The Mathew Ko Colour Films: Victoria's Chinatown and Region, c.1939-c.1950

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The amateur films of Mathew Ko date from the late 1930s to early 1950s and are examples of the popular home movie genre. As historical documents, Ko's films are exceptional: in their record of family and community life in Victoria and the region during this time, for the number of events represented in each film, and for the use of colour film stock. Aside from a small amount of footage in black and white, Mathew Ko shot in 16mm Kodachrome (introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935), as well as Kodak and Ansco 16mm stock. Though they contain no sound tracks, his films vividly document significant social, cultural and political events in Chinatown and other areas of downtown Victoria and surrounding neighborhoods, Vancouver Island, the City of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. 

Scenes from the films include: Beacon Hill Park; the Chinese Public School; the Empress Hotel, the Parliament Buildings and Inner Harbour; family scenes, outings and trips; a protest against the sale of scrap iron to Japan (August 1939); pageants and celebrations in Victoria's Chinatown, including the Rice Bowl Festival, Lion Dance and martial arts demonstrations; Royal Athletic Park pageant and drill team events; the Royal Visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Victoria (May 1939); trains and steamships; World War II patriotic and post-War parades in Victoria and Vancouver; and youth activities including Scouts and YMCA outings

The films were donated in 2013 by Mathew Ko's daughter Ms. Valerie Ko, and with the assistance of artist and writer Robert Amos, RCA. Valerie Ko served in the Canadian Naval Reserve for 32 years and owned and operated the GB Simon Jewelry and Watch Repair in Victoria from 1984 until her retirement in 2015. Robert Amos is the author of a number of books on art and local history, including Inside Chinatown: Ancient Culture in a New World (2009), co-authored with Kileasa Wong.

In 2016, UVic Libraries organized the digitization of the films by Preservation Technologies' The Media Preserve. Prior to digitization, the films were assessed for shrinkage and original splices were repaired; the digitized film runs at 18 fps (frames per second).

Mathew Ko and family

Mathew Ko (1909-2000) was a Victoria-born businessman, the son of Simon Ko Bong and Chui Tong Biing. Simon Ko Bong was a successful retailer and jeweler, and a prominent leader in British Columbia's Chinese Canadian community. Mathew's nine siblings Mark, Luke, John, Mable, Ruby, Mary, Peter, Andrew, and Garnet were also born in Victoria. Mathew ran the family business, GB Simon Jewelry and Watch Repair, at various locations in Victoria, including Government Street and Yates Street.

Mathew's father Simon Ko Bong was born in the Sun Wei district of China's Guangdong (Canton) province in 1880 and came to Canada in 1896 (also stated as 1899 in newspaper obituaries); he became a naturalized citizen in 1909. A watchmaker and jeweler by trade, Ko Bong's businesses included GB Simon Jewelry and Watch Repair in Victoria at Cormorant Street and Johnson Street locations and GB Simon Sporting Goods and GB Simon Jewelers in Vancouver locations, including on Main Street. A prominent figure in the Chinese community in Canada, Ko Bong was a dedicated anti-Communist and friend of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, with whom he established the Chinese Brotherhood Society (Chung Kuo Tung Meng Hui) in 1911. Ko Bong established the New Republic (Xinminguo Boa) newspaper in Victoria that same year with Walter Lee and Wong Bark Du. According to Mathew's brother John, their father also became a pilot and established a flying club so that Ko Bong would be ready to serve in an air force defending free China. The family lived in various locations in Victoria including Cook Street and 822 Caledonia Street. Various English language newspapers when covering the news of Simon Ko Bong's passing on April 26th, 1957, announced “Chinese mourn death of fighting editor.”

Mathew Ko's formal schooling ended at grade 5; he attended the Mission School in the North Park neighbourhood of Victoria, and later took courses at Victoria High School and was a member of the camera club, nurturing his life-long interest in photography and film-making. Mathew was musical and played the trombone, while his brother John played violin, and his sister Mary sang and danced. Before he took over the running of the family business in Victoria, Mathew worked on the Canadian Pacific Railway's SS Princess Louise on its route between Vancouver and Alaska. Mathew enjoyed shooting, golfing, fishing and model building. Mathew continued operating the business on Government Street, Yates Street, View Street and Old Esquimalt Road.

Mathew was married to Bessie (d. June 26, 1995), who was born in Canada and who grew up in the village of Cumberland in Vancouver Island's Comox Valley. The area's economy was based on coal extraction during the late 19th and early 20th century and Bessie's mother earned income by making dim sum, which Bessie helped sell in the village after school; Bessie attained a high school education in the Comox Valley. Mathew and Bessie had four children: Virginia, Valerie, Velma, and Russell. Like their father, the children were musical, playing the piano, viola, violin and cello. The children were featured in the April 16, 1961 “Women” section of the Victoria Daily Times, in an article on the Victoria Music Festival. Mathew's daughter Valerie noted that Bessie played the piano and there was always a piano in their homes. Mathew's family lived in various locations in Victoria including 822 Caledonia Street, 1231 Hillside Avenue, 1239 Phyllis Road, and 881 Old Esquimalt Road.

Mathew's siblings John, Peter, Andrew, and Mary were members of the Canadian Armed Forces, serving in the Army. John's enlistment during World War II is featured in his obituary, published in the November 19, 2008 issue of the Globe and Mail. John was one of a select group trained in Penticton, BC, to undertake operations to infiltrate Japanese-occupied Malaya and Borneo; the war ended before he was deployed. Mary is one of the very few Chinese Canadian women believed to have served in uniform, having joined the Canadian Women's Army Corps, where she worked as an instrument mechanic with a specialty in optics for compasses and binoculars. During the Ko Family's time in service to Canada and in support of the war effort, the right to vote was not yet extended to persons of Chinese descent born in Canada; enfranchisement for Chinese Canadians was not established until 1947 in British Columbia and 1948 in Canada.

Mathew's daughter Valerie joined the Naval Reserve in 1964, specializing in communications; at that time there were limitations on the trades open to women. Valerie served in the reserves for 32 years, attaining the rank of Chief Petty Officer First Class. While serving in the reserves she also worked in the family business, focusing on clock repairs, pearl restringing, and machine engraving. Like her father and her grandfather, she did not have formal training in clock repair, but learned by observing her father at work. She bought the GB Simon Victoria business from her father in 1984 and retired, closing the family business, in April 2015.

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