THE Lee family is still in shock Siu Lee is no longer with them.
Her son Kevin wanted her to tell her own story — an immigrant's story of survival — but Mrs Lee died several weeks ago, aged 88.
She left behind husband Bill, who did the hard yards with her, three children who had to struggle a little to become Australian, and two granddaughters who are completely at home with their Chinese heritage, along with everything else that Australia has to offer.
"Siu Lee was born Siu Lung Yu in the Yee village, Kaiping county, Guandong Province, China," Kevin Lee says.
"She never had the chance to meet her father and two grandfathers, who went to the US after the gold rush and who tried to make a fortune during the Great Depression, but who all died there."
Siu ended up in Hong Kong and worked as a saleswoman for a jewellery store until she married Bill Lee and came to Australia with him in 1967.
Bill had gone to Hong Kong specifically to meet Siu, after an arrangement by a matchmaker, and they were able to have a courtship before committing to marriage.
Bill had moved to Australia in 1952 to work for an uncle in Hobart and was quite familiar with the effects of the White Australia Policy.
"It was very hard when I first came to Australia — there were not many Chinese people, no restaurants or Chinese groceries," Bill said.
"I couldn't speak much English and couldn't get good, high-paying jobs — only labouring."
The young Lees moved to Sydney, settling in Surry Hills and Glebe before moving to Kingsgrove.
Bill worked in restaurants while Siu raised children Tina, Albert and Kevin, also working as a process worker for a Chinese dumpling maker in Randwick and Lidcombe, and then for a logistics company in Kingsgrove.
Siu, along with Bill, also became involved with the growing Chinese community and the various associations which formed to support that community — such as the Australian Chinese Association, the Sze Yap Family Association — a big change from the cultural isolation of their early days.
Somewhere along the way the Lees gave up Buddhism in favour of Christianity and Siu became an active member of the Rockdale Alliance Church.
"Mum left a lasting legacy in introducing people to the Christian religion and to Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made," said Kevin, a deacon at Narwee Baptist Church.
Kevin, a part-time deacon and full-time accountant, remembers his school days as quite happy, although the after- school situation in the neighbourhood involved some name calling.
One of only three Chinese kids in the school, Kevin tried hard to assimilate into the Anglo world.
"I had some close Australian friends and I spoke English," he said.
"Sadly I started to resent my Chinese upbringing and refused to follow the customs; I didn't want to eat Chinese food and I only spoke broken Cantonese — and I refused to speak Cantonese on the phone to my grandparents.
"I look back with shame on that period."
As the Chinese community grew, Siu Lee had yum cha and mahjong to enjoy along with knitting and gardening, and allowed Kevin and his siblings to incorporate their heritage into their Australian lives.
Weekly gatherings at Siu and Bill's house included two daughters-in-law from a Chinese background and an Italian-Anglo son-in-law, and two granddaughters who embrace the multicultural mixing pot that is Australia today.
"Life was tough for Mum and Dad but so seamless for their granddaughters," Kevin said.
