Inside Commercial Law
Learning from William Ah Ket, Victoria's First Chinese Australian Barrister
In this special crossover episode of Asian Law Voices and Inside Commercial Law, Professor Andrew Godwin discusses with Dr Ben Hopper the beautiful recently published book, William Ah Ket: His Life and Times, about Victoria’s first barrister of Chinese ethnicity, William Ah Ket (1876-1936). The book was written by William’s daughter, Toylaan Ah Ket, and co-edited by Professor Godwin. They discuss: Andrew’s involvement in the project; William’s journey from growing up in the country town of Wangaratta to studying law at the University of Melbourne; William’s fights for social justice, including against discriminatory anti-Chinese laws like the Factories Acts; family life in upper-middle class Melbourne in the interbellum period between the two world wars; and what we can learn from William’s unique and rich life and philosophy today. The book is available for purchase via the following link: scholarly.info/book/william-ah-ket-his-life-and-times/ Asian Law Voices presents interviews with an array of expert voices on legal issues throughout Asia, covering the law and its myriad connections with politics, culture, art, society and the everyday. Asian Law Voices is a podcast of the Asian Law Centre (ALC) and the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society (CILIS) , at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. You can find out more about the Melbourne Centre for Commercial Law and the Inside Commercial Law podcast on their website: law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/mccl We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record, learn, and live.
