Broome's Son Ming eatery closes, sparking fears town's Asian heritage will vanish

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

After tens of thousands of meals over more than three decades in Western Australia's north, a devastating fire has forced the closure of Son Ming Chinese Restaurant.
The building's distinctive facade has been a fixture of Chinatown, the central business district in Broome, for more than 100 years.
Hong Yu's father-in-law ran the now heritage-listed building as a general store along Broome's Chinatown strip during the mid-to-late 1900s, before retiring.
Its connection to the family remained strong in the intervening years, with Ms Yu eventually opening the restaurant, which she ran with husband Sam, in 1993.
"The others said, 'Your father's going to retire and you got no job, you got the shop there, how about changing it to the restaurant?'" Ms Yu said.
The first English phrase Ms Yu learnt was "What would you like?" as she served behind the till and waited on tables.
Son Ming became more than a place to eat, evolving into a gathering spot, a museum, and a living archive of Chinese-Australian history in Broome.
"I wanted people to know the Broome Chinese community had been here for a long time," Ms Yu said.
But after decades of service, a kitchen fire led to the restaurant's closure.
In late June, two people passing by jumped into action upon seeing smoke coming from the restaurant's kitchen.
While the blaze was contained to the kitchen, sparing the rest of the property, Ms Yu said the incident was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"I can't pay for it to be fixed."
The closure represents a loss for Broome, a town with deep multicultural roots dating back to the late 1800s when the pearling industry drew people from China, Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
European pearling masters successfully lobbied for Broome to be exempt from the White Australia Policy, creating a thriving multicultural community on the shores of Roebuck Bay.
Broome had a majority Asian population for much of the first half of the 20th century.
But only a few of the original family-run businesses in Chinatown remain.
Ms Yu curated a museum upstairs from the restaurant in a bid to preserve some of the history.
"When my father passed, I cleaned up and there were all these little photos I hadn't seen before," she said.
Ms Yu led the local Chinese Community group in restoring graves in the Chinese cemetery, installing commemorative family names on plaques and coordinating events during Shinju Matsuri, the annual festival celebrating Broome's Asian heritage.
For many locals, the closure signals the end of an era.
Doug Fong was born in Chinatown, just before the start of World War II, in a building across the street from what would become Son Ming.
"Inside the store, they had so many things on their walls depicting Chinese society living in Broome," he said.
Mr Fong said he feared people would forget the culture that gave the town its prominence, with younger generations moving away for work and education opportunities.
"Broome being such a multicultural town, we need to be part of keeping that attitude going," he said.
His wife Margaret said the closure felt like a piece of the town's Chinese history was "disappearing".
Ms Yu will continue as chairperson of the Chinese Community group, but said she was unsure what the future held after the restaurant closed.