25. Murchison footstone

Like Rushworth, Murchison cemetery has only one Chinese footstone.  The only word recorded in the cemetery trust records is Toylock.  This is problematic, because it could be interpreted in a number of ways e.g. one word (Toylock) being the name, or two words (Toy Lock) or the prefix Ah could have been used before one or both words as the surname.  

We do not have a date of burial.  On the footstone itself, there are nine Chinese characters which have not previously been translated.  With the assistance of a researcher at the Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo, Leigh McKinnon, an interesting story has emerged about Toy Lock.  A market gardener called Toy Lock certainly had a long association with Murchison, but it seems that he is not buried in this grave.  The most likely explanation is that Toy Lock originally purchased the grave site, but the burial is of someone else, possibly a relative.

TOY LOCK

From various records, it is “apparent that this Toy Lock was born c.1868/9 (in China) and arrived in Australia c.1887 as a young man.”  It is unclear whether he came straight to Murchison, but by 1899 he was definitely there, as his vegetables won prizes at that year’s Murchison show, then again in 1902.  Earlier stories have reported on the effect of floods on Chinese market gardeners, and in 1906 “the extensive garden of Toy Lock has been inundated, and he will be a heavy loser.”

In 1909 Toy Lock returned to China for a visit, indicating that he had achieved a measure of financial success through his gardening.  At the time, he applied for and gained a Certificate of Exemption from the Dictation Test (CEDT), which would facilitate his return to Australia.  After Federation, the Australian government had introduced the White Australia Policy and the Dictation Test was a way of precluding most Chinese from entering the country.  The only exceptions were those who had lived here for some time before going overseas.

LONG TERM VICTORIAN RESIDENT

Toy Lock remained in Murchison until at least 1922, during which time he had two further visits to China in 1915 and 1921.  During the Great War, he contributed to the war effort by supplying clothes for Belgian refugees.

Then it appears Toy Lock moved to the Wimmera, as he was a resident of Warracknabeal when applying for CEDTs for three further trips to China up to 1930.  In 1939, at the age of 70 and still listed as a market gardener, he left Melbourne for China for a final time.  Many Chinese people had very strong associations with the village of their birth, wishing to return there for their death.  This may have been the case with Toy Lock.

AN EARLY DEATH

The person who is most likely buried in the grave at Murchison is Fung Sing, a 32 year-old labourer.  A man of this name died in Murchison in March 1896.  He had lived in Australia for two years, having left a family, including a 6 year old son in China.  Perhaps he was seeking employment opportunities in Australia with a view to returning home after making some money.  It is not clear whether he worked for Toy Lock.

Chinese characters on the footstone reveal that the grave is that of Choi (Toi) Fong Sing.  The other characters denote that he came from Naam Chou village in Ning County.  This county has been known as Toishan (or Taishan) since 1913 and is situated on the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province, south-eastern China.  Many of the Chinese who came to the gold rushes in the Waranga area had come from this part of China.

There is a strong likelihood that Fung Shing had relatives from his local area living in Murchison when he arrived in Australia.  Toy Lock could well have been one of them.  Being an older relative, and an apparently prosperous market gardener, may have prompted Toy Lock to purchase the grave site in which Fung Sing is buried.  The circumstances of the tragic early death, and its potential impact on Fung Sing’s family back home, may also have contributed to the desire to memorialise his death appropriately with a footstone.

Source:  Notes by Leigh McKinnon, Golden Dragon Museum 8.3.2023.  Sincere thanks to Leigh for his assistance with this research.