Mavis Chun was a highly intelligent, talented, modern, musical and capable woman who, through circumstances over which she had no control, was prevented from truly realising and fulfilling the great potential she was born with. In all ways Mavis Chun was defined and formed by those circumstances, and she did her best to overcome them.
Mavis Chun was born Mavis Yee Hop in Wellington on 14 September 1916 at the Sing On Kee fruitshop at 144 Lambton Quay, the first child of her parents Chun Yee Hop and Wun Choy lin. Mavis’s father Chun Yee Hop was 46 at the time of her birth and her Mum Wun Choy lin was 20. Both parents had been born in Jung Seng county, China. Her father had arrived in New Zealand in 1895 and her mother, Yee Hop’s second wife, in 1915. Within a year of her arrival in New Zealand Choy Lin gave birth to her first child, Mavis.
Mavis’s Chinese name was Chun Mei Sheurng which means ‘beautiful maiden.’ Her Chinese name was given to her by her Dad. Her English name was probably given to her by Annie Wong, the popular wife of the local Chinese Anglican Minister. Annie assisted all the local Chinese women at the time, including with births, moral support and giving the children their English names. Mavis was a common English name at the time and her parents no doubt just accepted whatever name Annie suggested to them.
A second daughter was born two years after Mavis – Doris - followed by Enid, Phyllis, Ina, Rona, and then, in 1923, the first boy, Bill. That was not the end, however, Mavis’s Mum was to eventually have 18 children in all, all of them single births, with the first 13 being born at home. When the Labour government made hospital birth compulsory in 1936 and the mother had to stay in hospital for two weeks after the birth Choy Lin was ecstatic – it was the only holiday she ever got! For Yee Hop the large and growing family was a source of great joy, after waiting so many years he finally had the family he had always wanted. For Mavis the large family was to be not such a source of joy.
In 1922 Mavis started school, going to Te Aro Primary School on the Terrace. The same year her father moved the Sing On Kee shop from Lambton Quay to 203 Willis Street. Mavis was a very bright and capable girl and as the other children came along her parents gave her increasing responsibility for taking care of the younger ones. She was also given shop responsibilities far beyond her years, including interpreting and writing business letters. Mavis later recalled the impact this had on her ‘I remember I was very young, under 10 years of age, probably about 7 or 8, or even much younger, when I had to shoulder responsibilities, expected to even, responsibilities that were far beyond my years, as I now know, but at that time, of course, I never understood how to carry out because of my tender years. I only know, looking back, that it was a growing up period that was so different from other children, who could stay on after classes and play in the school grounds for a while, but I always had to rush home and look after the younger children or work in the shop.’[1] She also recalled having to interpret for her father ‘As I grew a little older, about 7 or 8, I suppose, I had to interpret for my father when he had occasion to reply in English, and even write an English letter for him now and then. I shudder to think of the childish English I must have used.’[2] Having such heavy responsibilities thrust on one so young was, sadly, only a taste of things to come.
In 1929 when Mavis was 13 her father took the whole family back to China to give his kids a good Chinese education – the usual practice at the time. By that time there were ten children. Mavis’s Dad left the running of the family shop in the hands of his adopted oldest son. It was intended that the family would stay in China for at least six years – the standard time needed to provide children a good Chinese education. However after less than a year the parents came back to New Zealand with the three boys. Youngest son Ron was sick and the sons of overseas Chinese were often the target of being kidnapped for ransom. Fearing the boys might be kidnapped or die from illness Mavis’s father decided to return with them to New Zealand.
Being thought less in danger Mavis and her sisters remained behind with her father’s first wife in Guangzhou. All seven girls were sent to school. Initially Mavis’s parents put the girls into a modern western style school but the first wife thought that too expensive and sent them to a cheaper traditional Chinese school. It was here that Mavis first truly showed her intelligence and brilliance. She was initially put into standard one, but within two months she was moved up two levels to standard three. Sadly she was not given the opportunity to further develop her academic skills. After only two years her father decided that Mavis’s brains, intelligence and English-language skills were more needed in the shop in Wellington than in school in China. In January 1931 he asked a family friend who was returning to Wellington to bring Mavis back with him. That was the end of Mavis’s time in China and the end of her education. She was 15. As she later noted ‘I wish I had had such an opportunity to go to school and learn. I really have a strong inclination towards learning, but it was not to be, on my return to New Zealand I had no more opportunity to return to school. As it was, I had to sacrifice my childhood and youth on bringing up someone else’s family, as it were, there wasn’t much choice for me.’[3]
Mavis’s job was now to help her parents full-time with the family and shop work. This was a huge sacrifice and one in which she really had no say. It was just do it and get on with it. Mavis later pointed out that in a traditional Chinese marriage such as her parents had all the household matters were looked after by the mother. It was only on important matters that the father would be consulted regarding the children, otherwise the responsibility was solely the mother’s. As she noted ‘My mother was totally incapable of bringing up such a large family, and, as she had no experience in the raising of children as she was an only child in her family, it was only natural that she would expect me to shoulder a large part of the responsibility, both in looking after the young children and in working in the family business which was our means of livelihood.’[4] This was an expectation, both as a girl, and as the eldest in the family. Call it fate or bad luck, but there it was. As the Chinese saying has it ‘if you’re born a girl, don’t be born the eldest.’ The eldest girl always gets all the responsibility and all the work, and for Mavis the responsibility was huge for such a young person. And there was little or no support. Mavis recalled that communication with her father was limited to ‘questions of a very necessary nature.’ As for her mother, she said there was even less communication. Therefore she was expected to shoulder heavy responsibilities with little or no support from her parents or from anyone else. It must have been a very hard and lonely life for such a young person, but she did it. What other option was there?
It was also a very hard life financially. Understandably with so many children to support, the family was not well off. Time off, fun, holidays and weekend sports, movies and play were unknown, work and making money were everything. However the family was always clean and well dressed with clothes made by Mavis and the older sisters, the food basic but nourishing, and the shops and living areas were always spotlessly clean thanks to Mavis’s strict supervision.
The drudgery and responsibility of family and shop life were not the only stresses on Mavis. While the anti-Chinese racism that her father suffered during his early years in New Zealand had subsided it was still a major and ongoing issue for all Chinese New Zealanders. There was casual racism such as European customers being patronising and demeaning. Mavis’s father, for example, was always called ‘John’ and never Mr Chun. There was always the threat of random acts of verbal and physical abuse, both in the shop and in the streets. Mavis recalls her sister Doris and her once being told by an angry white person in the shop to ‘go home.’ Mavis calmly pointed out to the man that as she had been born in New Zealand, she was home. Like the expectations to shoulder heavy family responsibilities, white racism was just something Mavis dealt with and put up with as part of her lot in life.
In 1932 the family shop moved again, this time to Coutts street in Kilbirnie. In the meantime the family kept growing. Between 1932 and 1941 another seven children arrived. And between 1934 and 1940 the six other girls who’d gone to China returned to New Zealand, further adding to the crowded family situation.
To increase the family income and accommodate the growing number of children in 1935 Mavis’s father bought another fruitshop in Newtown: Hing Lee. Like other Chinese families the Chuns both lived and worked in their shops. With all the kids it was incredibly crowded. At Hing Lee Mavis’s parents had their own room, as did Mavis, while the other kids all shared rooms and beds. One room was shared by four siblings with three kids sharing one bed. For most of the late thirties and forties there were about 11 brothers and sisters living at the Newtown shop, including the parents. This number was increased in 1940 when Mavis’s sisters Rona and Rosie returned from China because of the Japanese War.
The war had other impacts. In 1941 and 1942, fearing an invasion by the Japanese, Yee Hop sent most of the younger members of the family up to Carterton. Ironically the family was closer to the Japanese in Carterton then if they’d stayed in Wellington – there was a Japanese prisoner of war camp just a few miles away from where they were staying! Mavis, however, didn’t accompany the young ones to Carterton. She stayed in Wellington to continue helping her Mum and Dad run the shops. In 1941 her brother Bill joined the New Zealand army and later transferred to the Air Force, serving in the Pacific. He did not return to Wellington until 1946. The reason he joined up, he said, was to get away from his boring job in the shop and go overseas and have some adventure. For Mavis war also offered an opportunity for escape – although one that was rather more limited. She had taken some secretarial training and was manpowered by the government to work as a clerk at Army Base Records. Her father wasn’t happy with this as it took her away from her shop and family work but she said she had no choice – everyone was expected to do their bit for the war effort. This gave her a much needed break from the shop and family – at least during normal work hours – there was still the normal family and shop work to do after her base records job had finished. Remember the hours in a fruitshop are extremely long, starting around six in the morning and often ending after midnight.
Sadly the end of the war in 1945 did not bring any respite for Mavis. A double tragedy occurred that was to add to the huge weight of responsibility that Mavis had to carry. In November 1946 Mavis’s Mum died of ovarian cancer at the tragically young age of 49. Just over a year later her frail and aged father died, aged 78. Some say he died of a broken heart following the death of his wife. Although she had been taking on ever more responsibility during her Mum’s sickness and as her father became increasingly frail, Mavis’s parents died far too young for the large family and especially for Mavis. Their deaths left a family of 10 living at the fruit shop with no parents. The oldest child was 23 and the youngest six. There was now no-one to look after the shop and the children except the 32 year old Mavis and her 25 year old brother Bill.
Because there were no parents there was a strong possibility the family would be broken up by social services. This was particularly so after an incident in 1948 when the four youngest kids all decided to wag school for two weeks. They did this because of a cheeky desire to challenge the strict and authoritarian life of the household. The kids decided that instead of going to school they would sneak back into the house through the back window, hide behind the sofas until Mavis had gone to work and then enjoy themselves at home. After two weeks of this a social welfare woman came round to see Mavis, saying that since she was obviously unable to care for the children it would be best that they all be fostered out. Mavis said absolutely no. She knew that would be the ruin of the children and the family and flatly forbade it. As usual she got her way. She was determined this would not happen again. She continued her role of care-giver, running the shop and household with even firmer discipline; ensuring school, work and home were run like a tight military unit. If she had to be a martinet to achieve this, so be it. It was hard both for the kids and for Mavis, but she succeeded. The family stayed together.
Reflecting on those years of looking after the family following her parent’s death she said ‘After my mother passed away my life was even tougher as I had no choice but to bring up the younger children and also keep the home going for the family and work in the family business as well. Needless to say it was very stressful for me, all the pressures, strains and stress, the heavy responsibility and no help or reassurance by word or action from anyone. However if that was my destiny there was little else I could do. I could not just run off and leave the family as when my mother passed away the younger ones were still very young and someone had to keep a home going for them and the elder ones. What else can one do under the circumstances when faced with such a situation?’
But life was not all work and like all young people Mavis enjoyed parties and socialising when time and shop and family duties permitted. There wasn’t a lot of opportunity before the 1940s but the war brought a lot of changes to life in New Zealand and the Chinese community was no exception. An influx of refugee women and children in 1939 and 1940 brought a big change to the social scene. Unlike before when the Chinese community was mostly single men, the arrival of the refugees brought a real family life for the first time. The small group of local-born Chinese kids like the Chuns was also growing up and wanted to have fun, like their European friends. A group of radical young Chinese led by the Kwoks pushed for a mixed sport and social club for young Chinese. There was a lot of resistance to this idea from the parents - especially the unchaperoned mixing - but eventually they relented and in 1942 the Chinese Progressive Club was formed. This was the forerunner of most of the Chinese sports and social clubs we have in Wellington today. Mavis was very good friends with all the young Chinese in Wellington - especially the Kwoks - so she was heavily involved in all the CPC activities from the start. These included sports, balls and parties. Mavis didn’t play sports but loved the balls and socials. It was a great opportunity for her to relax and enjoy herself away from all the responsibilities. She also loved to dress up. As usual her skills were evident. Like all the women of the time she made all her own clothes, and her dressmaking skills were second to none. She took dressmaking classes and, of course, had plenty of experience making clothes for the family.
She also loved classical music and took piano lessons, buying a piano for herself which she kept in the living room at the Hing Lee shop, and which she’d practice whenever she had a chance. She’d bring her European friends over to the shop to sing and play the piano with them. She had a fine soprano voice and took singing lessons to develop it. When her sister Rona returned to New Zealand in 1940 she found Mavis’s habit of practicing scales ‘terrible’ – she’d say to her ‘aiya May, you sound just like gai gok (rooster)!’ Mavis also took elocution lessons so she could speak English ‘properly.’ I remember she always spoke English with a beautifully rounded BBC accent. She also developed her professional skills, going to the top Secretarial College, learning shorthand and typing. Later her main means of communicating and expressing herself was through her beloved typewriter and the typed letter, of which she wrote thousands over the years. She was refined, modern, sophisticated and cultured. Despite the grind of work in the shop she always dreamed of better things and wanted those things for the children as well. She got the kids to take piano lessons (as well as the obligatory Chinese language lessons which they often purposely avoided!) and made sure they practiced. And she did all these things while still looking after the kids and running the shop – going from 6 in the morning until after midnight. That she could still find time to fit in social and cultural interests is remarkable.
In 1951 a new era began for the family. The old Newtown and Kilbirnie shops were sold and Bill bought the Zenith fruitshop in Manners Street. The ten kids still part of the old shops moved to work at the new shop. In 1952 the family bought a huge house in Homewood Avenue Karori, big enough to take all ten of them. From this point on life improved rapidly for all the Chuns, both financially and spiritually. Life at Homewood was busy and full of life: as well as work there were parties and fun, all of which Mavis took part in.
By the mid 1950s all the kids were grown up and independent. Mavis felt she had finally fulfilled her duties to the family and it was time for a bit of ‘Mavis-time.’ In 1955 she decided to take a trip to America, where she stayed for six months, working in a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. After she returned she continued working at the Zeniths with the family until 1966 when she decided to take another holiday. This time she went to Hawaii. On the way back to New Zealand she stopped off in Hong Kong for a brief visit. This brief visit lasted 24 years. She found work as a secretary/personal assistant in a variety of firms including a German clothing company, a job she found very fulfilling. This was truly Mavis’s time – a time for her alone. At the age of fifty she was finally free to be herself and enjoy living her life the way she wanted to - a just reward for her many years of sacrifice. And she truly loved Hong Kong, its Chinese culture and Chinese food.
Mavis never married. When she was younger this option was denied her because of the needs of family and business. By the time she was free to marry the prospect of being the wife of a fruitshop owner or market gardener can hardly have been very appealing to her. You can imagine more of the same old same old. She’d been there, done that, it was time for her, why give that up? However it must be remembered that she didn’t have the option of a married life and children. Her youth was spent for the greater good of the family.
By the late 1980s she was in her seventies and retired in Hong Kong. She was ready to return to New Zealand, and in 1990 she did so, returning to live with June and Con at Homewood Avenue. She lived there the rest of her life, enjoying family gatherings, pottering round the house, typing away on her beloved typewriter, discussing Chinese history and culture with anyone who showed an interest, and attending the Chinese Anglican Church, which she loved. She passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last Monday night, aged 94.
It’s undeniable that while Mavis accepted her duties and responsibilities to the family she was also a little bitter about what life had been for her. Her ambitions and the lost opportunities for her to extend her great potential were something of a grievance to her. Inevitably this sense of grievance was expressed in the household. Duties were fulfilled with efficiency, but pressures and standards of the times meant that love and kindness were seldom expressed. Strict discipline was the order of the day, both for the children and for herself. In her eyes without discipline neither she nor the family would have survived.
Life was not easy on Mavis, and because of this she herself was sometimes not an easy person. She could be difficult and stubborn, but also charming and sweet.
However I can’t stress enough that as well as her strong family commitments Mavis was a very talented, modern, cultured and sophisticated person who did her best to live life to the full and fulfill her potential as much as possible. In many ways she was unique, both in her own family and within the wider Chinese New Zealand community. Under different circumstances and with different opportunities she could have risen to the top of any career path she might have chosen. Sadly this was not to be. However through an iron will, discipline and determination she lived her life as fully as she could. Life tested her, life demanded everything of her, even to sacrifice her own dreams for the good of others. To accept this role was not easy but she rose to the occasion and passed each test and each challenge. Without her the Chun family would not have survived and prospered as it did. Perhaps even more than her parents Mavis was the heart and soul, the strength, the spirit of the Chun family. She was the Chun matriarch, she was always there, the mighty lone pine, the Rock of Gibraltar on whom all the family could always rely. As sister Doris said, Mavis was her ‘leaning post.’ She was always there and everyone expected her to always be there. The idea of the Chuns without Mavis was unthinkable. And it was expected that she would just go on forever. Or so we thought. But of course even mighty pines must die, and last Monday night the indomitable Mavis Chun, who had fought and worked and dominated and cajoled and preserved the Chun family for so many years, and lived as full a life as she could under the circumstances presented to her, quietly passed away aged 94.
Even though I have spoken so many words about Mavis, I feel I have not done her justice. It is impossible to sum up who she was, what she did, what she meant to and what she sacrificed for her family. She was a truly remarkable woman and is completely irreplaceable. Things will never truly be the same without her. We who knew her will carry this loss with us forever.
Written by Nigel Murphy and delivered at Mavis Chun’s funeral service 5 October 2010
[1] Letter to Kirsten Wong 1 December1988
[2] Letter to Kirsten Wong 1 December1988
[3] Letter to Kirsten Wong 1 December1988
[4] Letter to Kirsten Wong 1 December1988
Mavis Chun was born Mavis Yee Hop in Wellington on 14 September 1916 at the Sing On Kee fruitshop at 144 Lambton Quay, the first child of her parents Chun Yee Hop and Wun Choy lin. Mavis’s father Chun Yee Hop was 46 at the time of her birth and her Mum Wun Choy lin was 20. Both parents had been born in Jung Seng county, China. Her father had arrived in New Zealand in 1895 and her mother, Yee Hop’s second wife, in 1915. Within a year of her arrival in New Zealand Choy Lin gave birth to her first child, Mavis.
Mavis’s Chinese name was Chun Mei Sheurng which means ‘beautiful maiden.’ Her Chinese name was given to her by her Dad. Her English name was probably given to her by Annie Wong, the popular wife of the local Chinese Anglican Minister. Annie assisted all the local Chinese women at the time, including with births, moral support and giving the children their English names. Mavis was a common English name at the time and her parents no doubt just accepted whatever name Annie suggested to them.
A second daughter was born two years after Mavis – Doris - followed by Enid, Phyllis, Ina, Rona, and then, in 1923, the first boy, Bill. That was not the end, however, Mavis’s Mum was to eventually have 18 children in all, all of them single births, with the first 13 being born at home. When the Labour government made hospital birth compulsory in 1936 and the mother had to stay in hospital for two weeks after the birth Choy Lin was ecstatic – it was the only holiday she ever got! For Yee Hop the large and growing family was a source of great joy, after waiting so many years he finally had the family he had always wanted. For Mavis the large family was to be not such a source of joy.
In 1922 Mavis started school, going to Te Aro Primary School on the Terrace. The same year her father moved the Sing On Kee shop from Lambton Quay to 203 Willis Street. Mavis was a very bright and capable girl and as the other children came along her parents gave her increasing responsibility for taking care of the younger ones. She was also given shop responsibilities far beyond her years, including interpreting and writing business letters. Mavis later recalled the impact this had on her ‘I remember I was very young, under 10 years of age, probably about 7 or 8, or even much younger, when I had to shoulder responsibilities, expected to even, responsibilities that were far beyond my years, as I now know, but at that time, of course, I never understood how to carry out because of my tender years. I only know, looking back, that it was a growing up period that was so different from other children, who could stay on after classes and play in the school grounds for a while, but I always had to rush home and look after the younger children or work in the shop.’[1] She also recalled having to interpret for her father ‘As I grew a little older, about 7 or 8, I suppose, I had to interpret for my father when he had occasion to reply in English, and even write an English letter for him now and then. I shudder to think of the childish English I must have used.’[2] Having such heavy responsibilities thrust on one so young was, sadly, only a taste of things to come.
In 1929 when Mavis was 13 her father took the whole family back to China to give his kids a good Chinese education – the usual practice at the time. By that time there were ten children. Mavis’s Dad left the running of the family shop in the hands of his adopted oldest son. It was intended that the family would stay in China for at least six years – the standard time needed to provide children a good Chinese education. However after less than a year the parents came back to New Zealand with the three boys. Youngest son Ron was sick and the sons of overseas Chinese were often the target of being kidnapped for ransom. Fearing the boys might be kidnapped or die from illness Mavis’s father decided to return with them to New Zealand.
Being thought less in danger Mavis and her sisters remained behind with her father’s first wife in Guangzhou. All seven girls were sent to school. Initially Mavis’s parents put the girls into a modern western style school but the first wife thought that too expensive and sent them to a cheaper traditional Chinese school. It was here that Mavis first truly showed her intelligence and brilliance. She was initially put into standard one, but within two months she was moved up two levels to standard three. Sadly she was not given the opportunity to further develop her academic skills. After only two years her father decided that Mavis’s brains, intelligence and English-language skills were more needed in the shop in Wellington than in school in China. In January 1931 he asked a family friend who was returning to Wellington to bring Mavis back with him. That was the end of Mavis’s time in China and the end of her education. She was 15. As she later noted ‘I wish I had had such an opportunity to go to school and learn. I really have a strong inclination towards learning, but it was not to be, on my return to New Zealand I had no more opportunity to return to school. As it was, I had to sacrifice my childhood and youth on bringing up someone else’s family, as it were, there wasn’t much choice for me.’[3]
Mavis’s job was now to help her parents full-time with the family and shop work. This was a huge sacrifice and one in which she really had no say. It was just do it and get on with it. Mavis later pointed out that in a traditional Chinese marriage such as her parents had all the household matters were looked after by the mother. It was only on important matters that the father would be consulted regarding the children, otherwise the responsibility was solely the mother’s. As she noted ‘My mother was totally incapable of bringing up such a large family, and, as she had no experience in the raising of children as she was an only child in her family, it was only natural that she would expect me to shoulder a large part of the responsibility, both in looking after the young children and in working in the family business which was our means of livelihood.’[4] This was an expectation, both as a girl, and as the eldest in the family. Call it fate or bad luck, but there it was. As the Chinese saying has it ‘if you’re born a girl, don’t be born the eldest.’ The eldest girl always gets all the responsibility and all the work, and for Mavis the responsibility was huge for such a young person. And there was little or no support. Mavis recalled that communication with her father was limited to ‘questions of a very necessary nature.’ As for her mother, she said there was even less communication. Therefore she was expected to shoulder heavy responsibilities with little or no support from her parents or from anyone else. It must have been a very hard and lonely life for such a young person, but she did it. What other option was there?
It was also a very hard life financially. Understandably with so many children to support, the family was not well off. Time off, fun, holidays and weekend sports, movies and play were unknown, work and making money were everything. However the family was always clean and well dressed with clothes made by Mavis and the older sisters, the food basic but nourishing, and the shops and living areas were always spotlessly clean thanks to Mavis’s strict supervision.
The drudgery and responsibility of family and shop life were not the only stresses on Mavis. While the anti-Chinese racism that her father suffered during his early years in New Zealand had subsided it was still a major and ongoing issue for all Chinese New Zealanders. There was casual racism such as European customers being patronising and demeaning. Mavis’s father, for example, was always called ‘John’ and never Mr Chun. There was always the threat of random acts of verbal and physical abuse, both in the shop and in the streets. Mavis recalls her sister Doris and her once being told by an angry white person in the shop to ‘go home.’ Mavis calmly pointed out to the man that as she had been born in New Zealand, she was home. Like the expectations to shoulder heavy family responsibilities, white racism was just something Mavis dealt with and put up with as part of her lot in life.
In 1932 the family shop moved again, this time to Coutts street in Kilbirnie. In the meantime the family kept growing. Between 1932 and 1941 another seven children arrived. And between 1934 and 1940 the six other girls who’d gone to China returned to New Zealand, further adding to the crowded family situation.
To increase the family income and accommodate the growing number of children in 1935 Mavis’s father bought another fruitshop in Newtown: Hing Lee. Like other Chinese families the Chuns both lived and worked in their shops. With all the kids it was incredibly crowded. At Hing Lee Mavis’s parents had their own room, as did Mavis, while the other kids all shared rooms and beds. One room was shared by four siblings with three kids sharing one bed. For most of the late thirties and forties there were about 11 brothers and sisters living at the Newtown shop, including the parents. This number was increased in 1940 when Mavis’s sisters Rona and Rosie returned from China because of the Japanese War.
The war had other impacts. In 1941 and 1942, fearing an invasion by the Japanese, Yee Hop sent most of the younger members of the family up to Carterton. Ironically the family was closer to the Japanese in Carterton then if they’d stayed in Wellington – there was a Japanese prisoner of war camp just a few miles away from where they were staying! Mavis, however, didn’t accompany the young ones to Carterton. She stayed in Wellington to continue helping her Mum and Dad run the shops. In 1941 her brother Bill joined the New Zealand army and later transferred to the Air Force, serving in the Pacific. He did not return to Wellington until 1946. The reason he joined up, he said, was to get away from his boring job in the shop and go overseas and have some adventure. For Mavis war also offered an opportunity for escape – although one that was rather more limited. She had taken some secretarial training and was manpowered by the government to work as a clerk at Army Base Records. Her father wasn’t happy with this as it took her away from her shop and family work but she said she had no choice – everyone was expected to do their bit for the war effort. This gave her a much needed break from the shop and family – at least during normal work hours – there was still the normal family and shop work to do after her base records job had finished. Remember the hours in a fruitshop are extremely long, starting around six in the morning and often ending after midnight.
Sadly the end of the war in 1945 did not bring any respite for Mavis. A double tragedy occurred that was to add to the huge weight of responsibility that Mavis had to carry. In November 1946 Mavis’s Mum died of ovarian cancer at the tragically young age of 49. Just over a year later her frail and aged father died, aged 78. Some say he died of a broken heart following the death of his wife. Although she had been taking on ever more responsibility during her Mum’s sickness and as her father became increasingly frail, Mavis’s parents died far too young for the large family and especially for Mavis. Their deaths left a family of 10 living at the fruit shop with no parents. The oldest child was 23 and the youngest six. There was now no-one to look after the shop and the children except the 32 year old Mavis and her 25 year old brother Bill.
Because there were no parents there was a strong possibility the family would be broken up by social services. This was particularly so after an incident in 1948 when the four youngest kids all decided to wag school for two weeks. They did this because of a cheeky desire to challenge the strict and authoritarian life of the household. The kids decided that instead of going to school they would sneak back into the house through the back window, hide behind the sofas until Mavis had gone to work and then enjoy themselves at home. After two weeks of this a social welfare woman came round to see Mavis, saying that since she was obviously unable to care for the children it would be best that they all be fostered out. Mavis said absolutely no. She knew that would be the ruin of the children and the family and flatly forbade it. As usual she got her way. She was determined this would not happen again. She continued her role of care-giver, running the shop and household with even firmer discipline; ensuring school, work and home were run like a tight military unit. If she had to be a martinet to achieve this, so be it. It was hard both for the kids and for Mavis, but she succeeded. The family stayed together.
Reflecting on those years of looking after the family following her parent’s death she said ‘After my mother passed away my life was even tougher as I had no choice but to bring up the younger children and also keep the home going for the family and work in the family business as well. Needless to say it was very stressful for me, all the pressures, strains and stress, the heavy responsibility and no help or reassurance by word or action from anyone. However if that was my destiny there was little else I could do. I could not just run off and leave the family as when my mother passed away the younger ones were still very young and someone had to keep a home going for them and the elder ones. What else can one do under the circumstances when faced with such a situation?’
But life was not all work and like all young people Mavis enjoyed parties and socialising when time and shop and family duties permitted. There wasn’t a lot of opportunity before the 1940s but the war brought a lot of changes to life in New Zealand and the Chinese community was no exception. An influx of refugee women and children in 1939 and 1940 brought a big change to the social scene. Unlike before when the Chinese community was mostly single men, the arrival of the refugees brought a real family life for the first time. The small group of local-born Chinese kids like the Chuns was also growing up and wanted to have fun, like their European friends. A group of radical young Chinese led by the Kwoks pushed for a mixed sport and social club for young Chinese. There was a lot of resistance to this idea from the parents - especially the unchaperoned mixing - but eventually they relented and in 1942 the Chinese Progressive Club was formed. This was the forerunner of most of the Chinese sports and social clubs we have in Wellington today. Mavis was very good friends with all the young Chinese in Wellington - especially the Kwoks - so she was heavily involved in all the CPC activities from the start. These included sports, balls and parties. Mavis didn’t play sports but loved the balls and socials. It was a great opportunity for her to relax and enjoy herself away from all the responsibilities. She also loved to dress up. As usual her skills were evident. Like all the women of the time she made all her own clothes, and her dressmaking skills were second to none. She took dressmaking classes and, of course, had plenty of experience making clothes for the family.
She also loved classical music and took piano lessons, buying a piano for herself which she kept in the living room at the Hing Lee shop, and which she’d practice whenever she had a chance. She’d bring her European friends over to the shop to sing and play the piano with them. She had a fine soprano voice and took singing lessons to develop it. When her sister Rona returned to New Zealand in 1940 she found Mavis’s habit of practicing scales ‘terrible’ – she’d say to her ‘aiya May, you sound just like gai gok (rooster)!’ Mavis also took elocution lessons so she could speak English ‘properly.’ I remember she always spoke English with a beautifully rounded BBC accent. She also developed her professional skills, going to the top Secretarial College, learning shorthand and typing. Later her main means of communicating and expressing herself was through her beloved typewriter and the typed letter, of which she wrote thousands over the years. She was refined, modern, sophisticated and cultured. Despite the grind of work in the shop she always dreamed of better things and wanted those things for the children as well. She got the kids to take piano lessons (as well as the obligatory Chinese language lessons which they often purposely avoided!) and made sure they practiced. And she did all these things while still looking after the kids and running the shop – going from 6 in the morning until after midnight. That she could still find time to fit in social and cultural interests is remarkable.
In 1951 a new era began for the family. The old Newtown and Kilbirnie shops were sold and Bill bought the Zenith fruitshop in Manners Street. The ten kids still part of the old shops moved to work at the new shop. In 1952 the family bought a huge house in Homewood Avenue Karori, big enough to take all ten of them. From this point on life improved rapidly for all the Chuns, both financially and spiritually. Life at Homewood was busy and full of life: as well as work there were parties and fun, all of which Mavis took part in.
By the mid 1950s all the kids were grown up and independent. Mavis felt she had finally fulfilled her duties to the family and it was time for a bit of ‘Mavis-time.’ In 1955 she decided to take a trip to America, where she stayed for six months, working in a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. After she returned she continued working at the Zeniths with the family until 1966 when she decided to take another holiday. This time she went to Hawaii. On the way back to New Zealand she stopped off in Hong Kong for a brief visit. This brief visit lasted 24 years. She found work as a secretary/personal assistant in a variety of firms including a German clothing company, a job she found very fulfilling. This was truly Mavis’s time – a time for her alone. At the age of fifty she was finally free to be herself and enjoy living her life the way she wanted to - a just reward for her many years of sacrifice. And she truly loved Hong Kong, its Chinese culture and Chinese food.
Mavis never married. When she was younger this option was denied her because of the needs of family and business. By the time she was free to marry the prospect of being the wife of a fruitshop owner or market gardener can hardly have been very appealing to her. You can imagine more of the same old same old. She’d been there, done that, it was time for her, why give that up? However it must be remembered that she didn’t have the option of a married life and children. Her youth was spent for the greater good of the family.
By the late 1980s she was in her seventies and retired in Hong Kong. She was ready to return to New Zealand, and in 1990 she did so, returning to live with June and Con at Homewood Avenue. She lived there the rest of her life, enjoying family gatherings, pottering round the house, typing away on her beloved typewriter, discussing Chinese history and culture with anyone who showed an interest, and attending the Chinese Anglican Church, which she loved. She passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last Monday night, aged 94.
It’s undeniable that while Mavis accepted her duties and responsibilities to the family she was also a little bitter about what life had been for her. Her ambitions and the lost opportunities for her to extend her great potential were something of a grievance to her. Inevitably this sense of grievance was expressed in the household. Duties were fulfilled with efficiency, but pressures and standards of the times meant that love and kindness were seldom expressed. Strict discipline was the order of the day, both for the children and for herself. In her eyes without discipline neither she nor the family would have survived.
Life was not easy on Mavis, and because of this she herself was sometimes not an easy person. She could be difficult and stubborn, but also charming and sweet.
However I can’t stress enough that as well as her strong family commitments Mavis was a very talented, modern, cultured and sophisticated person who did her best to live life to the full and fulfill her potential as much as possible. In many ways she was unique, both in her own family and within the wider Chinese New Zealand community. Under different circumstances and with different opportunities she could have risen to the top of any career path she might have chosen. Sadly this was not to be. However through an iron will, discipline and determination she lived her life as fully as she could. Life tested her, life demanded everything of her, even to sacrifice her own dreams for the good of others. To accept this role was not easy but she rose to the occasion and passed each test and each challenge. Without her the Chun family would not have survived and prospered as it did. Perhaps even more than her parents Mavis was the heart and soul, the strength, the spirit of the Chun family. She was the Chun matriarch, she was always there, the mighty lone pine, the Rock of Gibraltar on whom all the family could always rely. As sister Doris said, Mavis was her ‘leaning post.’ She was always there and everyone expected her to always be there. The idea of the Chuns without Mavis was unthinkable. And it was expected that she would just go on forever. Or so we thought. But of course even mighty pines must die, and last Monday night the indomitable Mavis Chun, who had fought and worked and dominated and cajoled and preserved the Chun family for so many years, and lived as full a life as she could under the circumstances presented to her, quietly passed away aged 94.
Even though I have spoken so many words about Mavis, I feel I have not done her justice. It is impossible to sum up who she was, what she did, what she meant to and what she sacrificed for her family. She was a truly remarkable woman and is completely irreplaceable. Things will never truly be the same without her. We who knew her will carry this loss with us forever.
Written by Nigel Murphy and delivered at Mavis Chun’s funeral service 5 October 2010
[1] Letter to Kirsten Wong 1 December1988
[2] Letter to Kirsten Wong 1 December1988
[3] Letter to Kirsten Wong 1 December1988
[4] Letter to Kirsten Wong 1 December1988
No comments:
Post a Comment