Yet Soo War Way Lee (c. 1853 Tungkun, Guangdong, China – 21 August 1909 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia) was a successful Chinese-Australian merchant.[1]
Personal life
editYSW Way Lee was born in Guangdong, China in about 1853. He migrated to Australia in 1874, where he had family -- an uncle in Sydney. He initially spent time in Sydney and Brisbane, before settling in Adelaide. He married Margaret Ann McDonald in 1889. They had 3 children, Vera Pretoria, Lily and Jack Ernest.
WayLee & Company
editWay Lee had one of the government contracts to supply the Ghan railway from Port Augusta to Hergott Springs/Maree.[2] He partnered with several other Chinese merchants, including Hu Ting, to deliver food and other supplies to the expanding railway in the late 1880s.
An advocate and leader
editLee was a leader of the South Australian Chinese community who advocated for the rights of Chinese residents of Australia.[3][4] He and Hu Ting authored at least one letter to the Editor during the height of the Anti-Chinese immigration debates in South Australia in the 1880s.[5]
Further reading
editBurritt, Roger L; Way Lee, Y. S. W. (Yett Soo War), 1852-1909. Chinese question from a Chinaman's point of view; Walker, Dylan, 1951-; Carter, Amanda J; Monaghan-Jamieson, Patricia; University of South Australia. Centre for Accounting, Governance and Sustainability (2009), Way Lee 100 years on (PDF), Centre for Accounting, Governance and Sustainability, University of South Australia, ISBN 978-0-646-51826-8{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
References
edit- ^ Gibbs, R. M., "Way Lee, Yet Soo War (1853–1909)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 16 April 2022
- ^ "DEATH OF MR. WAY LEE". Observer. 28 August 1909. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
- ^ Gibbs, R. M. (1990). "'Way Lee, Yet Soo War (1853–1909)'". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 12. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ Uncovering the remarkable Way Lee, (September 2009), UniSANews. Accessed 7 September 2018
- ^ "Correspondence". South Australian Weekly Chronicle. 31 March 1888. Retrieved 16 April 2022.