Ngan 顏 family from Yuen Ha 元下 in Poon Yue 番禺 re New Zealand

[kate]

Hello all, especially New Zealanders!

I am trying to locate Yuen Ha 元下 in Poon Yue 番禺, which was the home of the Ngan/Ngaan 顏 family. A number of men from this village went to New Zealand, and are listed in Alexander Don's Roll of Chinese (https://www.otago.ac.nz/history/don/index.php).

I am having trouble locating Yuen Ha 元下 on a map. There is another Poon Yue village called 園下, also Yuen Ha, and Don lists Ngan men from this second Yuen Ha village in New Zealand too. I'm wondering, therefore, if the two might be the same village, and that Don has just written the wrong character?

I'd welcome your thoughts!

Thanks,
Kate
Canberra, Australia

[gckimm]

Hi Kate:

A Chinese internet search did not turn up much. However, I did find a page about the Ngan family of Guangdong Province that mentions a Ngan ancestor who moved from Nahm Hoong/Nanxiong 南雄 in northern Guangdong to Yuen Ha/Yuanxia, Poon Yue/Panyu 番禺園下 and became the "first [Ngan] ancestor of Poon Yue."

blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_c1275be50102wjej.html

I can find no mention of a Yuen Ha Village 元下村 in any context. My conclusion is that any reference to a village by this name is an error and the correct village name is Yuen Ha 園下.

Greg

[donna]

Hi Kate

I am a descendent of Seung Fo (Foh) Ngan, Whanganui, New Zealand attempting to trace my ancestry.  The family name at sometime during immigration to New Zealand about 1895 became Fore or For or Fo.  I can not locate Yuen Ha either.  I can only assume the village to be the current Yuenxiu near the current Panyu, Guangzhou. hae you since managed to locate Yuen Ha.

[jasonwu]

Hi all,

By searching on the Chinese web, I found a few links which show that the 顏氏大宗祠 Grand Ngan Ancestral Hall in 園下村 Yuen Ha Village is still intact and well-used.

Click these links below:

Festivities and Ancestral Worship in the Ancestral Hall during Lantern Festival 2019.

Kung Fu Performances in the Plaza in front of the Ancestral Hall during Lantern Festival 2017.

The village is found by its Mandarin Pinyin name on Google Maps: Yuan Xia Cun click here for the link. It is currently situated in the 白雲區 Baiyun District, found in the north of 廣州 Guangzhou (Canton).

Jason

[gckimm]

Hi:

I happen to have the genealogy of my paternal grandmother, who belonged to the Chui/Xu 徐 clan of Buk Chuen/Beicun 北村 Village in Poonyue/Panyu. Several generations of her male ancestors married women of the Ngan clan. What is interesting is that, according to the genealogy, my great-great-great-grandmother was from Yuen Ha 園下 but my great-great-grandmother was from Yuen Ha 元下. I am thinking that this is evidence that Yuen Ha 園下 and Yuen Ha 元下 are the same village but that people wrote the name two different ways, with Yuen Ha 元下 perhaps as an abbreviation.

In any case, if you have Ngan ancestry, I am sure we are related in some way. I wish that we could figure out how we are related, but as usual, the genealogy does not contain much information about female ancestors, making it almost impossible to trace their lineages.

Greg

[donna]

1878 map of Kwang Tung.  Produced during my great gandfathers era who immigrated to NZ and returned many times to Yuen Har, Poon Yu (this being the english spelling at the time). 

I imagine the Yuen Har my ancestors spoke of whilst in NZ is actually Yun ha teu in Punyu in the 1870 map.  So what place would this be in our modern times?  Sorry I,m english speaker only.

[jasonwu]

Hi Greg,

I agree, I think 園下 Yuen Ha and 元下 Yuen Ha refer to the same 顏 Ngan village; I also saw the spelling 園廈 Yuen Ha in my search.

Donna,

If you refer to my previous post, I provided a Google Maps link to the present-day location of Yuen Ha (Yuanxia in official Mandarin Pinyin) towards the end. Click here for the link again. Its location relative to Guangzhou matches that of the village you spotted in the 1878 map. Today, it is administrated under Baiyun District of Guangzhou City, a city district that was cut out of Punyu County.

Jason

[helen]

Hi Donna

My husband's Uncle Dan married Teresa Ngan Fore

From Sons of the Soil



From Fruits of Our Labours






Have you seen these books?

There are 3 pages in Sons of the Soil - Chinese Market Gardens in NZ. Available from the libraries.

Cheers

[helen]

Ngan Fo
New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Passenger Lists, 1839-1973

Name: Ngan Fo
Event Type: Immigration
Event Date: 24 Dec 1895
Event Place: Auckland, New Zealand
Event Place (Original): Auckland (other ports also listed), New Zealand
Gender: Male
Occupation: Labourer
Departure Place: Wellington
Departure Port: Sydney
Ship Name: Tarawera

[donna]

Thank you all.  Now I know where.

[donna]

Thank you Jason

[donna]

Thank you Helen.  Living in australia Ive not yet viewed sons of the soil but will definitely do so.  Teresa Ngan Fore was my grandfathers half sister

[murraywlg]

Hi Donna,

I just stumbled upon this post. My mother's family is from Yuen Ha, and they settled in Lower Hutt in the 1940's. I visited the village in 2018. It is now very easy to get to on the Guangzhou metro line that goes to the airport.  I'm happy to share maps and photos with you.

Cheers,
Murray