New Acquisitions for Gum San

Catherine Wong, from Sydney, phoned a couple of weeks ago to ask if we were interested in acquiring some kitchen ware from her ancestral village in China. She had visited Kwong Mei Village in Kaiping City one of the four See Yup counties, from where the majority of Victorian Chinese came during the gold rush period. This was her father's ancestral village and Cathy was able to visit her ancestral home in this village. Her late father, Yip Choy (1911-1996), always referred to Australia as 'Gum San' so she thought our Gum San was the best place for these things that she had brought so carefully home from China.

Cathy checked that she could easily reach Ararat from Melbourne by public transport and could make it to Gum San from the train station and arrived here last week with her cousin Jocelyn Yip. She had brought back plates cups, a bowl and two spoons that had been used by her Chinese relations since the early days of the Peoples Republic. These pieces are typical examples of 'post revolution domestic ware' - no frills china for everyone. Some pieces have Chinese characters on them that have been translated by Yawen, a member of Ararat Rural City Council staff.

Diane, Cathy and Heather examine the china from Kwong Mei Village

Post revolution domestic ware from Kaiping

Diane & Heather examine new acquisitions

This is a traditional poem which means

 "From the top of the hill you can see for ever"

A communist slogan meaning

"To aim to succeed your superior" within the communist ideals

Communist slogan meaning "Red sky in the east"

This reads "Thank you Heather, Catherine Wong 25/5/11"