Sixth Daughter

My Sixth Aunt, or Lurk Goo was born in 1929, just three years young than my mum. At the time of writing this, she would have been 90 years old but she passed away from breast cancer in 2004.

She was married to a capable man who was in charge of my grandfather's machinery in the Bee Ang or Mee Ann Sawmill in Binatang. He was a tall and strong man who could handle all the large logs which were brought in to be sawn into planks.

She had three children who all live in Miri.

Aunt Heng Sieng was a pretty girl, with big eyes and a good hearty laugh. I remember her as a kindly woman who was affectionate and very caring. Even though she was not very well towards the end of her life in Miri, she was still able to call her relatives for a small meal at a coffee shop.  She always had a kind word for others and was very helpful to her neighbours.

She was a teenager when the Japanese came and she did a lot of housework. The Yuk Ing Girls' School closed because of the war and she had finished Primary Six at the end of the year.

The Japanese "arrived" on Christmas Day, she told me one day and she was really fond of tellings stories to me.


When after the war, Sixth Aunt was not interested in going back to study in Yuk Ing Girls' school in Sibu, Grandfather asked a match maker to find a suitable husband for her. And in no time, the mechanic was chosen.

Grandfather was generous in giving a few acres of good and fertile land, located on a hill near Tulai to Sixth Aunt. This hilly area was used as a fresh food garden during the Japanese War to produce lots of vegetables for the family in Bee Ang Sawmill. Grandfather had seen to it that there was a gardener who helped with vegetable cultivation, and rearing of some chickens.

It would take one hour to row a small boat in the small Binatang River (Bintangor River now)from Mee Ang Sawmill to the property. My grand uncle Kung Eng used to row his boat up and down the river to help Grandpa .  Life must have been very slow and peaceful away from the prying eyes of the Japanese soliders.

The Ngu family, was glad that they had acquired a good and hard working daughter in law.

There were not many Foochow families who gave landed property to their daughters as dowry. Of all my aunts, Sixth Aunt was the most fortunate to have been married off with a good dowry. In this respect, Grandfather was very generous and understanding.