New Stories, Bold Legends: Stories from Sydney Lunar Festival
From artists to brain surgeons, fashion designers to board directors – this series brings you the unique stories of people who celebrate Lunar New Year. Hosted by Valerie Khoo – Curator of the City of Sydney's annual Sydney Lunar Festival – it’s a journey into the Asian Australian experience. You’ll discover the personalities and passions of people who meld their cultural traditions with the sunburnt country that they call home.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 31 minutes
- Episodes
- 21
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2020
S2 Episode 6: A constellation of Sydney’s Asian communities
This series, we’ve been looking at some prominent Chinese personalities from Sydney’s history. As we’ve learned, there has been a small but strong Chinese presence in Australia right from the start o…
S2 Episode 5: The lives of Sydney’s early Chinese women
In the stories of Chinese and Asian people in Australian history, there’s one group that’s noticeably missing: women! There were many notable Chinese men in Sydney’s early days and in the 20th centur…
S2 Episode 4: Sun Johnson – The linguist, educator and media mogul
Sun Johnson was the editor of Australia’s first national Chinese newspaper, which started publication in 1894. He was born in Hong Kong and educated in London, before moving to Australia as a young m…
S2 Episode 3: William Liu – The pathfinder who fought for Chinese rights
William Liu was a tireless campaigner for the rights of other Chinese Australians to live and settle peacefully in this country.
Earlier in his life, he had been instrumental in exporting Australia’s…
S2 Episode 2: Mei Quong Tart – The entrepreneur who started Sydney’s first cafes
Mei Quong Tart was one of the most recognised figures in Sydney during the late 1800s. He was an entrepreneur and philanthropist – and most importantly, he opened Sydney’s very first cafes. Yes, we o…
S2 Episode 1: John Shying – The story of Australia’s first known Chinese settler
John Shying is the first known Chinese person to arrive in Australia and make a life Down Under. He emigrated to the colony at Sydney as a young man in 1818, just 30 years after the First Fleet. He w…
S1 Episode 15: Eddie Woo, maths evangelist, author and YouTube star
Eddie Woo is Leader of Mathematics Growth at the NSW Department of Education and he teaches at Cherrybrook Technology High School, the largest secondary school in NSW.
He is known for his innovation…
S1 Episode 14: Professor Charlie Teo, brain surgeon
Professor Charlie Teo is one of Australia’s leading brain surgeons and is known for operating on brain tumours that have been considered by many others as ‘inoperable’. He’s the only Australian neuro…
S1 Episode 13: Louise Zhang, Artist
Louise Zhang is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture and installation. She designed the playful Monkey Tower lantern for the Sydney Lunar Festival.
With an interest in …
S1 Episode 12: Ien Ang, Professor and Author of ‘On Not Speaking Chinese’
Ien Ang, is a Professor of Cultural Studies at Western Sydney University. Ien is Chinese and was born in Indonesia but her parents migrated to The Netherlands when she was 12.
Her books, including W…
S1 Episode 11: Dai Le, diversity champion and founder of DAWN Network
Dai Le is a champion for diversity and, as a result, founded DAWN, a platform that gives voice to diverse and inclusive talent who are shaping today’s society. Dai speaks, consults, and help organisa…
S1 Episode 10: Kate Bagnall, historian and expert on Chinese migration to Australia
Kate Bagnall is a historian and expert on Chinese migration in Australia. Kate’s fascination with China start decades ago and she’s currently co-editing a publication on Chinese Australian women, fro…
S1 Episode 9: Laurens Tan, Artist
Laurens Tan splits his time between Las Vegas, Beijing and Wollongong. He designed the Ox lantern for the Sydney Lunar Festival. Laurens was born in The Hague to Chinese Indonesian parents from Surab…
S1 Episode 8: Angela Foong, co-founder of fashion label ‘High Tea with Mrs Woo’
Angela Foong is a fashion designer who co-founded the Newcastle-based label ‘High Tea with Mrs Woo’ with her sisters, Rowena and Juliana. The siblings were born in Malaysia and their family migrated …
S1 Episode 7: Dr Geoff Lee, State Politician and Member for Parramatta
Dr Geoff Lee is the Member for Parramatta. In March 2015, Dr Geoff Lee won the NSW seat of Parramatta for the second consecutive term. This is the first time in 60 years the seat has been held by a L…
S1 Episode 6: Pamela See, Artist and expert on traditional Chinese art of paper cutting
Pamela See is one of the artists featured in the Sydney Lunar Festival in 2019. Born in Brisbane to Chinese Malaysian parents who migrated to Australia, Pamela is the artist behind the beautiful shee…
S1 Episode 5: Ky Chow, media consultant and journalist
Ky Chow is media consultant and journalist. Ky has worked as a television and radio reporter and writer for Australia's top news organisations including the ABC, Sky News, the Australian Financial Re…
S1 Episode 4: Jackie M, Chef and Youtube sensation
Jackie M is an expert on South-East Asian cuisine and has a whopping 1.9 million followers from around the world. She is a TV presenter, writer and pioneer of live video streaming, having broadcast t…
S1 Episode 3: Brad Chan, Startup hub founder and CEO of Banna Property Group
Born in Australian to Chinese parents who were educated in Australia – but who came from Papua New Guinea – Brad says he wasn’t surrounded by many Asian traditions while he was growing up. Now Brad i…
S1 Episode 2: Elaine Chia, CEO of City Recital Hall
Elaine Chia is CEO of City Recital Hall, one of Sydney’s leading arts, entertainment and festival venues. Her career spans music, theatre and visual arts, and she is a passionate advocate for the ar…