Friday, March 09, 2018

Journey to Nanyang

In the year 1909, soon after  the lantern festival 元宵 a young girl of 17 left her village in Mexian 梅县, China for Nanyang 南洋.


She travelled down the Meijiang river 梅江 and to the coastal port of Shantou 汕头.  From there the sail went up to catch the north-easterly winds and the boat set forth along the ancient trade routes of the sea heading south.  She landed in Malaya in March that year.


Around 1916, this daughter of the Chew family (邹), name See Moi  泗妹 married Kwet Chin 国祯, a widower aged 33 years old. Their matrimonial home was in Menglembu, an outpost that supported the many tin mines around the Kinta Lahat district.











The couple went on to have 6 sons and 6 daughters, over a span of 15 years.