Who’s involved
Quong Tart Centenary Commemoration Committee
Migration Heritage Centre NSW
Newcontemporaries
City of Sydney Council
Queen Victoria Building
Australia China Council
United Grand Lodge of NSW and ACT
Powerhouse Museum
Spicers Paper
When and where
Project location: Sydney
Project status: Current project
Date of completion: August 2004
Project description
Curated by Dr Nicola Teffer, ‘No Ordinary Man. Sydney’s Quong Tart: citizen, merchant & philanthropist’ was an important historical exhibition casting new light on the life of Quong Tart (1850-1903), in his time, one of Sydney’s most famous and well-loved personalities.
Originally a Chinese immigrant lured here by the goldrush, he became one of the city’s most successful merchants and made a significant impact on the social and political scene of late 19th century Sydney. Quong Tart is now largely remembered as a uniquely Victorian character: a Chinese Mandarin who adopted the dress and manners of an English gentleman and was renowned for his public performances of Scottish songs. However, there is more to the story of Quong Tart than this affectionate image tells.
‘No Ordinary Man’ brought together material sourced from private and public collections, some of which has never been exhibited before. The exhibition highlighted Quong Tart’s significance in shaping Australian society, including the role his tea-rooms played as the site of the first meetings of Sydney’s suffragettes and his contribution to the developing diplomatic and trade relations between Australia and China.
Fascinating photographs of Quong Tart’s family, home and tea-rooms document Sydney’s social life and the range of Quong Tart’s interests and influences, from his progressive employment policies to his public philanthropy. He is distinguished as the first Chinese person in Australia to be initiated into the Society of Freemasons.
Original documents reveal Quong Tart’s tireless advocacy for the rights of resident Chinese, his campaign against the trade in opium and his role as a mediator between the Australian and Chinese communities. Quong Tart was indeed no ordinary man, and his achievements are made all the more remarkable by the fact that his popularity and success was won at a time of such strong anti-Chinese sentiment.
The exhibition was on display in 2004. There is a website (not hosted but linked on the Migration Heritage Centre’s website) which showcases the exhibition.
Project contact
Newcontemporaries
Phone 02 9268 0316
Fax 02 9264 8711
Email info@newcontemporaries.com.au
Address:
Level 3 South (Town Hall end)
Queen Victoria Building, George St
Sydney NSW 2000
AUSTRALIA
Website
www.newcontemporaries.com.au
