EVELYN.THORN@cluthaleader.co.nz
A descendant of Lawrence’s Gold Rush Chinese community has put the finishing touches on a landmark tomb in the town.
Fifth›generation descendant Adrienne Shaw, of Christchurch, has finally installed a plaque solely dedicated to Sam Chew Lain’s tomb at the Lawrence Chinese Cemetery.
The original plaque was in the Lodge St George building until its closure and is now in the Tuapeka Goldfields Museum.
The plaque on the tomb is an exact replica.
Ms Shaw has been in the process of restoring the tomb since 2019.
In October 2021, a reunion of descendants of the Chinese camp was held, with a series of headstones, tomb and memorial unveilings at the Lawrence Chinese Cemetery and gold rush›era Chinese camp.
Among those was the official unveiling of the Sam Chew Lain mausoleum, but the plaque designed specifically for the tomb was not yet available at the time of the celebrations.
Ms Shaw said the project was now complete and the plaque was ‘‘the icing on the cake’’.
Sam Chew Lain was a Chinese businessman who arrived in New Zealand in the 1860s and managed to bridge the cultural and social divide between the Chinese and European communities in the Tuapeka district.
He was often acknowledged for his donations to local charitable causes such as the Tuapeka hospital and was a member of the Presbyterian congregation and Masonic Lodge.
An official unveiling of the plaque and a reflection seat will take place in the Chinese section at Lawrence Cemetery on March 18, 2023 from 10am and formal invitations along with public invitation will be sent out later this year.
Sam Chew Lain was a Chinese businessman who arrived in New Zealand in the 1860s and managed to bridge the cultural and social divide between the Chinese and European communities in the Tuapeka district.
