Private Fred Goon (centre), seen in a 1917 photo dated four days before he boarded a troop ship bound for Europe, and his parents, Elizabeth Johnson and Louey Fong Goon. Photos: SCMP graphic / Golden Dragon Museum / Courtesy Young family
‘Not substantially European’: the Chinese Anzacs who fought for Australia in first world war had to fight racism first
- The author’s great-uncle, Fred Goon, was among some 250 Chinese-Australians who fought in World War 1, defying a ban on non-white recruits
- Goon, who was gassed on the Western Front, was rejected eight times before he successfully enlisted – and he may have walked 700km (435 miles) to do so
Topic |
History
Private Fred Goon (centre), seen in a 1917 photo dated four days before he boarded a troop ship bound for Europe, and his parents, Elizabeth Johnson and Louey Fong Goon. Photos: SCMP graphic / Golden Dragon Museum / Courtesy Young family