Wellington Lee has been described as a trailblazer for multicultural Australia. He was born in 1925 and attended TGS from 1940-42 before serving with the RAAF during WWII from 1943-46 and the Active Reserve of Officers from 1953-83.
Mr Lee was a remarkable man of good character who lived in an exciting time of growth and change during Australia’s, and particularly Victoria’s history; the early days in Melbourne when 10% of their population was a thriving Asian community. It was also a difficult and tumultuous time for Chinese Australians due to the White Australia Policy which led to segregation and persecution.
Mr Lee used his determination and resilience to rise above these challenges, and became a decorated war veteran, a pharmacist, a small business owner and Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne. He was proud of the fact that he was a returned serviceman and would march in the ANZAC Day Parades. He was a prominent figure in veterans affairs as a member of the RSL and served on the State Executive of the Victorian RSL.
In 1977, Mr Lee was one of the first Australians of Asian heritage to be elected to public office as a councillor for the City of Melbourne and he went on to be one of the longest-serving councillors, spanning the 70s, 80s and 90s. He never aligned with a political party or powerful civic group, he was always independent and ‘his own man’. It was purely his ability to connect with people at any level that maintained his popularity.
He faced up to racism at many stages of his life but never let it define him. Instead, he became a local legend, a champion for a multitude of good causes and a trailblazer on many levels. The scale of his contribution to community life over the decades is demonstrated by the exhausting length and breadth of the many roles he held.
He was president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Victoria, the Australian Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Chinese Associations, as well as chair of Overseas Students’ Trust and Emergency Fund. He served on the state executive of the Victorian RSL and the Victorian Regional Council Air Training Corps, and also served on the State Library Foundation, the Adult Parole Board and the Honorary Magistrates Bench. He was a district governor of Lions International, a Red Cross Appeals organiser, a member of the Victorian Health Services Review Committee, Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria and the Landcare Foundation of Victoria.
Mr Lee has been fondly described as, “A character with a big personality who was both a gentleman and a larrikin. His strength was his ability to get along with people, and he made it his business to know everyone in the Melbourne CBD.”
Mr Lee had a great love for TGS. He would speak of the School with fondness and attended numerous reunions. He sadly passed away on Christmas Day 2022. He has been acknowledged on our Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement for his noteworthy services to Australia, particularly the Chinese community.
Mr Lee is a shining example of a man of good character. A man who served others. A man who gave without any thought of reward. A man who was Fidelis in Omnibus.
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