TCM Rentals has multiple units and apartments for lease in Cairns North and close to the CBD.

These properties include:

• A 3 bedroom furnished executive apartment in the Harbour LIghts complex on the Cairns water front        
• A 1 bedroom partly furnished apartment in Parramatta Park                                                                               
• A 2 bedroom, ground floor unit in Westcourt                  
• A 2 bedroom, self contained and furnished apartment in Cairns North in a popular resort style complex.

These units are available now and priced between $240.00 per week and $950.00 per week. We have property to suit ALL budgets! 

For further information and to arrange an inspection, please visit our website.

Chinese New Year - Special Feature

We ask our General Manager of TCM Rentals, Ben Lee Long, a 5th generation local (2nd photo, right), about his vast family history and the well-known and highly regarded Lee Long Chinese community. 

The Kwong Family Dynasty is an incredibly interesting story and well worth the read! Ben himself is the first son, of the first son, of the first son, of the first daughter of the third wife of Kwong Sue Duk. Incidentally, his cousin is well known chef, Kylie Kwong!

Here is where it all began. Kwong Sue Duk (pictured, top right) was a prosperous and generous Chinese gentleman who had four wives and twenty-four children, and made Australia his chosen home, during and after the nineteenth century northern Australian gold rush period.

Kwong Sue Duk was born in Guangdong Province, China in 1853 and ventured abroad to the California goldfields at an early age to seek his fortune. In 1874 he married his first wife. In 1875, after the birth of his first son, Kwong soon heard of the gold rush of Australia and took a ship to Cooktown, North Queensland. 

In 1884, Kwong Sue Duk married his second wife and obtained his naturalisation certificate in Australia. Kwong then moved to Palmerston (early Darwin) and in March 1887 he met and married his third wife. He returned to China in 1889 and lived in harmony with his 3 wives. By 1902, there were sixteen Kwong children. He prospered  in the remote Northern Territory, purchasing rental properties and at least five large gold mining leases.

In January 1897, a tropical cyclone damaged much of the town. His first wife had difficulty adjusting to the harsh conditions and in 1898 he travelled with her to China where she chose to remain with their four children. In 1899, Kwong met and married his fourth wife, and returned with her to Palmerston. Sadly, the cyclone of 1897 and the dwindling economy of the NT had left Kwong Sue Duk in a poor financial state. In 1902 he sought relief in the growing economy of the Cairns region in North Queensland. The family set up a store and business in Cairns where he sold mostly Chinese goods. In the back of the store he had an office where he dispensed Chinese herbal remedies. Whilst in Cairns, five more children were born to third and fourth wives. 

Kwong Sue Duk continued with his herbal medicine practice in Townsville until he died at the age of 76 on the 17th February 1929. A large proportion of Kwong Sue Duks descendant families are settled in Australia and through the years have played important roles in the development and colour of the Australian community. His descendants span five generations, spread across eleven countries of the world. What a fascinating family tree! Thank you Ben for sharing your family history. 

SOURCES:
Rosalie Hiah and Warren Lee Long, 'Kwong Sue Duk' in Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography, Vol.3, 1996