Kiwi born (I didn’t know that) Quong and Shon Fong are both those kind of men you relate to hard working and stable…..always a presence with an understated wisdom and a calm demeanour. Third growing generation Quong Fong spent an hour with me to discuss his growing history and working with his brother all his life.
History
My grandfather AH Wai arrived from Canton China in his 30-40’s to establish a life in New Zealand, he set to work growing general vegetables in the Franklin area. In those days immigration was tough, he had to come over on his own initially and my grandmother and their children followed years later.
My father (AH Gorn Fong) (black and white image below) was one of 3 children. He didn’t start off in the vegetable growing industry, he left China as a married young man with my mother (Szeto Fong), they met through an arranged marriage. Both keen for a new start they headed to Hong Kong where Dad put his hands to several different specialty jobs, one being a watch repairer where he was quite sort after, another a general mechanic/handy man, even a projectionist at the movies for a time.
In the late 1950’s my Grandfather had established a lucrative vegetable growing business and was very settled in NZ. He insisted my mum and dad come to NZ with my then 2 sisters and get away from communism and start a better life working on the farm. I was born in 1962 and my brother Shon in 1963.
Tell me about Shon and yourself Growing up we did everything together, both attending Pukekohe Hill, Intermediate and High Schools where we played Chinese Rugby and athletics. We left Puke High School after 5th form, as we wanted to work on the farm with Dad. As kids we followed him everywhere and got to learn how to grow and just loved being outside. I have many happy memories cleaning the dirt off the new season potatoes (all washed individually by hand, and yes Quong’s hands are like leather!). I loved mixing with the staff and their family members.
In the mid 1980’s we purchased the farm off Dad and renamed the business to AH Gorn and Sons Ltd, my brother and I still live near each other, our wives are very close, both still working alongside us on the farm….. we all work very well together, in fact very much in sync. I’m very proud to have Shon by my side, it makes running the business so much easier. I focus on overseeing the running of the business, meetings and spraying, Shon likes to be more in the background specialising in staff, fertiliser and deliveries.
Today our crops are all grown in the Pukekohe area where half the farm is cropped in onions and the remaining half in cauli, broccoli, lettuce and cabbage.
How did you meet your partners?
We both enjoyed a European/Kiwi courtship. My Uncle introduced me to my wife Jane who had just arrived from China, we hit it off and have now been married 35 years. We have four boys, Brian (who just got married), Bernie, Peter and Philip, all grown up. No grandkids yet.
Shon travelled to China to meet Feng-Zhen, they hit it off, got engaged and travelled back to NZ together. After 30 years of marriage have 2 children, Belinda and Dallas, no grandkids for them yet either.
When asked if their children showed interest in following in their footsteps on the farm, both men were adamant they wanted their kids to experience life and come back to the farm when and if they wanted to. Quong states “back in our day we weren’t offered that experience so it’s important to us our children get the chance to make their own minds up”.
What about our spare time
Holidays aren’t as plentiful as I’d like, I used to really love the overseas Chinese Growers trips and I always look forward to the odd boys dinners on a Friday night. I enjoy the odd bet here and there for a bit of fun too!
Going forward
Global warming is making growing more of a challenge, we have to re think more and rely on our agronomist Mike Gordon to help manage our disease control and irrigation strategies.
At this stage we are still enjoying each day, and look forward to another season.
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