A long-overlooked Chinese grave in Dunedin’s Southern Cemetery has been uncovered after decades hidden beneath dense vegetation, revealing new questions about the identity of the person buried there. The headstone, erected in 1884, was brought back to light last week as part of a broader project to document Chinese immigrants interred in Dunedin cemeteries.

The headstone had been thought to mark the grave of Quing Bing, based on public records. However, Cantonese inscriptions on the stone identify it as belonging to Li Yun Leung, a man from Xinhua county, China. This discovery has prompted uncertainty, as Li Yun Leung’s name does not appear on any official lists of Chinese burials in the area.

Adrienne Shaw, a Christchurch-based amateur historian and author who has been researching Chinese immigrants in New Zealand, made the finding while reviewing cemetery records. Shaw, who runs a social media platform called Descendants of the Chinese Sojourners New Zealand, aims to update and expand the recorded information on individuals buried in Dunedin.

“Our public records showed it was supposed to belong to Quing Bing, but the headstone says otherwise,” Shaw explained. She noted that the grave site was obscured by a large bush and that Li’s name had been omitted or misrecorded in burial lists, adding an element of mystery to the case.

The headstone itself is comparatively simple, featuring primarily the name and place of origin in Cantonese, rather than the more detailed information—such as dates in English or lunar calendar years—often found on similar markers of the period.

Shaw emphasized that the overgrowth was not necessarily a sign of neglect, explaining that it is generally the responsibility of descendants to maintain gravesites. “Because there’s no next of kin, this bush was able to grow undisturbed,” she said. “Finding and restoring this headstone has been a way to bring dignity and respect to that man.”

The discovery also raised questions about the final resting place of Quing Bing. Shaw suggested that Quing might be buried elsewhere within the cemetery, possibly in an unmarked grave or a shared plot with other Chinese men—common practice at a time when financial considerations often dictated burial arrangements.

During her investigations, Shaw identified one mass grave at Southern Cemetery containing 93 Chinese men. She is seeking to understand the circumstances that led to the creation of such communal graves, including the costs involved and burial regulations of the era.

Shaw’s interest in this project is personal. Her great-great-grandfather, Chau Chu Taai, was a prominent settler in the Chinese camp at Lawrence in the 1870s and lived in Dunedin before returning to China. Shaw’s research covers birth and death dates, marriage records, burial plots, and other contextual information to build a fuller picture of these individuals’ lives in New Zealand.

She hopes to produce a book detailing her findings and has called on community members to come forward with any information regarding Quing Bing or Li Yun Leung. Shaw also intends to seek funding from the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust for the cleaning and restoration of identified headstones.

“This is just the beginning,” she said. “The next step will be writing biographies to shed light on the lives of these people who came to New Zealand so long ago.”