Four generations of my family have been associated with the Wellington Chinese Baptist Mission and Church. According to Ng (1999), my grandfather Chiu Kwok Chun (趙國俊) was a ’catechist’ in 1916 – 1918 and 1932 – 1940, as he was not an ordained minister (p. 381). A stone plaque on the inside entrance of our Church Hall commemorates this. My father, Chiu Man Chung (趙民重) was a longstanding elder of the church and was Church President when he died in 1988. My siblings, Irene Lau, Mark Chiu and I, are third generation church members and all our children attended Sunday school. Although my other siblings, Alice Ah Chan and Henry Chiu, no longer live in Wellington, they are still staunch supporters.
Subsequently, I have many memories of the Wellington Chinese Baptist Church. Some of these are coloured by my father’s memories as he often liked to talk about the “good old days”.
First Generation:
One could say my grandfather didn’t always have “good old days” as during some of his Sunday services, according to Ng (1999) “he had few or even no worshippers …. and would turn the clock back and wait some more” (p.381). I suspect sometimes it was only my grandmother, my father and his siblings who were his congregation.
Second Generation:
My father was a very energetic worker for the church and his sister, Wu Pik Ha, known as “Gu Ma ” (姑媽), was a long time teacher of Sunday School. My father and Wong Kai Hing, another church elder, were both fruiterers. They bought identical vans which were used not only for their fruit and vegetable businesses, but also on Sunday mornings to transport children from around Wellington to Sunday school. I think it could have been quite frustrating as some children did not get out of bed until they heard the toot of the horn. My father loved working for the Chinese community and he was really in his element when it came to organising Sunday school activities, the annual Church Bazaar and other church activities.
Second & Third Generations:
Some of my early memories of Sunday school are of my siblings and I being squashed into the back of the van as dad drove around Wellington picking up Chinese children to take them to Sunday school at the RSA Hall in Newtown. On arrival all the kids would pile out and create mayhem, running around before and after Sunday school. In those days there were not many Chinese families who were Christians but the parents liked the idea of their children mixing with other Chinese children. WK Hing’s son “Uncle Willie” and my brother Mark, and then younger brother Henry were later become drivers. Uncle Willie and Mark were also Sunday School Superintendent’s in subsequent years.
I remember Rev Peter Fung, who I think must have been the first Minister of the church. I also remember Mrs Fung telling me off because I was swinging my legs – and probably kicking the kids in front of me. “Little girls do not swing and kick their legs!” I was very young and mortified to have been told off, as it was usually my boisterous older siblings, not me, who were being told off.
Many of you will know Aimee Poy and Kitty Chang, two of their daughters. Aimee, for me, was a really good Sunday school teacher, because when I was in her class I won a gold sticker award from the Scripture Union for competing in a Bible Study exam. Aimee’s husband Peter Poy also taught me. Peter was very interested in art and I remember a drawing competition. My picture of Moses and the Red Sea was so good he said he was going to award me a prize. I am still waiting for that prize.
Some of the teachers who have come and gone through those years were Miss Andresen, Mr & Mrs William Neil (former missionaries in China), Mel King, Mrs Hilda Gavin, Ken Ng – and there were many others. Another of the ‘oldies’ still with us today is Jack Chan. Even I taught for a number of years and was known as “Miss Rosalene”. Two of the longest serving teachers would have been “Gu Ma ” (姑媽), and Aunty Mabel (Long) (梁美葆) who loved to play the piano. Aunty Mabel sadly passed away this year.
Rev Samuel Lau (柳守仁牧師) probably our longest serving Minister who died late last year, served several terms with the Church. He was an enthusiastic and hardworking minister. During his first term with the Chinese Baptist Church, the Sunday school had a very healthy roll and it was a time when there were a lot of activities outside of the Sunday Church service and Sunday school. As well as Sunday service and his pastoral duties, Rev Lau taught Chinese School after school four days a week and made him available to the wider community. My brother Henry attended Chinese school, which is probably one of the reasons why his Chinese is better than mine. Rev Lau was a very popular minister and when he returned with his wife Mary Lau (柳仇彩虹) and daughter Rebecca after serving overseas, they too were tireless workers for the church.
The Sunday School/Church held a Christmas concert every year when my two sisters Irene (Lau) and Alice (Ah Chan), who were also church pianists, would often perform piano duets. We also had an annual Sunday school picnic, attended the Baptist Camp, had exchange visits with the Chinese congregation in Palmerston North, and a choir that sang once a month at church service. Our children’s dance troupe also performed Chinese dances at community events. Other activities were hosting the Baptist Harriers once a year and being rostered to help with the Mission for Seamen.
My sisters Irene and Alice have very fond memories of the choir. It was made up mostly of bible class boys and girls. Choirmasters were John Booth, Hillis McLean, and then Doug Turner who to this day still keeps in touch with us. Alice was the pianist and Irene and Kitty were often the soloists. The choir was often invited to perform in other churches and on occasions at Parliament, Town Hall and other prestigious events. The girls loved dressing up in cheongsams which delighted both the Chinese and Pakeha audiences. Mark was also in the choir and I joined later. As my sister Alice says, “They rehearsed really hard, with a couple of rehearsals a week”. Those were the days when the Church service was an hour long and held on Sunday evenings at 7.00pm till 8.00pm. Participating in the choir was a lot of fun and everyone made lifelong friendships with the other choir members. After the service the choir would often go out to supper or to each other’s homes for coffee.
The Annual Church Bazaar was the major fundraising event of the year and my father was really in the thick of organising it; we helped dad where we could. This was a very important community event and looked forward to with great anticipation by the Chinese community. I recall dad walking around Wellington, notebook in hand, seeking donations and sponsorships for the Bazaar. He and Rev Lau, or whoever was Minister that year, would also drive up to visit the market gardeners in Otaki and Levin, seeking donations of fresh produce for the bazaar. As Dad had a lot of friends in the community who were very generous, they got an excellent response to their request for donations and time.
For months and weeks prior to the bazaar the ladies would be busy sewing, with Aunty Mabel being the most prolific sewer. My mother also sewed and even I became quite a fruitful sewer. I am still using the aprons bought from the bazaar many years ago. At weekends prior to the event, the ladies would be making steamed buns (包子) and dumplings (餃子) to be sold at the bazaar. They would be frozen and then sold hot on the day. My job was to watch the buns rising in the oven and to make sure the steamers had enough water. On the day of the bazaar, huge woks would be borrowed from the Wellington Chinese Sports & Cultural Centre to make chow mein (炒麵), fried rice (炒飯) and soya sauce chicken (醬油雞). Later in the afternoon, there would be great anticipation for the roast pig (燒肉) that had been roasted in a huge pit up country and delivered to be cut, weighed and priced before being sold to eager buyers. Sometimes it was auctioned by a professional auctioneer from the produce markets.
The Bazaar was a really fun event and it brought the wider Chinese community together as many people would come and help with making the Chinese delicacies, sewing, preparation and manning the stores. I think my speciality was the lucky dip. We would have queues lining up at the door for the 10.00am opening. I have fond memories of those bazaars as it was a time when we saw so many Chinese people who did not normally come to church, but who would come to help with the preparation of food, set up and work on the day. It brought the Chinese people together. I do not recall the bazaar continuing much after 1988 when my father died.
Fourth Generation:
All the great grandchildren of Chiu Kwok Chun attended Sunday school for many years. They were star performers in the annual Christmas concert, playing Mary, Joseph, angels, the three wise men, shepherds, sheep etc. They also performed on the piano and danced and sang when required. At annual bazaar time, age permitting, they were very able assistants to their grandfather Chiu Mun Chung. My daughter Kimberley Foo, although much younger than her cousins, was lucky to have had teachers who had been Sunday school students themselves, and who were passionate about the children. Winnie NgChie and Evonne Cheung – who wrote and produced a musical for the kids, and Rebecca Lau, were much loved by the children.
Towards the future:
Chiu Kwok Chun and Chiu Man Chung devoted much of their life to the Chinese Baptist Mission/Church. It was always their wish to serve God and for the church to be a pivotal point of the Chinese Community. My father especially, spent many hours working for the church and as children, we became very involved. It was a big part of our lives. Our children also became very involved in Sunday school activities. Who knows, perhaps even the fifth generation of the Chiu family will also become involved.
I would hope that the young children who are now in Sunday school will continue and grow with the church, as I remember from the early days how much the church has enriched the lives of me and my siblings. The Wellington Chinese Baptist Church has always been a big part of the Chiu family life and it has given us Christian values and memories that we will always treasure.
By Rosalene Foo (胡趙艷玲)
August 2011
Bibliography:
Ng, J. (1999). Windows On A Chinese Past (Vol. Volume 3). Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand: Otago Heritage Books Ltd.