Harry Chan

The Right Worshipful
Hen Fook (Harry) Chan

Businessman, mayor and politician Harry Chan from Darwin, Northern Territory.
6th Lord Mayor of Darwin
In office
1966–1969
Preceded by Lucius Richardson
Succeeded by Harold "Tiger" Brennan
Personal details
Born (1918-06-14) 14 June 1918
Darwin
Died 5 August 1969
Darwin
Nationality Chinese
Spouse(s) Lilyan Yuen

Hen Fook (Harry) Chan (14 June 1918 – 5 August 1969) was a Chinese-Australian businessman, politician and mayor of Darwin, Australia.

Bust of Harry Chan first elected President of the Legislative Council of the Northern Territory.

Serving from 1966 to his death in 1969, he was the first ethnic Chinese mayor of Darwin.[1]

Early life

Chan was born in Darwin 14 June 1918, son of Chan Fong Yuen, a migrant from the Chinese province of Kwangtung and mother, Wong Quee. Chan married Lilyan Yuen, 18 January 1941. They had three sons and a daughter, the eldest and Lilyan were evacuated on the SS Zealandia in late 1941.

Businessman

Chan and his wife opened a store in a Sydney Williams hut in Smith Street, later leasing the land to Woolworths which was built on the corner of Smith and Knuckey Street.

Politician

1959, a Darwin City Council by-election for the Fannie Bay Ward gave Chan his first chance at politics, he won by a large margin. After working hard for the ward, the ward system was abolished in 1962. He decided to run for the Fannie Bay Electorate in 1962 for the 8th Legislative Council defeating four other candidates in an electorate of few Chinese voters thus establishing a great advertisement for the racial tolerance that was a feature of Darwin in those days.[2] Chan was first elected President of the 9th Northern Territory Legislative Council in 1965 which he held until his death.[2] During his time as President he also held the role of Mayor of Darwin from 1966-1969.

References

  1. ↑ Heatley, A. "Harry Chan (1918-1969)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. ANU. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 Walker, F. (Fred) (1984). A short history of the Legislative Council for the Northern Territory. Darwin: Government Printer. pp. 60, 75–79. ISBN 0724508287.

Harry Chan. Territory Stories, Northern Territory Library.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.