By Nikkei Australia founding members
I first met Noreen in 2002 when I launched her book, No. 2 Home: A Story of Japanese Pioneers In Australia. Unfortunately, I did not get to spend much time with her until a few years before I retired in 2013.
After that, Noreen and I became firm friends. I moved to Fremantle but we often phoned each other and I occasionally stayed with her at her home in Australind. Noreen was a very welcoming host. We had a shared interest in Japanese art, aesthetics and ideas. She told me that she and Arthur, her husband, had visited Japan 13 times after they retired.
A little later we made daily contact through an online scrabble game. If either of us had not made a move for a few days we would ring to check that all was ok. Noreen played scrabble with me until the day she died.
When Noreen’s health was failing and talking became an effort, still her first question was always, ‘how are you going, Lorna?’. And these were her words the very last time she rang, just a week before she died. ‘How are you going, Lorna?’
That was Noreen, always concerned about others and always wanting to engage. She had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. We had long conversations about books, art, exhibitions, travels and so on. There was always more to know. In fact, on one of my last visits to Noreen, I described an orchid I had recently seen on a bush walk. She whipped out her iPad and did not rest until she had identified it.
A few months before Noreen died, I started sending her some haiku I had written. Thus began our new shared interest in haiku. Noreen and I exchanged books on haiku. She told me that she had wanted to preface each chapter of No. 2 Home with a haiku, but copyright was too expensive.
This is the last haiku I sent to Noreen:
a home among trees
furrows of green gold and smoky brown
the ocean beyond
It refers to her welcoming home, the rich life she cultivated, and her love of the ocean.
In her last days, Noreen taught herself Japanese calligraphy through YouTube. She explored various kanji but finally settled on Enso, which encompassed the spirit inside, as well as the ongoing wonder of life with all its possibilities of openness and inquiry. Despite her frailty, she made me a card.
Here it is below: a lasting memory of a loving friend who became, for me, a guiding spirit.
– Lorna Kaino
I never met Noreen in person, but we communicated by email because our research areas were closely related. She was always polite and generous. Noreen was determined to destroy the clichéd images about Japanese in Australia. In her book, Number 2 Home, she wrote: ‘The Japanese who migrated to Australia before 1901 were not only the prostitutes, pimps and pearlers of popular fiction.’ By telling the real stories of families, farmers, fishermen, entrepreneurs, and itinerants who settled in Western Australia, she showed they were also ordinary people.
She will be greatly missed.
– Yuriko Nagata
I only met Noreen twice in Canberra when she visited here although we exchanged numerous email messages over decades. The first time was after her first book, Number 2 Home, came out. The Japanese Embassy organized a lecture by her and I was asked to introduce her. The second time was when she visited Canberra with her daughter, Gail, and we met at the National Gallery for lunch. She was always warm and eager to listen. I could see how she managed to form trusting relationships with descendants of the Japanese residents in Broome, in spite of the language barrier. Her warmth came through with her smiles and her sincerity towards research subjects was clear.
Noreen was very generous in sharing her research material with others, including present residents in Broome and other researchers. We discussed the possibility of establishing a research archive on the Japanese in Australia, by putting together photographs, interview tapes and other related materials each of us had collected. Unfortunately, it has not yet materialized.
Noreen was somebody who pursued her research interest steadily and carried it out meticulously. She wrote about people in the past, but readers are able to sense their presence on the pages of her books. Those of us who follow her steps are trying to continue our historical research and to explore stories which might have been hidden or forgotten, because we all believe, as Noreen did, that they are relevant for the present-day Australians and Japanese.
– Keiko Tamura
When I was searching for photographs taken by Japanese Australian photographer Yasukichi Murakami (1880-1944) for a play Yasukichi Murakami Through A Distant Lens (2014), my then collaborator Dr Lorna Kaino gave me a photocopy of Noreen Jones’ Collection of the Mise and Yamamoto Collections. They were mostly photographs but included postcards and some documents which belonged to the Mise and Yamamoto families, who once ran businesses, and made their home in Broome. The earliest dated photograph was1902, and the latest,1925.
They were donated by Tamae Mise and Noriko Yamamoto in Japan, and with help from the Edith Cowan University, Noreen had them scanned, digitised, and compiled. Many were studio portraits, mother with son, couples, men, sometimes in western suits and the women in long dresses, and others in Japanese kimono. Men in white suits standing on the veranda of the Yamamoto store or in front of wooden homes with corrugated iron cladding, pearl divers and crew on their lugger, and amongst it, a Japanese edition of the Goshu Imin Seigen Hou or the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901.
These photographs and documents illustrate Noreen’s Number 2 Home: A Story of Japanese Pioneers in Australia (Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2002), a canonical book, which helps us to understand the lesser-known history of the early Japanese in Australia. The introduction begins with Noreen in Sandstone, a small country town in the East Murchison goldfield in Western Australia. She was at the town’s celebration of its centenary as a goldmining town. At an exhibition there, she saw a photograph of a headstone with a caption: ‘Grave of a Japanese at Sandstone.’ When translated by a woman she met, Harumi, a Japanese visitor to the festivities, she found that it belonged to a woman. The Japanese writing read: ‘Haru Shimamoto 1907, thirty-six years old.’ In search of who Haru was, and why this Japanese woman was buried in this remote region of Western Australia, Noreen uncovered numerous records, photographs and oral histories, which lead us to understand the lives of thousands of other Japanese people who lived in Western Australia before World War II.
Number 2 Home is a gift to all of us in Australia with Japanese heritage. The violence of war and our desperate attempts to forget its trauma, have wiped out the memory of the early Japanese settlers in Australia. It is as if our wish for reconciliation and healing, along with powerful forces of prosperous trade and strategic geo-political alliances of late, necessitates our collective story-making between Japanese and Australian peoples to begin after the war. Yet for those with Japanese heritage, the memories of the Japanese bombing raids and the treatment of Australian prisoners of war are still present, as these events and stories continue to be commemorated around the country. Noreen Jones’ Collection of the Mise and Yamamoto Collections and Number 2 Home are part of a slim canon made available to us to remember the Japanese pioneers in Australia; that they were our senpai – a predecessor of the same guild or school, a member who offers assistance, friendship, and counsel. It reminds us that we are kohai – a newer or inexperienced member of the same guild or school, ready to demonstrate gratitude, respect, and occasionally personal loyalty towards our senpai.
Having found some photographs taken by Yasukichi Murakami and his partner Eki Nishioka in Noreen Jones’ Collection of Mise and Yamamoto family photographs, and having sought counsel about her research and practices, and about mine since meeting Noreen in her son’s home in Broome, I understand that Noreen is my senpai. With her passing, I wish I had spent more time with her, asked her more questions to learn, and demonstrated more gratitude and respect. As I write this in memory of Noreen, I am grateful for her legacy.
Postscript: Continuing Noreen’s spirit of curiosity and wonderment, I wonder what has happened to Harumi, the Japanese woman who helped Noreen read Haru’s name on photo of the tombstone. I wonder what happened to Haru and her lone grave in the goldfield. I wonder about the coincidence of similarity in their names – Harumi and Haru. To be continued.
– Mayu Kanamori
I first met Noreen in 2016 when researching one of the early students of St Mary’s School/College Rita (Mitsue) Fukuda (nee Ishii) 1915-2001, who had given the College a red lacquer crucifix with a traditional Japanese cross halving joint in memory of her son who had been killed in an industrial accident in Japan in 1974.
Noreen helped me flesh out the fascinating story of Rita who was born, schooled, worked, married and gave birth to her children in Broome, before leaving for Japan with her husband Toshio, and young children Kenneth (Kunio) and David just prior to the start of WWII. After WWII Rita worked as a translator for the Australians in British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) based in Hiroshima Prefecture. Later Toshio was the agent for the Japanese divers returning to Broome in the 1950’s. Rita was one of the driving forces behind the Sister City between Broome and Taiji and a regular visitor to Broome in the 1970’s and 80’s.
Noreen happily opened her research archives to me and provided images of Rita and her family to illustrate my research that I would have not been able to source anywhere else.
Vale Noreen
Michael Lake
Senior Teacher D&T/Japanese Exchange Facilitator
St Mary’s College Broome
Thank you, Michael for your heartfelt tribute for Noreen Jones.
Please could you let your friends in Broome and Taiji know about Noreen’s passing. Thank you again.
Mayu
I had the privilege to meet Noreen Jones in the 1980s!
was immediately impressed by her fervour to learn about
Japanese Pioneers in Australia!
Her novel Number 2 Home is one of my Prized possessions
In my library, I will say it is the best book written by an Australian about Japanese contribution in Broome History
my family lived this history.
May she Rest In Peace
Just saw this! Didn’t realise Noreen had passed away. I contacted her when working on my PhD/novel and she was helpful via email. Also her daughter is a famous novelist!
Noreen and Arthur were among the delegation that visited Sugito, Saitama, for the signing of the sister city agreement with Busselton in 1996. I was the JET Programme ALT in Sugito from Busselton and assigned to helping guide and interpret for the group. I enjoyed many fascinating conversations with Noreen on bus trips. She told me about her plan to write the history of an Australian whaling ship that ran aground in Hokkaido. A few years later, when I was living in Okinawa, Japan, Noreen asked if I could help her locate a tiny island mentioned in, I believe, the ship’s log. The entire primary school staff of Zamami got involved and we used the internet (still a fairly new tool) and looked around for hours until we felt fairly satisfied that we had located and named the correct island. It turned out we hadn’t got the right place but tenacious Noreen, with her limited Japanese and extraordinary research skills, managed to solve the mystery herself. I still don’t know how. Noreen just always managed to calmly get things done, and done very well. She was the first person I turned to for advice when researching Zamami’s WWII history and interviewing locals about sensitive topics and some painful memories. Noreen’s advice was top-notch and absolutely invaluable. I would probably not have been brave enough to pursue the project without Noreen’s expert guidance. Back in the Bunbury/Busselton area we met up fairly regularly at Japanese sister city events and some family events as well. I kept any bookmarks I came across for Noreen’s collection – and she was so grateful for this silly little effort. Noreen’s generous creative spirit and insatiable appetite for exploring the world made her truly wonderful company. It is a privilege and honour to have known Noreen.
Thank you to all who contributed to this very moving tribute to our mother, Noreen Jones.
Noreen was devoted to her Japanese research and pursued it energetically and earnestly. She published two books based on her research, Number Two Home: A Story of Japanese Pioneers in Australia (Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2002, later translated into Japanese by Prof Masashi Hojo at Kochi University) and North to Matsume: Australian Whalers to Japan, an account of the first recorded contact (after a shipwreck) between Australians and Japanese (published by University of Western Australia Press in 2007). As Mayu Kunamori has attested, Noreen also collected a vast archive of historical photographs of the Japanese diaspora as well as witness accounts from Japanese interned in WWII and repatriated to Taiji.
Noreen was active in the Busselton-Sugito sister city relationship and also made many personal visits to Japan. On the wall of her study was a map detailing her various journeys: among others, around Hokkaido, for research purposes, and following the famous Bashō trail down the length of Japan. With her husband Arthur she established many lasting and loving friendships and was always delighted to host Japanese visitors at her home in WA. Both Noreen and Arthur were passionately interested in Japanese crafts (Arthur in pottery and kiln making, Noreen in Japanese fabric traditions of dying and weaving, such a shibori ) and their house gradually filled with delightful evidence of their aesthetic tastes.
I accompanied Noreen to Wakayama prefecture for the launch of the Japanese edition of Number Two Home. It was immensely moving to see the gratitude of repatriated pearl divers and their families. One man, returned from Broome, brought his diver’s helmet to show Noreen, and spoke English with a Broome accent, even though none of his children or grandchildren understood.
Noreen’s particular friends in Japan were Professors Sachiko Kubota and Sig Sugito, two scholars known to many researchers in Australia. Her connections, scholarly, artistic and personal, enriched the lives of her entire family, grandchildren included; and we have all learned a great deal from Noreen – not just by her avid research, but also her special gift for friendship.
Gail Jones, Peter Jones, Kevin Jones.
What a story!!
It tells us a lot about Noreen & the Japanese people, plenty in fact!!
Pity i never got to meet her.
Merv Kennedy, son of Maude Kennedy/ King.
Mob; 0419 912 131
Email; Mkennedyrealty@bigpond.com
I am afraid of my poor English, however, I will try to describe my memory of Noreen Jones, my Australian mom.
My name is Shigenobu Sugito, but Noreen (I will describe her name Norn, after this) used to call me Sig. This is the reason why I cut my name short for the verbal convenience of the introduction of my name to Australian friends. She mentioned my name in the Introduction and Afterwords of “Number 2 Home”.
I have seen Norn in August, 1984, in Galiwinku in Arnhem Land, NT. It was my first fieldwork place in Australia. Her husband Arthur (I will describe his name Art, after this) was a manager of the Electric facilities in the community. One day, Norn invited me to their house for dinner. I guess its menu was an oven grilled whole stuffed chicken.
We talked about many topics at the time. As you know, Norn had a powerful personality and wanted to control our conversation with them. Norn has been a weaver, and Art has been a potter. Therefore, our conversation was focused on the topics of Japanese weaving and pottering traditions and Japanese culture. Unfortunately, I have very limited knowledge of them. For example, I didn’t know the English term “kiln” at the time. Art tried to explain this pottery work and process to produce besides Norn’s control. He was very talkative at the time the contrary to his usual behaviour.
In 1985 next year, I came back to Galiwinku with my research partner Sue Sachiko Kubota, and we visited Norn and Art, several times, and talked about many things much more than before. Norn had started to work with Art Centre for Yolngu women’s work for knitting using native fibres. I am not sure, but they had moved out from Galiwinku after our visit this year, because of their end of the term of the contract with the community.
In 1986, I came back to Australia but not to Galiwinku, but to Maningrida in the Central Arnhem Land for my fieldwork. However, Sue has continuously visited Galiwinku. This year, we had paid a visit to Norn and Art in Yallingup, WA. We had stayed with them for nearly a week, including a short trip to wine hunting and picnic in the Margaret River area, and two day trip to Albany via climbing of “Gloucester Tree” in Pemberton. We had enjoyed it very much. I can’t remember when, but, maybe, after their first visit to Japan. Norn and Art took me to the supposed place of their new house in Busselton in my next time to visit Yallingup. Norn talked to me about her plan to build a Japanese style wooded bath and Japanese garden. Many years later, Norn visited Japan again as a friendship ambassador of the sister city relationship of Busselton and Sugito city. Spelling is coincidently the same but different pronunciation of my name.
In 1990, Norn and Art had visited Japan. It was their first time visiting Japan. After this, they used to visit many times. I can’t remember when, but maybe in the mid-1990s, my parent lived in Nara and Norn and Art stayed for a month in our spare house in my parent estate after finishing a long term workshop at Kawashima Woolen Company, now Kawashima Selkon. During time Norn, Art and my parent enjoyed conversation and dinner sometimes, but basically, Norn and Art moved independently in their way. My father was very similar to Art, he was not talkative, but one day he talked a lot and many times about a sudden and coincident meeting with Norn and Art at Okayama station of Shinkansen (bullet train).
I joined two times of travel with Norn and Art in Japan, just after the publication of “Number 2 Home” in Matsuyama, and just before the publication of “North to Matsume: Australian Whalers to Japan” in Kozagawa and Taiji. The first one, it should be in 2003, was for the presentation of Norn for her first book and meeting for the Japanese translation project “Number 2 Home” with Professor Masashi Hojo and other translators. The second one was for the interview with the people in Kozagawa and visiting the Whale Museum. I suppose this trip was related to Norn’s second publication. After this trip, I found documents of the Kokutaiji (国泰寺文書), which was on the battle with a whaling ship Lady Rowena offshore of Atsukeshi, in 1821 and sent it to Norn, however, Norn pointed out her difficulty of translating to English, I can’t remember after that, unfortunately.
I have been to the home of Norn and Art many times, also. I used to call them my Australian parent. As Norn used to explain to her friends that Sig is her eldest son, I am older than Peter, who is the real eldest son of Norn and Art, of course. In February of 2014, I went to see Norn and Art, but Art was in his nursing home, and he almost lost his memory, but I have tied to show old photos in Galiwinku with Norn and Art on my iPad. His look and behaviour were changed, he looked like trying to remember something. My last visit to Norn with Sue was in Austrarind in February 2018, it was my last visit to Norn after Art’s passed away. We were welcomed with Norn, Peter, Joan, and Kevin, but unfortunately, Gail was in Sydney. We enjoyed our party at Peter’s house with his barbie.
I have shared many special memories with Norn and Art, thank you very much! My parent passed away ten years ago, but I believe they are enjoying talking about many stories with Norn and Art in the other world, now. I will see you again, soon. Norn and Art, I love you.
Sig Sugito
I corresponded with Noreen Jones for several months, then was lucky enough to meet her in early December 2018, when Karl Neuenfeldt and I drove from Waroona down to her home in Australind. Lorna Kaino was there with Noreen at the time. We all passed a pleasant few hours discussing the Japanese presence in prewar WA and the Torres Strait, while looking through original photographs that potentially contained images and clues to music and performance activities. Noreen and Lorna graciously treated us to lunch, too. Afterwards I stayed in touch by email, finding out among other things that before she moved to Australind Noreen had twice visited Sugito, a town near where I live in Saitama Prefecture, as a very active proponent for enriching the sister city relationship with Busselton (as mentioned in ‘Sig’ Sugito’s – no relation! – post above.) Like many others, I have read, re-read and consulted Number 2 Home both for research information and for the sheer intrinsic interest of the stories Noreen tells. I also went through photos in the book with Joe Murakami at his nursing home in Kawasaki because he’d been in Broome until the age of 8 as a member of one of the principal Japanese-Australian families documented by Noreen. Joe likewise remembered her fondly from the times they’d met.
I am sad to just hear now of Noreen’s passing. She was generous with her time and with distribution of so many amazing photographs she collected. Her friendliness and openness is duly demonstrated by the range of researchers into aspects of Australian-Japanese history who have chosen to make comments of regard and appreciation here. Condolences to her family and may she rest in peace.