CHEW CHONG (1830-1920) was born in China, educated there but went as a youth to Singapore, where he spent several years in English households.

In 1855 he emigrated to Victoria, where he was storekeeping and goldmining for 11 years. He landed in Dunedin in 1866, spent two years there and then commenced travelling, mainly buying old metal for export to China. While so employed he became aware of the presence of edible fungus in the New Zealand forests, especially on the tawa, pukatea and mahoe trees, and in 1868 he commenced collecting it for export to China. During 1870-1904 he exported fungus to the value of over £375,000, and many struggling Taranaki farmers received welcome increments of income from this source. Chew Chong opened a store in New Plymouth (with branches later in Eltham and Inglewood), selling toys and Chinese goods and buying fungus. In 1875 he purchased butter from farmers and sent a consignment to Australia, but without success. Finding that he could not sell in New Zealand at a profit, he made a shipment to Great Britain, again incurring financial loss. In 1887 he established the Jubilee dairy factory at Eltham. Two years later he installed a separator which is believed to have been the first in New Zealand, and he had two creameries augmenting the supply of milk. At the Dunedin Exhibition (1889) he received a prize for the best half-ton of butter for export. He himself milked 200 cows and gradually extended his business. He became interested in box factories and himself invented an impressed brand. In 1893 Chew Chong bought the Mangatoki factory, which he sold two years later to the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. He retired from business about 1900 and settled in New Plymouth. He married a daughter of Joseph Whatton (Masterton). Chew Chong died on 7 Oct 1920.

Philpott (p); Taranaki Herald, 7 Mar 1874; N.Z. Times, 11 Jan 1892; Cycl. N.Z., vi (p).

Reference: Volume 1, page 94

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