Barry Shying and his grandson Nick have a unique surname, which many people over the years have jokingly said sounds "very Chinese".

Key points: The Shying family are descendants of Mak Sai Ying, who arrived in 1818

The Shying family are descendants of Mak Sai Ying, who arrived in 1818 Mr Mak is believed to be the first Chinese settler to come to Australia

Mr Mak is believed to be the first Chinese settler to come to Australia He had four children, one of whom was Barry Shying's grandfather

Barry used to just laugh off the suggestion, as his parents had never mentioned anything like that to him.

However after the Melbourne man received a phone call from a stranger in Sydney more than 30 years ago, Barry became convinced that his great-great-grandfather was in fact a man named Mak Sai Ying — the first Chinese-born settler to come to Australia.

Mak Sai Ying, also known as John Shying, would sign his name using Chinese characters. ( Wikimedia Commons )

The Chinese community is this year celebrating 200 years of settlement in Australia, and Barry Shying has been invited to many functions and seminars to commemorate the occasion.

"I feel a bit overwhelmed, quite truthfully," he said.

"I have spent 86 years of my life being almost invisible, and suddenly everyone wants to photograph me and invite me to things."

"But I am very glad to do it. It sort of gave me a feeling of connection which I have never had before, and that feeling of connection has continued on."

'John Shying' and his famous friends

John Joseph Shying, a grandson of Mak Sai Ying, may have been the first Chinese-Australian serviceman. ( Supplied: Museum of Chinese Australian History )

While there are no paintings of Mak Sai Ying, researchers have been able to piece together the story of his time in Australia through public records.

Mr Mak, who was also known as John Shying, arrived in Port Jackson aboard the ship Laurel in February 1818 — decades before the gold rush that saw many more Chinese people travel to Australia.

He was born in 1796 in the Chinese city of Canton, now known as Guangdong.

Blaxland paid Mr Mak the same amount that he gave his European employees. ( State Library of New South Wales )

After arriving in Australia, he worked as a carpenter for the famous English settler John Blaxland, who he met aboard the Laurel.

He later worked for the pastoralist Elizabeth Macarthur, the wife of Australia's wool industry pioneer John Macarthur.

After that, Mr Mak became a successful entrepreneur in his own right, owning the Peacock Inn in Parramatta and several other shops. Blaxland once wrote a reference for Mr Mak describing him as "an honest, respectable character".

Mr Mak was reportedly paid the same weekly wage of two pounds that Blaxland's other workers received.

Dr Kate Bagnall from Wollongong University, an expert in early Chinese settlement in Australia, said early Chinese free settlers encountered relatively little discrimination.

"Because of the nature of the port, there was probably more diversity in Sydney than we imagined," she said.

James Shying married two European women during his time in Australia.

"The number of Chinese was very small. With this small number, I don't think it would be the same sort of discrimination that we saw later from the 1850s on, when there were very large number of Chinese coming who were perceived as a threat by the British and Europeans."

Mysterious return to China

Under the name John Shying, Mr Mak married Irish migrant Sarah Jane Thompson in 1823. They had four sons, but he returned to China shortly after the birth of their fourth child in 1831.

A painting of John James Shying, Mr Mak's eldest son and Barry's grandfather.

Nobody knows why he chose to return, but Dr Bagnall said it was likely he had family obligations back in China.

"We do know from later families that it was not uncommon for Chinese men of this time, from southern China like Shying, to have families in both Australia and China," she said.

"A lot of families I have looked at later in the century, their Australian wives and family were sort of a second family, and there was also a family in China. This is one possibility."

Barry Shying has had no luck finding the reason either, and said he finds it hard to understand how his ancestor could leave his Australian family.

"He left his wife and four children here. The children would be very young. It was only the early 1830s — I don't know how they were supported," he said.

"No one knows why he went to China and what he did there. There is no record available to anyone."

He returned to Australia five years later, after the death of his wife. Historical records show that John Shying married again in 1842, but his second wife died a few months later.

Two of Mak Sai Ying's children ran an undertakers business. ( State Library of New South Wales )

Barry says records show his great-great-grandfather sold his properties in Parramatta and very likely left Australia permanently, leaving his four sons.

Some of John Shying's descendants picked up furniture making, and others became undertakers.

'I can't say I feel part Chinese'

Barry Shying grew up not knowing about his Chinese heritage. ( ABC News )

Adjusting to the discovery that he has Chinese ancestry has been an interesting experience for Barry Shying.

"I can't say I feel part Chinese, but I know I am," he said.

"As somebody said to me recently, 'his blood continues to flow through your veins'. That's how I feel about it."

Nick Shying has also been in the Chinese media spotlight this year, but unlike his grandfather, he has known about his Chinese heritage since he was young.

"I haven't always appreciated and fully understood what it meant, but I have certainly been brought up in an environment where I have known our family history," he said.

Nick studied Chinese at high school and went to China for a study tour, and said he was excited to be connected to the local Chinese community.

"It is hard to say that I feel naturally like I am a Chinese in the same way others who might have a closer connection probably do," he said.

"But I think it's been specifically interesting for me to learn about that history, language and culture because of the fact that I know that part of my family history extended back to China."

He said the next step in finding out more about his family's roots would require going to China, but acknowledged trying to find out more information within the country's public records is a daunting task.

"Maybe one day, I'll give it a crack and see if I can find something."