Ping Que

Ping Que (c1837 – May 1886) was a Chinese-Australian merchant and miner who spent much of his life in the Victorian goldfields and then at the Union Reefs goldfields, just outside of Pine Creek in the Northern Territory. He was a respected member of both the Chinese and European community and employed large numbers of Chinese indentured labourers, many of which he recruited directly while visiting China.

Early life Que was born in Canton, in an area now known as Guangzhou. Very little is known of his early life.

Having arrived at the Union Reefs Que employed many indentured labourers from China, who were commonly referred to as 'Coolies' who he paid £1 a day. Despite being publicly praised by the then mining warden, John George Knight, for his good treatment of the labourers it is also known that Que bought the gold they mined from them at less than the official price set, required them to buy provisions from his own stores and, when they ran out of money, would loan them money at such a high rate of interest that it often meant that they remained indentured to him for a longer period.

Que had a period of great success in 1877, while working five separate claims, including the Lady Alice and the Ping Que Mine, with the assistance of 15 Chinese labourers. At the No. 5, South Union mine these labourers were working in three shifts down shafts using a horse whim at the top and, in a four-week period (between July and August 1877), they mined of gold from just that claim; this caused some consternation by European miners who did not want more Chinese workers to compete with on the field although again he had the support of Knight in addressing what he viewed as the labour shortage there.

Despite early promise this was an unprofitable move and Que and Tennant returned to the Union goldfields by March 1879 and, on their return journey all of their remaining supplies were lost in a flash flood.

Que's continued business success continued and his standing within the European community can be seen in his involvement as a committee member in the Port Darwin Camp Progress Association and his membership of the mining board.

Later life and death Over the next few years Que continued to visit China regularly and, in May 1886, news reached Darwin that he had died while in Hong Kong; nothing is known of the circumstances of his death and he was the first Chinese merchant to receive an obituary in the newspapers of the day.

Legacy The following places in the Northern Territory are named for Que:

Ping Que Court in Moulden. Ping Que Road in Pine Creek.