Chen Quin Jack

Why would anyone name their property “Hymen Villa”? The name always makes me chuckle a bit. Could it be that they are referencing the mythological connection of Hymen, the Greek god of marriage? The word “villa” suggests a residence or dwelling, which adds a romantic notion to the name … Yes I’d like to think that.

Update – I had an interesting conversation and exchange of texts with a Chinese-born Australian resident, Linda from Parramatta, who said Hymen Villa sounds in spoken Cantonese 戏门 (pronounced hei3mun4) and means Cantonese Opera Stage, an interesting theory, could this help locate the Chen Quin Jack’s village in China?

Chen Quin Jack built the original family home on tin-bearing land. The property was called Hymen Villa. A simple timber building with a few rooms – a kitchen with an open fireplace for cooking, a little parlour and a couple of bedrooms. The only new luxury was an upright piano. Quin planted a productive orchard and vegetable garden and also kept bees.

The following is an excerpt of an interview by Janis Wilton (JW) talking to Trevor Jack (TJ) (my Grandfather) at Coonabarabran on 25 June 1990. Excerpt courtesy of Janis Wilton.

Janis: And where were they living? in town?

Trevor: No lived out of town, out of town at Tingha. A little property. The house is still there but I remember going there once when I came back on leave and I took Mary out and said, “you might get a shock, but years ago they used to just use an open fire and just boil everything up in front of the fire.” We put in half a tree and just keep putting it in and keeping the fire going. Anyhow when I took her up there in about 1942 I think it was, on leave and we went out and it was still the same, after all those years. Fireplace was all the same and the kettle was still on there, the old boiler but…

Janis: Is that as your grandfather had built it? Did your grandfather build the house.

Trevor: Mm. The old house there. He used to kill all his own cattle and pigs and everything there and boil them up. Matter of fact we went up there just after the sale…my uncle had the sale up there. The pig vats, the old pig vats that he used to have out there to kill the pigs and boil them up were still there and they were huge things. Huge vats, take a whole pig, 300 pound pig, no trouble. And these vats used to boil them up and get all the hair off them and butcher them.

Janis: And then use the pork fat to cook?

Trevor: Oh, they used everything. Don’t think any part of the pig was wasted.

Janis: Could you describe the house for me? The house that you visited in your childhood?

Trevor: Ooh, only had about three rooms in it, that’s all. Three rooms, kitchen was an open kitchen and of course by the time I came back in the 1940’s it had changed a bit. They’d modernised it of course because there was a sister that came back to live with him after she’d left her husband and they modernised it up a little bit. But never had electricity out there. Don’t think there’s electricity still, not out there. No electricity, but just three rooms, just a couple of bedrooms, a little parlour. Usual thing…and they had a piano.

Janis: Made of timber?

Trevor: All timber, yes.

Janis: Fireplace?

Trevor: The fireplace was just a stone fireplace. No stove, no refrigerator…sort of a drip safe. Had those and that was about it. Kerosene lamps of course.

Janis: And the piano was there when you were a child?

Trevor: No that came later. The piano wasn’t there in the early days. Although Uncle did have an old violin many years ago, brought back in the 1900’s, which he gave to me years ago.

Janis: Who played it in the family?

Trevor: Uncle, he played the violin yes. And he played some tunes on the gum leaf. Still play a tune on the gum leaf…blow a gum leaf. Whistles away over there occasionally.