liability although it served us well through the years.
4.
Zenith Seeds and Zenith Fruit had paid the mortgage and rumours were that there was going to be development in the area.
Bill made some enquiries but came back with hands empty until we found out that Government Life and Downer were going to develop right next door on the Stewart Thwaites owned Chas Begg area.
We got hold of the developers and made an agreement in principle to develop with them.
However, we were later advised we could have done better and this is where I saw Bill Chun at his best where confidentiality prevents me from giving details but he was not going to be outdone on principle by the big boys and changed the conditions his way.
It was like playing poker for real and Bill had a pair of twos against an open pair of aces.
But Bill Chun won that hand without shedding a bead of sweat while I was trembling like hell in the background.
There is so much more to tell of this guy but the above is just a short history.
So how do I define his character..??
I think always several jumps ahead of whomever…or whatever.
He was like the carp that had to swim against the waters but succeeded in his objectives.
Tremendous internal strength to have to accept the responsibility of looking after the family as a whole not to mention his own.
Tremendous foresight.
Very family orientated not only of his own but of his brothers and sisters.
A very giving person.
Loves his hi fi sounds and people around him.
Great inviter for parties or simply just a get together.
I think his house at Marina Grove was built for himself and his friends to enjoy.
There are more facets to this guy but these are the main things that strike me.
