Biographical entry: Quan Hong, Augustine

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Augustine Quan Hong was a nephew of the first Chinese person to begin a business in the Solomons. He arrived in 1924 to join his uncle, Quan Yin, who had opened the first Chinese store in Tulagi in 1914, and Quan Hong soon moved to Gizo and began his own business. He learned the Roviana language and prospered, but when the Second World War came he lost everything-his trading ships and four branch stores. After the war he took his family to Hong Kong to visit his parents and then in 1949 returned to the Solomons. He sent his two sons to school in Sydney and became one of the pioneer storekeepers in Honiara's Chinatown. Slowly he rebuilt his business and helped other Chinese as well. He was baptised Catholic and was always supportive of the Church. Quan Hong was a member of the Honiara Town Council (q.v.) and helped to establish Chung Wah School (q.v.). (O'Brien 1995, 227-228)

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  • O'Brien, Claire, A Greater Than Solomon Here: A Story of Catholic Church in Solomon Islands, Catholic Church Solomon Islands Inc., Honiara, 1995. Details