Ngo, Thang

 

Thang Ngo (1966-)

Thang Ngo has served nine years as an elected local government councillor on Fairfield Council (1999-2008) in Sydney. At the age of 9, Thang Ngo fled Vietnam with his parents, going first to Palmdale, California as refugees and a short time later settling in Sydney on the family reunion program. In this interview, Thang recalls family life and his schooling in Epping and later Penrith. He talks about his entry into politics, which came via his life partner, Walter. Having turned to Buddhism, they became involved in a campaign to save a Buddhist temple from closure in Bankstown. Thang then ran for council in his own electorate of Fairfield and served two terms, first with Peter Wong's Unity Party and then as an Independent. Law and Order in Cabramatta became his focus along with cleaning up Cabramatta's image as a drug haven. He also took on the gambling industry. After leaving politics, Thang worked at SBS and ran a food blog called Noodlies.

Photo: Thang Ngo/Noodlies

 

Oral history recordings

Automated transcripts of our oral history interviews are available to researchers on request. For access, please contact us, stating the name of the interviewee, date of interview, and your purpose of use.

NPride History GroupHo Chi Min City, Vietnam War, Fall of Vietnam, Palmdale California, Refugee, Family Reunion Program, Epping Primary School, Epping Boys High, Religion, Penrith, UNSW, Oxford Street, The Albury Hotel, racism, Asian gays, State Bank, Australia Post, Graduate Training Program, HIV/AIDS, Mardi Gras, Walter, Buddhism, Bankstown, Channel 7, Daily Telegraph, Sydney Morning Herald, Joe Tripodi, Dr Peter Wong, Unity Party, Fairfield Council, Chris Bowen, Cabramatta, drugs, gambling, pokies, homophobia, Sylvia Hale, SBS, Noodlies blog, SBS Pop Asia