Unui Doo

Unui Doo (born Chan Yau-nui; 1874 – 18 August 1940) was a Chinese New Zealand businesswoman and shopkeeper. Born in Xinhui, Guangdong, she immigrated to New Zealand in 1915. She managed a grocery store in Auckland that served as a social centre for the Chinese community. Known as "Grandmother Doo", she was the matriarch of the Doo clan and one of the few Chinese women living in New Zealand before the 1930s.

Early life and marriage Chan Yau-nui was born in Xinhui, Guangdong, China, sometime between 1873 and 1875. She was one of seven children born to She Hoo Tai and Chan Doon Tai, a farmer and rice merchant. She married Thomas Wong Doo in Canton in 1898. Her husband had lived in Auckland, New Zealand, from the age of 13 and married her upon returning to China. He then returned to New Zealand when he was 22, where he was employed as a market gardener, visiting her in China every few years. During this time, they had two sons and a daughter. He became a naturalised citizen of New Zealand in 1904. and was one of the few Chinese women living in New Zealand in her era. During the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, she produced an herbal tonic that was made available for free to the community. She selected women for her sons to marry, giving them tests in mathematics and calligraphy, and ensuring they were literate. Unui revered Guan Yu, and her family were worshippers of him.