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Dong Sisters
The Story Behind This Mural
The Dong Sisters were the daughters of a Chinese family that originally came to Australia in the 1870s in search of gold. Settling in Maryborough, the family established market gardens on the flats in Granville. After the 1893 flood washed their gardens away, they reestablished themselves on land near where the Golf Course is today. A shop in town was subsequently opened in 1915 and the daughters Maud and Ellen built a thriving business selling vegetables, plants and seeds to the Maryborough community. They were the first agents to supply Yates seeds and sold them by the sack load to local farmers. They also imported fireworks (called crackers) from China and did a brisk business during the Christmas periods. Their shop closed in 1956 and Maud and Ellen spent their later years at the Fairhaven Retirement Home. Ellen died in 1993 aged 101 and Maud passed away the following year aged 95, having spent all of their lives in Maryborough.
Contributors to this Mural
The Maryborough Mural Project relies entirely on the generosity of volunteers and sponsors from our local community. The artist’s commission for this mural was generously provided through Mayor Chris Loft’s discretionary funds. The Committee would like to thank Ms Katrina Dollin, Mrs Tracey Christoffel, Mr Mal Finlayson, Ms Tracey Gray, Mrs Dawn Vanderwolf, Ms Yvonne Loveday and Mr Rai Whitten for their time and expertise in coordinating this mural. The Committee also thanks the following businesses for their kind and generous sponsorship of this mural:
Our featured sponsor is Earles Paint Place, Maryborough who have generously supported the Maryborough Mural Project since it’s inception and who have provided most of the paint and paint supplies needed to complete our murals. Without their generous and passionate support of the Project we would not have been able to achieve what we have to date. Earles continue to support and sponsor the project as a major contributor in helping to revitalise Maryborough through Art.