Remembering Wing Yuen Lee: surprises, silences and subtexts in oral testimony

Abstract

This paper discusses an interview with Noelene Johnston, the daughter of a Chinese herbalist, Wing Yuen Lee, who practised in Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales until 1958. The focus of the interview was on Noelene's memories of her father's herbalist practice and her Chinese identity. The paper explores the complex layering of stories that the interview revealed, the powerful emotions and the many gaps, silences and secrets. The complexities of human relationships that transcend racial and cultural boundaries and the powerful influence which social mores and conventions have on them are considered. The analysis also reveals the strong influence that these social mores and conventions have on individual memory. Finally, through the interview, the paper provides insights into how Chinese and Australian identities are redefined in each generation. Through oral history we gain a more sophisticated understanding of the social interactions between communities and a more complex framework for reinterpreting the Chinese role in Australian history.