WONG FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM
PHOTO SOURCES : Christopher, Stella and Evelyn
PHOTO DESCRIPTION : Wong F. Y. 2026-6-6
1969
This composite photograph is one of the most meaningful treasures in our family archive. It combines two moments separated by forty-eight years, connected by the same location, the same family, and a lifetime of shared memories.
The lower photograph was taken in 1969 at Batu Lintang Teacher Training College in Kuching, Sarawak. It shows seven brothers and sisters standing together as children. At that time, cameras were uncommon and expensive for ordinary families, making every photograph a precious record of a moment that could never be repeated.
When this photograph was taken, none of us knew what the future would bring. We did not know where life would lead us, what careers we would pursue, whom we would meet, or what challenges we would face. We were simply children standing together on the grass, enjoying the companionship of brothers and sisters. The future was still unwritten.
The photograph was taken during a family visit to Batu Lintang, where our parents brought us together for what would become one of the most important visual records of our childhood. At that moment, no one could have imagined that the photograph would still be remembered and recreated nearly half a century later.
By 2017, forty-eight years had passed. Our parents had already left this world, and the seven children in the 1969 photograph had become adults, parents, grandparents, retirees, and senior citizens. Time had changed our appearances, but it had not changed the bond between siblings.
The occasion that brought all seven siblings together again was the proposed sale of our parents' house, House No. 875. By then, the siblings were living in four different cities: Perth, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, and Tawau. The previous reunion of all seven siblings had taken place in 2008 during the funeral of our father, Wong Syak Kee. Nine years later, in 2017, the discussion regarding the future of the family home created another rare opportunity for everyone to gather.
Recognizing the significance of the moment, Christopher and Stella took the initiative to arrange a special visit to Batu Lintang Teacher Training College. There, at the exact location where the childhood photograph had been taken in 1969, the seven siblings posed once again for a commemorative photograph.
This time, instead of standing quietly as children, we celebrated by jumping joyfully into the air. The photograph captured more than smiling faces. It captured gratitude for life, appreciation for family, and the happiness of being together again after many years apart.
Ironically, although the reunion was prompted by discussions about selling the family home, the house itself was not sold until six years later. In 2023, the sale agreement was finally signed at a lawyer's office, and ownership was transferred to another Wong family from Sibu. Thus, the family house that had helped bring the siblings together in 2017 remained part of the family's story for several more years.
The contrast between the two photographs tells an important story. The 1969 image represents childhood, hope, and the many possibilities that lay ahead. The 2017 image represents experience, endurance, and the enduring value of family relationships. Buildings may age, technology may change, and people may grow older, but family memories remain.
For future grandchildren and generations yet to come, this photograph is more than a family picture. It is a lesson about the passage of time. Forty-eight years may seem like a very long period, yet to those who lived through it, the years passed surprisingly quickly. Childhood became adulthood, and adulthood gradually became old age.
Without the original 1969 photograph, the remarkable comparison made in 2017 would not have been possible. The old black-and-white picture became a bridge connecting two generations of the same family and preserving memories that might otherwise have been lost.
1969 - Batu Lintang Teacher Training College Campus. Photographer : Uncle Yu Fook of Papar Town, Sabah who came t visit us in Kuching
Among the many photographs preserved in our family collection, this picture holds a very special place. It was taken in 1969 at Batu Lintang Teacher Training College in Kuching, Sarawak, when our family was still young and growing together. Three years after this photo I left home and became independent living and working outside.
At that time, our family lived only about ten minutes' walk from the college campus. The college grounds were beautiful, with wide open spaces, large trees, and impressive buildings. One day in 1969, our parents decided that the family should have a group photograph taken there. None of us realized that this simple family outing would create one of the most treasured records of our early years. Not to forget the photographer Uncle Yu Fook of Papar Town. He came to visit us in Kuching and he has a camera that recorded several memory of us in 1969.
Looking at the photograph today, father and mother standing proudly behind their children. The children are lined up in front of them, each at a different age and stage of childhood. The youngest child stands near the front, still too young to understand the importance of the occasion. The older children already show hints of the adults they would one day become.
The photograph captures more than faces. It captures a moment in time when the family was complete under one roof. Life was simple. The children attended school, played together, shared meals, and grew up side by side. Our parents worked hard to provide for the family and guide their children toward a better future.
As the years passed, the children grew older. Education, employment, marriage, and responsibilities gradually led each person onto a different path. Like many families, opportunities to gather everyone together became increasingly difficult. Time moved quickly, and before we knew it, childhood had become a memory.
What makes this photograph especially meaningful is that after it was taken in 1969, the family did not have another complete family group photograph until 1985. Sixteen years passed between these two portraits. During those years, the young children in this picture became adults. They completed their studies, found jobs, migrated and began building lives of their own. By 1985, the family members who once stood together as children were no longer children at all.
To our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, this photograph is more than an old picture. These are the people whose lives and sacrifices helped shape the family you belong to today. The parents in this photograph worked hard so their children could have opportunities they themselves may never have enjoyed. The children in the photograph would grow up, raise families of their own, and continue the family story into future generations.
This family portrait at Batu Lintang Teacher Training College in 1969 is not simply a photograph. It is a window into our family's history, a reminder of our roots, and a gift from one generation to the next. May it continue to tell our story long into the future.
Seven Siblings at Batu Lintang Library, Kuching (1969)
This photograph was taken in 1969 in front of the Library of Batu Lintang Teacher Training College in Kuching, Sarawak. Standing together are the seven siblings during our childhood years. It is one of the few surviving photographs showing all seven brothers and sisters together at that time.
The photograph was taken by our Uncle Yu Fook from Papar Town, Sabah. He was returning home after completing a work contract in Singapore and stopped in Kuching to visit our family. In those days, Singapore offered better employment opportunities and salaries than were available in many parts of Malaysia. Because Uncle Yu Fook had earned a good income, he was able to own a camera, which was considered a valuable and uncommon possession in the 1960s.
At that time, our family did not own a camera. In fact, cameras were relatively rare and expensive, and only better-off families could afford them. Every photograph required film, careful preparation, and the cost of developing prints. Unlike today, when people can take thousands of photographs with a mobile phone, each photograph in those years was special and taken only on important occasions.
This picture therefore records much more than the faces of seven of us as children. It preserves a moment in family history, a visit from a respected uncle, and a reminder of how different life was in Malaysia during the 1960s. The Batu Lintang Library building in the background also serves as a historical landmark of Kuching during that era.
THE 1969 FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH AT BATU LINTANG
This photograph was taken in 1969 at Batu Lintang Teacher Training College, Kuching, Sarawak. Father and mother together with all seven of their children. At that time, all of us were still young, and none of us could have imagined how important this photograph would become in later years.
The photograph was made possible through the kindness of Uncle Yu Fook from Papar, Sabah. After completing his work contract in Singapore, he travelled home to Sabah and stopped in Kuching to visit our family for a few days. Uncle Yu Fook owned a camera, which was not common in those days. Many ordinary families did not own cameras because they were expensive and photographs cost money to develop.
During his visit, Uncle Yu Fook took this family photograph. Without his effort and generosity, this precious record of our family might never have existed. Today, it is one of the few surviving photographs showing our entire family together with our late parents while all seven siblings were still children.
The next complete family photograph with our parents was not taken until 1985, by which time the children in this picture had already grown into adults. For this reason, the 1969 photograph preserves a unique moment that can never be repeated.