William William Ah Ket

Background

Ah Ket was born on 20 June 1876 at Wangaratta, Victoria, the only son and fifth child of Mah Ket and Hing Ung.

Career

He died on 6 August 1936 of arteriosclerosis and renal failure at Malvern, Victoria. Ah Ket fought against the requirements of the 1907 Factories (Employment of Chinese) Acting, which discriminated against Chinese residents, and successfully opposed legislative amendments in 1904, 1905 and 1907 which would have specifically discriminated against Chinese residents in the furniture industry. In 1913-1914 and 1917, he acted as Consul-General for China in Melbourne.

Achievements

• He was a co-founder of the Australian-Chinese Association and one of two delegates from the Chinese community in Australia to the opening of the Chinese national parliament of 1912.