Tiy Sang & Co envelope

Tiy Sang & Co. envelope

Image Courtesy of: CAHS

This business envelope was typical of envelopes and letterheads of the early 20th century.

Tiy Sang & Co's building still stands on the corner of Ultimo Rd and Thomas St and at the beginning of the 20th century it was a major banana importer. It was owned by the Wong Yee family who in the 1920s decided to transfer their capital to China and like others set up a Department store. Their choice of location however—Canton (Guangzhou) rather than Hong Kong or Shanghai—proved less profitable than those who chose centres protected at the time by colonialism from the unrest of China itself. As a result the family after a number of years decided to return to Australia.

Formerly Tiy Sang & Co.

Image Courtesy of: CAHS

This return of a Chinese Australian family and their having been away beyond the usual three years allowed by Certificates Exempting the Dictation Test (CEDT) brought them within the jurisdiction of the White Australia policy. However, middle class status perhaps assisted them and the family—including the mother of future Purple Wiggle Jeff Fatt—were able to settle back in the land of their birth.

Wong Yee family 1938 - News, Thursday 10 March 1938, p.8.

Image Courtesy of: News, 10 March 1939, p.8.

The international business connections of this family owned and Sydney-based business and the continuing links of the family with China were by no means unusual. Many of the buildings of Sydney’s Haymarket and nearby streets can boast similar connections.