Victor Low — tunneller and surveyor

Victor Thomas Low was the son of the earliest Chinese couple in New Zealand, Joseph and Matilda Lo Keong of Dunedin. Both he and his brother Norman signed up, becoming the only two WWI ANZACs with Chinese heritage on both sides.

Low was 22 when he enlisted on 9 January 1917. Like his brother, Victor had studied engineering at Canterbury University, so he gave his preferred service as the Tunnelling Corps (the NZ Engineers Tunnelling Company). When he was called up on 20 March 1917 he was assigned to the 5th Tunnelling Reinforcements.

By 8 September 1917 Low had entered the front line. The job of the Tunnelling Corp was to dig tunnels under the German lines to blow them up. It was a dangerous and stressful job as the Germans were also mining to counter the Allies’ efforts, and the tunnel one was working on could be blown up at any time. The Tunnelling Corps that Low was assigned to helped defend Arras during the 1918 German Spring offensive and also fought in the Second Battle of the Marne in July 1918.

That September, Low was on leave when he caught the terrible Spanish influenza that was ravaging the world at the end of 1918. The flu epidemic went on to kill at least 50 million people worldwide , more than the number of soldiers who died in the war. Low was hospitalized, but luckily survived.

The end of the war finally came on 11 November 1918. But for Low, it did not mean the end of his military service. On 8 January 1919 after convalescing from the influenza, he was assigned to be an instructor with the Army Education Unit at Sling Camp in south England. Sling camp was overflowing with men waiting to be repatriated home after four years of war.

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On 15 March 1919 frustration boiled over and New Zealand troops rioted following repeated delays in scheduled sailings of troopships home. Other grievances included antagonism towards officers, anger at arbitrary discipline, bad conditions, compulsory education, pointless guard duty and a lack of leave. Stores – especially alcohol and cigarettes – were looted and officers’ messes were trashed after attempts to defend them failed. Fueled by frustration, anger, and alcohol, the men caused £10,000 worth of damage, worth $1.25 million in today’s money. This was one of many riots by Allied forces that followed the end of the war.

After the riot it was suggested that the Kiwi soldiers should be given some positive projects to concentrate on while they waited to go home. One of these projects was for the soldiers to construct a giant image of a Kiwi on the nearby Beacon Hill. As an engineer, Low was chosen to map out the now iconic chalk Kiwi. The project was something of a challenge given the irregular topography of the hill. Happily, the chalky soil was like Arras, which Low was very familiar with. Once he had mapped out the shape of the Kiwi, Low supervised the soldiers who cut the shape of the Kiwi on the hillside. The work was completed on 28 June 1919. By that time the flow of New Zealand troops departing for home was finally going smoothly.

After his demobilization in late August 1919, Low joined his brother Norman Low in Shanghai. Norman had also served on the Western Front. Sadly, due to the effects of being gassed at the Somme, Norman died in his mid-30s and was buried in 1921 in Shanghai.

Victor Low moved to Hong Kong where he worked for many years in an architectural firm. He and his wife Emily escaped Hong Kong in 1941 shortly before the Japanese attacked the island, travelling through China to Chungking and into India before returning to New Zealand in 1943.

He later worked for the Ministry of Works in Wellington, dying on 11 May 1953, aged 59. The iconic giant Kiwi that Low created on a Salisbury hillside remains to this day and has been officially recognised for its historic significance.

Another soldier of Chinese ethnicity was Clarence Eric Kee, who served in France with the Canterbury Infantry Regiment from 1917 until the end of the war, despite being wounded during his service. In 1920 his father, Frank Kow Kee, was granted naturalisation because of his son's service, making him one of only four Chinese naturalised between 1908 and 1952 - years when Chinese were excluded from naturalization in New Zealand.

Read more
Victor Low - the Chinese ANZAC who laid out the Bulford Kiwi ww100.govt.nz
Chinese ANZAC brothers' groundbreaking Kiwi legacy University of Canterbury

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