Chinese Market Garden in Whittlesea

Arthur Yong discovered the Chinese Market Garden in September 1998 whilst planning his first book on Chinese history in the City of Whittlesea. In the course of his research, he stumbled upon a picture of the market garden, dated around 1910. It depicted a waterwheel used to irrigate the garden. This led him to contact local residents, to investigate the garden and its origins.

Robert Wuchatsch Vice President of the Whittlesea Historical Society introduced him to Russell Dunn. Russell was able to locate a postcard of  “Tack‟s Water Wheel‟. He explained it was named after Lee Tack, an early Chinese market gardener and father of Ethel Tack and Percy Ping, who were well known in the area.

Russell also showed Arthur a bottle of Chinese medicine, which once belonged to Lee Tack. Lindsay Mann, President of Whittlesea Historical Society introduced Arthur to John McPhee, a local dairy farmer who moved to the property neighbouring the old Market Garden site on 1 July 1938. In January 1999, John took Arthur, Lindsay Mann and members of Arthur‟s project group to visit the old site. John showed the group a map of the original market garden, where it bordered the Whittlesea Township between Plenty River and Bruce‟s Creek (near Oak Street and the Whittlesea Showground). The map showed „Chinaman‟s Garden‟. The map names the site as “Wills Plenty Estate, (Comprising 4,056 acres),Whittlesea”. It was produced for the sale of the estate. The property was sold by public auction at Whittlesea library on Thursday 20 May 1886 by Richard Dixon and company. The map was produced by W H Lockwood, Whittlesea shire engineer, and dated 13 October 1886, after the sale.

John provided Arthur with a photo of his property taken in 1980 and showed him the site of Ping‟s house and his dairy. The photo showed the location of Tack‟s dam, Tack‟s water wheel, the channels and water holes.

Clarence Johnston, “Clarrie”, owned the site before the McPhees, he explained. Clarrie and Lee Tack were good friends. John showed Arthur the duplicate certificate of title and a copy of the transfer of land for the property. The title documents confirmed the site of the strip of land, nestled between the Plenty River and Bruce‟s Creek, bordering on the Whittlesea Township. The certificate described the land was owned originally by Percy Arthur Ping, Market Gardener and Ethel Tack, Spinster. On Ethel‟s death, on 22 October 1963, the property passed to Percy.

There was a transfer of the property to a (Gordon) Don Goding shortly after Percy‟s death in 1965, and is still held in his estate. John estimated the Market Garden to have spanned approximately 22 acres. At one stage it was farmed by eighteen Chinese migrants, who probably settled in the area in the wake of the gold rush. Gold was discovered at Kinglake in 1863 at Nuggetty Gully, where hundreds of Chinese migrants were said to have worked. The exact date, when the Chinese Market Garden was established, is still unknown though it can be safely assumed that it commenced between 1863 and 1886.

The postcard suggested that Lee Tack installed the water wheel to irrigate the field of the Market Garden. John believes the Market Garden would have produced traditional vegetables such as potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, beans, peas and possibly Chinese herbs. The Garden would have been a major food supply for local residents and workers constructing the nearby Toorourrong Reservoir. “Lee Tack told Clarrie that he came to Australia to be a gold miner, chasing gold. Clarrie said he knew two other migrants at the gold fields, Goon and “Humpy”. 

Humpy had broken his back in a goldmine. He was stooped right over. They were both very old Chinese men in the 1920s. I believe Lee Tack was one of the first Chinese settlers in Whittlesea and he was probably a Chinese herbalist. He used to take a mixture of herbs to cure something or other. I guess he treated all the farmers too. I bet the local doctor was very unhappy with him, taking his business away,”  John McPhee said. While walking the field that was once the site of the old garden, John explained, “In the fields there were a series of holes and channels. I guess they would make the water go whichever directions they wanted. By banking little bits of earth, they could send the water this way or that. Clarrie told me that these holes had a set distance apart. What they did was scoop the water out of those holes and throw it onto the garden. When I was twelve years old, I could remember seeing these holes. Over the years, they were filled with rubbish.”

John recalls that Percy was a real nice, polite man. Percy delivered milk to the McPhee farm and other locals. The milk cans were labelled, “A. Atkins”, a name which made them more marketable. John thinks Percy may have sold cream under his mother‟s name, Mary Maud Atkins. Ian Goding, son of Don Goding, knew Arthur Percy Ping. Ian provided his copy of the title documents to the old Chinese Market Garden.

John says, “I would almost be sure that Percy Ping and Ethel Tack went to Whittlesea Primary School. When I recall Percy and Ethel, Ethel lived in the house and Percy lived in one of the rooms. When Ethel died, Percy continued to live in the same room. They were very good friends, there were no ill feelings between them.”

An 1883 edition of the „Evelyn Observer‟ reports that the Whittlesea Police Court fined two people (David Welsh and S. Winward) for throwing stones and assaulting market gardeners. The market gardeners‟ names were Ah Hem and Ah Soung at Whittlesea. A Chinese interpreter, James Ah Pow was present in court. David Charles Ovenden, born in 1945 in Coburg, also has memories of the

garden. Between 1945 and 1978, David lived on Church Street, in the Whittlesea Township, within walking distance of the site. 

Harry Baldwin Ovenden, David‟s grandfather, owned and operated a fruit and vegetable shop on Church Street between 1908 and 1940. Harry was twice married. His second wife was Ethel Tack.

Arthur met David after the publication of his initial research on the Market Garden in 1999. David was able to provide copies of photographs of Mary Maud Atkins, Ethel Tack and Percy Ping and details of their family trees. The original photographs were owned by David Soo, great grandson of Mary Tack, who recalled spending time at the market garden as a child.

Between 1999 and 2008, Arthur was also in touch with David Soo talking about the market garden and his ancestors. David has great interest in Chinese culture and learning about his family history.

According to David Ovenden, Ethel Ovenden was buried on 25 October 1963 after a service at Christ Church, Whittlesea. On 24 September 1965, Percy Arthur Ping was buried after a service at Ern Jensen Preston.

David has been researching the family trees of Mary Maud Atkins (Tack) and Ethel Tack for several years. Lee Tack was born in 1852 in China, and migrated to Australia as a young man. He lived in Whittlesea, married to Mary who was born in 1867 in Frome, Somerset in England. Mary‟s first husband was Lee Ping. She later married Lee Tack. Lee Tack died in 1936 in Whittlesea, aged 84 years old. Mary Maud Atkins died in 1940 in Whittlesea, aged 73. David regarded his step-mother, Ethel Tack Ovenden, as his grandmother.

Ethel and Percy are buried at the Yan Yean Public Cemetery, quite close to each other. “My grandmother, Ethel was born in 1892 to Mary Maud Atkins and Lee Tack at the residence of the Market Garden. Grandma‟s half brother Percy Arthur Ping, who was born in 1888, and spent all his life at the Chinese market garden farm. I visited the garden when I was a child. It was known to the locals that Percy delivered vegetables on Wednesdays with his horse and cart,” David Ovenden said.

“I can recall onions were grown there. Probably all those vegetables will grow well in Whittlesea Township, for example, cauliflower, cabbage, and carrot. Parsnip is another one.”

“Percy and Ethel were a little bit peculiar, like lots of old people, it wouldn‟t matter whether they were Chinese or not. They both had rooms at the original house near the market garden. There was Ethel‟s room and Percy‟s room. Ethel used to wear funny clothing, a pair of sand shoes, an army “great coat” from time to time, and a pith helmet, later in her life. There were heaps and heaps of old things at their place, old music box, biscuit tins, cigarette tins, bottles, linen, calendars and old clocks. They kept them in the storeroom. They didn‟t throw anything out.”

When asked how the locals regarded the mixed marriage, David says, “I don‟t know. Mary Maud married a couple of times and Ethel Tack married my grand dad (Harry Ovenden). I don‟t think there was any dispute involved there. Along Forest Street (near market garden farm in Whittlesea), there were Mr and Mrs Howell and Mr and Mrs McDonald and Mr and Mrs Hall. I know they were all friends of Ethel and Percy. Ethel used to walk backwards and forwards to the farm. There was no racial discrimination, as far as I‟m aware.”

David took Arthur Yong to visit Ethel‟s and Percy‟s graves. Driving along Forest Street and Church Street, David described the houses of friends of Ethel, and the fruit and vegetable shop that his grandfather used to own. Records at the administration office of the Yan Yean Public Cemetery revealed that Lee Tack and Mary Tack buried at that cemetery, and were Presbyterian and Church of England respectively.

When consulting Professor Charlie Xue at the RMIT University about evidence whether Lee Tack grew his own Chinese herbs and the health benefits for eating vegetables, Charlie provided the following information. Chinese people of that generation traditionally classified food as Yin, Yang or “Neutral”, depending on their energy they provide and the impact they have on the body. From the traditional Chinese perspective, appropriate use of organic vegetables could have health benefits. A patient with Yang condition such as a fever would use a herb or vegetable that had a Yin property to facilitate the treatment process. Likewise, a patient with Yin condition should not use Yin property vegetables, as it is believed, that Yin vegetables will delay the recovery process and may reduce the therapeutic effect of prescribed interventions.

The legacy of Ethel and Percy, their family members and the other Chinese who worked on the Market Garden was to bring new ideas and cultural understanding to the Whittlesea area.

It was believed that Percy and Ethel attended Whittlesea Primary School. The school was established in 1878. With the assistance of David Dyer, the school‟s principal, Arthur traced the school‟s register for a record of Percy and Ethel. He showed David a photo of a class of students and teachers at Whittlesea Primary School, obtained from David Soo. An enlarged copy of the photo is displayed at the school.

David Dyer and Arthur checked three booklets of records, written Register 1, 2 and 3. The booklets contained entries from 1880-1909. Unfortunately, there was no record of Percy and Ethel in the registers.  

Percy Ping won books at Sunday school. He was awarded First Prize in the Senior Boys‟ class at the St Andrews Presbyterian Church. He received a book entitled, The Boy’s Own Annual, 1898 edition, on 31 March 1901. He won another book, Boys of Our Empire, Magazine for British Boys All Over The World, at the church in April 1904.

The church is located in Lime Street, two hundred yards from the intersection of Forest Street. It was established in 1863. David Ovenden believes that Mary was a well refined English lady. Mary would not have approved if she heard that Lee Tack was going to the Royal Mail Hotel on Walnut Street.

David Ovenden and Arthur went to visit the old site of the garden. They saw at least eight water holes, as shown in the images taken in February 2007. When they were at the site, David pointed out where the kitchen, the chimney and a brick copper stand, where Ethel used to wash clothing. David also recalled the locations of the water tank stand, the chaff room, the horse stable and the shed where the hay was kept. At the site, David and Arthur met Gordon Taylor, who manages the property for Ian Goding. There are cows and a small water storage area on the property. Gordon was able to suggest a few local people, who may have known Percy Ping.

On 29 December 2007, Arthur revisited the newspaper section of the State Library of Victoria and found the following information from the microfilm. 

The newspaper record revealed that Lee Tack migrated to Queenscliff, from China about 1876. He worked as a market gardener there for a few years before he moved to Whittlesea Township. He was involved in gold-mining at Queenstown with some of his countrymen and from the money he earned, he bought a share of the Whittlesea Chinese Market Garden. For some years, he supplied vegetables for the Melbourne market. In later years, he modified his occupation to dairying. He kept growing vegetables to sell to some of the residents of the town.

Lee Tack was known as a generous and friendly person. In his youth, he learned how to treat patients from a doctor in China. Tack‟s friends recalled the remarkable recoveries by some of his patients. The number of mourners that showed up in his funeral demonstrated his popularity in the Whittlesea district. Rev. A Donald Page performed the funeral service.

By Arthur Yong about 2008

See also Chinese Market gardens of Melbourne