Chinese Australian Whispers

Dr Sophie Couchman
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  • HISTORY

This series explores what family historians can learn from oral histories and how these oral histories, stories whispered down from the past with all their imperfections, can help us make sense of our Chinese family history and who we are as Australians.

Episodes

  1. 02/11/2025

    Ep 6: Sophie and Nik on Chinese Australian Whispers

    In this episode you have an opportunity to meet Nik. Nikolaus Yee is my nephew and has helped edit and bring this podcast series to fruition. Nik's father was born in Myanmar to Chinese parents and he came to Australia in the early 1980s. In creating 'Chinese Australian Whispers' Nik and I listened to all the interviews and oral histories. We found we had a few things we wanted to say about them too!

    41 min

  2. 02/11/2025

    Ep 5: Ting and music

    Wang Zheng-Ting composed and performed the music for this podcast. In this episode Sophie Couchman talks with him about his research as an ethnomusicologist and how being Chinese Australian has shaped his musical development.

    25 min

  3. 02/11/2025

    Ep 4: Peter and William on bananas

    Bananas are, and were, big business but also dangerous. They were integral to the family fortunes of Peter and William. In this episode Sophie speaks with family historian Peter Liefman, whose grandfather was a large wholesale banana merchant with connections to lawyer William Ah Ket. We discuss an oral history recording with William Sang Fong who worked in the fruit and vegetable wholesaling business with his father.

    26 min

  4. 02/11/2025

    Ep 3: Paula and Fay on Ballaarat

    Music, war and broken families both feature in Paula and Fay's family histories but the thing that connects them most of all is a town. Ballarat. In this episode Sophie speaks with family historian Paula Herlihy, whose grandfather was adopted when her great grandfather left her great grandmother with a large family to raise. We discuss an oral history recording with Fay Anderson whose grandfather was a prominent Ballarat herbalist, F.S. Goon, who later settled in Hong Kong. In this episode Sophie speaks with family historian Terry Young, whose grandfather was a market gardeners and father a worked at the Queen Victoria Markets. We discuss an oral history recording with Alex Woon whose father, Alexander Ah Woon, worked in the Queen Victoria Markets.

    33 min

  5. 02/11/2025

    Ep 2: Marie and Wally on general stores

    Rural Australia, family businesses and rebellion connect Marie and Wally's families but there is much that is different about their families' experiences too. In this episode Sophie speaks with family historian Marie Hammond, whose father worked as a market gardener, cabinetmaker and finally ran a general store in Red Cliffs (Vic). We discuss an oral history recording with Wally Kwan whose father ran a general store in Stanthorpe (Qld) which was part of the large Kwong Sing & Co network of rural stores. In this episode Sophie speaks with family historian Marie Hammond, whose father worked as a market gardener, cabinetmaker and finally ran a general store in Red Cliffs (Vic). We discuss an oral history recording of Wally Kwan whose father ran a general store in Stanthorpe (Qld) which was part of the large Kwong Sing & Co network of rural stores. In this episode Sophie speaks with family historian Terry Young, whose grandfather was a market gardeners and father a worked at the Queen Victoria Markets. We discuss an oral history recording with Alex Woon whose father, Alexander Ah Woon, worked in the Queen Victoria Markets.

    41 min

  6. 02/11/2025

    Ep 1: Terry and Alex on market gardens

    Market gardens, hawkers and the Queen Vic Market connect two Chinese Australian families in Coburg in Melbourne, Australia and Wonggaili, Xinhui, Guangdong (旺嘉里, 新会, 广东) in southern China. In this episode Sophie speaks with family historian Terry Young, whose grandfather was a market gardeners and father a worked at the Queen Victoria Markets. We discuss an oral history recording with Alex Woon whose father, Alexander Ah Woon, worked in the Queen Victoria Markets.

    25 min

  7. 02/11/2025

    Chinese Australian Whispers

    ‘Chinese Australian Whispers’ is about oral histories and researching your family. It explores how memories and stories pass through the generations and the gaps and distortions that are created over time. This podcast was born of the idea that there is much of value in oral history recordings for family historians, in particular those with Chinese ancestry. Full show notes at https://sophiecouchman.com/2025/02/11/chinese-australian-whispers/

    7 min
  • 7 Episodes

About

This series explores what family historians can learn from oral histories and how these oral histories, stories whispered down from the past with all their imperfections, can help us make sense of our Chinese family history and who we are as Australians.

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