NEXT MEETING:
Katja Williams from the ANZ in Hastings is talking on commerce and trade in China from the bank’s perspective. Katya is a Relationship Manager for commercial clients at the ANZ National Bank, and is Vice President of the Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce.
Katya comes from Detmold, Germany and worked as a trader for Deutsche Bank in London before coming to New Zealand. She has worked in the finance sector as well as 8 years in manufacturing leaving as General Manager with 4 years on the board.
Katya has an acute awareness and empathy for the challenges businesses face.
LAST MEETING:
Michael Wong was born in Hawkes Bay and told us how his great-grandfather came to New Zealand in 1896 and paid the 100 pounds poll tax and settled in Wellington and was subsequently murdered in a time of anti-Chinese hysteria . His cousin Alison Wong alludes to this episode in her novel ‘As the Earth Turns Silver. Michael told us that he can trace Wong clan ancestry back as far as the Song Dynasty (960 AD). He was co-author of a book detailing the history of his ancestral village, Gwa Leng in Quangzhou (Canton), China, that includes profiles of his and other Chinese New Zealand immigrant families from the same village.
Michael talked enthusiastically about his family history as an example of early Chinese migration here, and of his family visits back to Gwa Leng and of meeting relatives there.
Michael was a member of the New Zealand Chinese Association Poll Tax working group resulting in a formal Government apology in 2002 and the setting up of the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust to fund projects encouraging the understanding of the history of Chinese in New Zealand and promoting public awareness of ethnic diversity.
Beijing Review: Excerpts ‘Te Ao Maori’ Arrives
August 22, 2011 By Patrick O’Dea
Shanghai Museum exhibit shines light on Maori culture and its similarities with Chinese customs and traditions
An exhibition of Maori taonga (treasures) from New Zealand at the Shanghai Museum is exceeding expectations. In the first two weeks after opening on July 21, ‘Te Ao Maori’ (The Maori Viewpoint) attracted approximately 55,000 visitors a week, well on track for its expected attendance of more than half a million before its closing date in early November.
‘Te Ao Maori’, the first exhibition of Maori artifacts in a Chinese museum, is an introduction to the culture and mythology of the indigenous people of New Zealand. The exhibition, considered one of the most important overseas cultural displays in China this year, is drawn from the collections of the Otago Museum in Dunedin, Shanghai’s sister city.
‘Te Ao Maori’ was made possible through the close working relationship between the Shanghai and Otago Museums and their Sister-City bond.
WAHAIKA: A short club carved from whalebone with an ornate figure on one side of the blade (OTAGO MUSEUM)
