Wing Hing Long & Co. Store facts for kids

Wing Hing Long & Co. Store
Heritage boundaries
Location	10 Ruby Street, Tingha, Inverell Shire, New South Wales, Australia
Built	1881–1895
Owner	Inverell Shire Council
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name: Wing Hing Long & Co. Store
Type	state heritage (built)
Designated	29 October 1999
Reference no.	1307
Type	Retail & Wholesale Objects (movable)
Category	Retail and Wholesale
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The Wing Hing Long & Co. Store is a special old building in Tingha, Australia. It used to be a general store and is now a museum. It was built between 1881 and 1895. Chen Quin Jack helped build it. Today, the Inverell Shire Council owns this historic place. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on October 29, 1999, because it's an important part of history.

The Store's History

The land where Wing Hing Long stands was first given by the government in 1879. In 1881, a storekeeper named Ah Lin bought the property. From that time until 1998, Chinese immigrants and their families owned the Wing Hing Long store.

Many different Chinese owners ran the store over the years. These included Ding Chee, Jock Sing, Ah Bow, and Charles Hing. In 1918, Jack Joe Lowe took over. He managed the store until 1939, when his son, Edgar Lowe, became the owner. Later, in 1951, J.J. Lowe's daughter, Mavis Pratt, bought the store. She ran the business until early 1998.

The long history of Chinese owners shows how important Chinese-Australians were to Tingha. They helped set up and run general stores in country towns across New South Wales for many years.

Tingha's Mining Boom

The town of Tingha started in the early 1870s. It grew quickly because a lot of tin was found nearby. By the 1880s, about 4,000 people lived in the area. Many Chinese people came to Tingha during this time, mostly as miners. At the peak of the tin mining, there were around 900 Chinese residents.

Some Chinese people opened stores to help the miners. These stores often sold Chinese cooking ingredients and offered services like writing letters or banking. As fewer Chinese people lived in Tingha, the stores started selling goods to everyone in the town.

Wing Hing Long is a great example of these stores. It shows how general stores grew and changed in country areas. It also tells a unique story about Chinese-Australian businesses in New South Wales.

Building the Store

The main part of the Wing Hing Long store was likely built in the 1880s or early 1890s. The building materials still look like they are from that time. A photo from around 1900 shows the store was already a busy place. Old newspaper ads from that time said it was "The noted cheap store of Tingha." It sold groceries, clothes, tools, tobacco, and more.

Wing Hing Long continued to sell many different goods and services for the first half of the 1900s. Mavis Pratt remembered that in the 1920s and 1930s, they sold "Grocery, drapery, materials, ... hats, children's wear, shoes, wallpapers, furniture, linos, dredging goods, ... explosives for dredging." An ad from 1924 also mentioned that the owner, J.J. Lowe, was a "Noted Chinese Herbalist" who could help with different health problems.

How the Store Worked

The store had different sections for various products. You can still see old signs, shelves, and counters today. The cashier's box and a special pulley system are still there. This pulley was used to send payments from the counters to the cashier. It's still in working order!

In its busiest years, in the early 1900s, the store had 10 to 15 staff members. Some were Chinese people born overseas, and others were local residents. Chinese traditions meant that store owners often helped family members find work. The 1901 Immigration Restriction Act made it hard for new Chinese immigrants to find jobs. But working as a shop assistant sponsored by other Chinese people was one of the few options. Wing Hing Long provided a place to live, food, and a salary for its Chinese employees.

Changes Over Time

After World War II, the store stayed busy until the 1960s. Mrs. Pratt's sons, John and Peter, remember helping pack goods and deliver orders. However, the store slowly faced challenges. There were fewer jobs in Tingha, so the town's population got smaller. Better roads also meant people could easily drive to bigger supermarkets in nearby Inverell.

Because of these changes, Wing Hing Long started selling fewer types of goods. By the 1980s, it was mostly a grocery store. In 1997, Mavis Pratt decided to retire. In 1998, the Guyra Shire Council bought the store and most of its contents. The plan was to turn it into a community museum. This was made possible with help from many groups and people.

Wing Hing Long opened as a museum in January 1999. In 2019, Tingha became part of the Inverell Shire. So, the Inverell Shire Council now owns the Wing Hing Long Co. Store.

What the Store Looks Like

The Wing Hing Long Co. Store is made up of several different buildings. The main part has four sections. The two middle sections have pointed roofs, and the two side sections have sloping roofs. An awning stretches over the footpath in front.

Behind the store, there's a courtyard. At the back of the courtyard are two large storage sheds. Above one of the sheds is a home on the second floor. It has stairs outside that lead to a verandah. This verandah looks down on the courtyard and the main store. This setup shows how business and home life were connected.

In the courtyard, you can also see an old water tank and an outside toilet.

Inside the Store

The main store and two showrooms have wooden floors. The walls are covered with different materials, like timber weatherboard and metal panels. The roofs are made of galvanised iron. Above the main store, there's a storage area in the roof space. You can reach it by a steep wooden ladder behind the cashier's office.

In the northern showroom, there are still parts of the old store office. There's even an old safe that has rusted shut. You can see old signs painted on the walls from before World War II. One sign in the southern showroom says "Use our lay-by system." The northern showroom simply says "Showroom."

All around the store, you'll find original wooden counters, display units, and shelves. Many of these were made locally. There are large counters, glass display cases, and shelves with small compartments. Some shelves still have signs showing what was stored there, like different sizes of bolts. The cashier's pulley system, which carried money, is still there and works!

The museum also displays many old items that were sold in the store. These include groceries, toys, clothes, shoes, stationery, and hardware. Some items are from the 1920s and 1930s, while most of the grocery items are from the 1960s to the 1990s. Most of these items came with the store when it became a museum in 1998.

The kitchen and dining room for the store and home are at the back of the southern showroom. The kitchen still has its old wood-fired stove and simple cupboards.

The storage sheds at the back are built with wooden poles. Their roofs and walls are made of galvanised iron. The floor is a mix of old wood and concrete.

The Residence

The home above the southern storage shed is very interesting. It's covered in galvanised iron and has a steep roof. The verandah faces inward towards the courtyard. This gives it a very unique look. Inside, the home has one large main room, two bedrooms, a small storage room, and a bathroom on the verandah.

Besides the items on display, there's also a collection of old store records. These include ledgers, letters, and brochures from the early 1900s.

The building was in fair condition in 1999, even though it hadn't been maintained much before 1998. Since then, some important repairs have been done. The store and its contents have been kept mostly as they were when the museum took over in 1998.

Why It's a Heritage Site

Wing Hing Long is in the middle of Tingha's main street. Its building, old items, and records show the important role Chinese-Australians played in selling goods in New South Wales. It also helps us understand the rise and fall of the tin mining community in Tingha.

The Wing Hing Long & Co. Store was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on October 29, 1999, for several reasons:

• It shows how history unfolded in New South Wales.

Wing Hing Long gives us a special look into the history of Chinese-Australians in Australian retail. It also shows the history of Tingha, a tin mining town. The store and its collections are a rare example of a country general store that operated continuously from the late 1800s to the late 1900s.

• It has special beauty or creative design.

The store's beauty comes from its mix of materials and styles. It shows how the store and town changed over a century of trading. It's an old commercial building that has been added to and patched up over time.

• It has a strong connection to a community or group.

The local community values Wing Hing Long. It's one of the oldest general stores in Tingha and is strongly linked to the Chinese presence in the area. As a museum, it helps promote interest in the town's history and future.

• It can teach us new things about history.

Wing Hing Long has great potential for research. It can help us understand how country general stores were set up, how they were run, who worked there, and what goods and services they offered. It also shows how these stores were affected by the local community and bigger national events. The old records and the memories of people who worked or shopped there make this research even more valuable. The cashier's pulley system, which still works, is also a cool technical feature.

• It is rare or uncommon in New South Wales.

Wing Hing Long is a rare example of a Chinese-owned country general store that has been used and changed continuously. It's also a rare example of an old store from the late 1800s that is still mostly intact. Many Chinese-owned general stores existed in New South Wales in the past. But only about four remain today. Wing Hing Long is special because it still has its original structure and features, with only a few changes made since World War II. It might even be the only store of its kind left.

• It shows the main features of a type of historic place.

Wing Hing Long is an important example of a country general store. It helps us understand how these stores operated and what services they provided in the late 1800s and 1900s.

See also

• Tingha, New South Wales