CHAPTER XII

Portuguese Interest in Land Development in Hongkong

– Genesis of Kowloon

– Some Interesting Personalities

among the Portuguese of Old Hongkong

Speaking generally, the Portuguese of Hongkong may be said to be the descendants of two elements of the people of Macao who emigrated to the British colony – the commercial element and the shipping element. The early Portuguese settlers in Hongkong were, in the main, the sons of men engaged in trade or employed in business firms at Macao; but, with the passing of the lorchas, many a young Portuguese who had served his apprenticeship before the mast found himself compelled to make a living ashore. Thus it happened that quite a few of the sea-faring folk of Macao joined the growing Portuguese community in the thriving British settlement.

The majority of the Portuguese in Hongkong occupied very humble positions, and they were seldom well paid. A few, however, were men of some means, who had brought their capital from Macao, and there were others who, by their own enterprise or through good fortune, succeeded in making their way in the world. Most of those who prospered invested in land and houses, and some of them eventually made small fortunes as their property mounted in value with the rapid growth of Hongkong into a sea-port of great importance.

When the city of Victoria in Hongkong expanded and the business quarters encroached upon the residences which bordered the earlier commercial part of the town, the Portuguese were driven out of the urban areas of Hongkong through economic pressure. They began to look around for districts outside the city limits in which to build new houses, or for houses built by others and let to tenants at a reasonable rental, while those with a natural bent for agriculture sought plots of land which might be cultivated, to indulge their hobby of vegetable and flower gardening.

The first Portuguese resident to buy land really far from town was Mr. J. J. dos Remedios. He acquired a Farm Lot at Pokfulam, where he built his family residence, with enough spare land for a sizeable flower and vegetable garden from which the family table was supplied with fresh produce daily.

Those were the days when trams, motor-cars and buses were not even dreamt of, so that Mr. Remedios must have had considerable enterprise to build a home in such a far-off suburban district. But he was one of the fortunate few who could afford the upkeep of a small buggy and pony to provide the means of quick transport to the city and back for his ordinary daily business. Most of the business offices were situated in the then central district, comprised within Wellington Street, Hollywood Road, Lyndhurst Terrace, and Gage Street, besides Queen’s Road, while the residential district of the Portuguese more or less adjoined that area. The reclamations which were carried out in later years have provided the areas for the business premises of more modern times.

As has already been stated, the Almadas invested in land on the Caine Road level. It was from their property in this area that the two brothers gave so liberally to the Canossian Sisters of Charity the land on which was erected the first Convent building as well as the extensions of the institution carried out in subsequent years. Gifts of land were also made to the Italian Mission by other Portuguese.

Parallel with Caine Road, on a slightly higher level, Robinson Road came to be planned afterwards. It was in that area, at the junction of Robinson Road with Mosque Street, that the brothers Venâncio , Rufino and Adelino Gutierrez acquired some property. There they built several houses of modest proportions, within the means of Portuguese clerks to rent. The eldest of the three brothers – Venancio – rather more ambitious than the others, reserved a long strip of land for a garden.

The youngest of the brothers owned a small house, which he occupied with his family, together with a narrow triangular plot of ground between Wyndham Street and Arbuthnot Road. Some years after he had built his home, Government decided to resume the land and building, and to erect there quarters for the Indian married staff of Victoria Gaol. The Portuguese owner was notified in the ordinary way to call at the Treasury for the compensation that was offered to him. He had, of course, to give up the property, but he ignored the notice to collect the money offered to him – several tens of thousands of dollars. Again and again he was reminded to collect the money, yet he consistently refused to do so. At last, he was informed that, if he would not call for his cheque, his right to it would lapse in favour of the Government, and the money would pass to the general revenues of the Colony. This had the desired effect, for Mr. Gutierrez then, reluctantly, and after a great deal of grumbling, accepted the award. But still nursing his grievance, he finally collected the sum which the Government had offered. In the meantime he had suffered the loss of accrued interest, and the opportunity to employ the money in other investments. It is the only case I have heard of a man entitled to a substantial sum of money from the Hongkong Government refusing to collect until he had received serious warning that further persistence in refusing to exercise his right of collection would entail the loss of the entire sum. Mr. Gutierrez retired to Macao, bought property, and sported a little cart drawn by a donkey, and, as can be imagined, became quite a character in the old Portuguese town.

The youngest of the brothers owned a small house, which he occupied with his family, together with a narrow triangular plot of ground between Wyndham Street and Arbuthnot Road. Some years after he had built his home, Government decided to resume the land and building, and to erect there quarters for the Indian married staff of Victoria Gaol. The Portuguese owner was notified in the ordinary way to call at the Treasury for the compensation that was offered to him. He had, of course, to give up the property, but he ignored the notice to collect the money offered to him – several tens of thousands of dollars. Again and again he was reminded to collect the money, yet he consistently refused to do so. At last, he was informed that, if he would not call for his cheque, his right to it would lapse in favour of the Government, and the money would pass to the general revenues of the Colony. This had the desired effect, for Mr. Gutierrez then, reluctantly, and after a great deal of grumbling, accepted the award. But still nursing his grievance, he finally collected the sum which the Government had offered. In the meantime he had suffered the loss of accrued interest, and the opportunity to employ the money in other investments. It is the only case I have heard of a man entitled to a substantial sum of money from the Hongkong Government refusing to collect until he had received serious warning that further persistence in refusing to exercise his right of collection would entail the loss of the entire sum. Mr. Gutierrez retired to Macao, bought property, and sported a little cart drawn by a donkey, and, as can be imagined, became quite a character in the old Portuguese town.

Of the three brothers, J.J., V.E. and C.J. Braga, whose names have been mentioned in an earlier chapter, the eldest – João José – appeared to be the one most favoured by Dame Fortune. He was married to a Macao lady, whose dowry helped him to set up in business. His business throve and he put his savings into property, choosing for his investments land and houses in Lyndhurst Terrace, Gage Street, and Arbuthnot Road. He had one son. When the lad grew to school-going age, his parents took the boy to England, where they planned to embark him on a medical career. However, before the youth had completed his university course, he married an Irish lady, where-upon his parents decided to wind up their business in Hongkong and remain in England. An agent was appointed to look after their Hongkong properties while they were able to live comfortably in England on the income from their fortunate investments.

There were four issues of the Portuguese-Irish match – three boys and a girl – all of whom were brought up and educated in England. On the death of their parents, the grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. João José Braga paid a visit to the land of their forefathers. In Hongkong, they discussed with their agents the matter of their property, and the four legatees of the Senior João José Braga decided to wind up their grandfather’s estate. In due course the properties in Arbuthnot Road, Lyndhurst Terrace and Gage Street were sold at the height of a land boom, bringing in a pretty figure. The same plots of land, which the far-sighted old gentleman had acquired from Government for a mere pittance, and on which he had built, had soared fantastically in value within the span of only two generations!

The head of a Portuguese family noted for their taste in flower and vegetable culture found scope for the development of his hobby on a tract of land in the western district of Saiyingpun, where he erected a pretty bungalow for his residence. Mr. Mathias Soares was the gentleman in question. He had been the designer of and had superintended the laying out of the San Francisco Garden in Macao – a very charming spot it was in the old days before changes were made which left it as we see it to-day – at the northern end of Praia Grande. It is claimed for Mr. Mathias Soares that he introduced into Hongkong from Malacca the root of the ginger-lily, a plant which has since become so popular with flower growers in Hongkong and South China. Mr. Mathias Soares passed on his love of flowers to his son, Mr. Francisco (‘Frank’) Paulo de Vasconcellos Soares. 120

There were other Portuguese owners of property in Hongkong in the early days, and although I cannot recall the names of the others among my co-nationals who invested their savings in land, in the central districts and other parts of the Colony, evidence of Portuguese land ownership has cropped up from time to time. Here is an instance. During the terrible epidemic of bubonic plague in Hongkong in 1894,121 when so many died of the dreaded disease, and the district of Taipingshan was found to be such a focus of infection that the entire population of the district was evicted and all buildings in the area were condemned to be pulled down, among the houses demolished were three of Portuguese ownership. The Government considered that the drastic step of tearing down a large number of dwellings, as one of the measures taken to attempt to root out the frightful disease, was worth the expenditure involved in the resumption of the whole district. An Arbitration Board was appointed to consider the claims of landholders for the resumption of their houses, and among the numerous claimants – if my memory serves me correctly – were Mr. Marciano A. Baptista, the artist, Mr. A. C. Botelho, a Government employee, and Mr. Mathias A. d’Azevedo.122

Before concluding these references to early Hongkong Portuguese land-owners, I must not leave unmentioned the name of Mr. Delfino Noronha, which appears so frequently in these pages. He was another owner of property on the “Mosque” district.123 He used to take pleasure in recounting to his friends reminiscences of old Hongkong.

One of these had to do with early land tenure on the Island. An English business friend of his had been among the purchasers of the first lots of Crown land (all marine lots) sold by public auction shortly after the British occupation. This friend had no faith in the future of the Colony, and early decided to return to England. Before his departure, he offered Mr. Noronha the gift of two marine lots near the old Supreme Court building, opposite the site of the present King’s Theatre on Queen’s Road.124 Mr. Noronha had only to fulfil the building covenant and pay the annual Crown rent. Unfortunately, Mr. Noronha’s usual excellent business acumen failed him on this occasion. He declined the offer. By doing so, he missed a golden opportunity, for within a few years the property had appreciated very greatly in value. With characteristic good humour, Mr. Noronha, when referring to this in his old age, used to say that the Portuguese are fine workers but, while keeping their heads bent to their tasks, they are apt to lose sight of good business opportunities flitting past them.

It was at Kowloon, on the mainland opposite the island of Hongkong, that the Portuguese displayed their greatest enterprise in land development. After its cession to the British in 1861, Kowloon attracted the attention of men with foresight and faith in the future of the Colony. Curious to relate, it was not in Kowloon proper, i. e., the area around the old Kowloon City, or in the peninsula of Tsim Tsa Tsui, usually included within the generic term of Kowloon, that the earliest development of Kowloon began. The district of Yaumati was first chosen as the most desirable locality for habitation by the few foreigners who led the way in building up as a residential area the suburb of Hongkong known as Kowloon.

Mr. Delfino Noronha was the first Portuguese to invest in land across the harbour. His earliest investments in landed property on the Island of Hongkong were, as we have seen, in the vicinity of Robinson Road – then considered the Ultima Thule for development in Hongkong. It is possible that chagrin over his failure to seize the opportunity of acquiring valuable waterfront sites in Hongkong, as mentioned above, led him to look for another desirable opening for investing in land. However that may be, he bought land at Yaumati.

The first plots of land sold in the area were not originally building lots; they were known at the beginning as “farm lots” and were sold by public auction. Two of the first lots, namely F. L. 2 and 3, of a total area of five acres, were bought by Mr. Delfino Noronha from the original owner, and he subsequently acquired an additional lot consisting of a further five acres of land adjoining his first purchase. He then invited his friend Mr. Marcus Calisto do Rozário to become joint owner with him of this land. Mr. Rozario agreed, and as a distinctive name for the property, the partners adopted the initial syllables of their Christian names. Thus it came about that the estate came to be called “Delmar”.

Mr. Rozario was absorbed in his business undertakings, including an interest in the shipping trade, and left it to his more enthusiastic partner to develop the property. Mr. Noronha found time to build up the estate in an attractive manner. He laid out a huge garden, with a beautiful and spacious summer house in the centre, surrounded by trees imported from Australia, Malaya, and other places. The house was based on a Malayan design, probably adapted from the early Portuguese, and was the first of its kind in brick and stone in Yaumati. Mr. Noronha, who had a “soft” place in his heart for everything Portuguese, engaged as caretaker of the house a retired sergeant from the Macao garrison named Manuel Calderada. By the children, with whom he was a special favourite, he was called “Senhor Manuel”.

The grounds of “Delmar” were a feature of the estate. Here were planted Australian fir and pine trees, which grew to a fine height. In one section, palms known as the areca, or betel-nut, as well as coconut palms, and other specimens of tropical flora, all well spaced out, gave it the appearance of a tropical plantation. In addition, fruit trees, flowering shrubs, and a host of other plants, including vegetables in abundance, flourished luxuriantly at “Delmar”.

Mr. Noronha thus became a keen horticulturist. Among his equally enthusiastic horticulturist friends were Mr. Mathias Soares, mentioned earlier in this chapter, and Mr. Charles Ford, Superintendent of the Botanical & Forestry Department. These three gentlemen, it is interesting to record, became the moving spirits in the Hongkong Horticultural Society at its inception, at a time when it had but few supporters. Many and varied were Mr. Noronha’s exhibits of flowering plants and vegetables at the annual horticultural show held at Hongkong, from which, much to his delight, Mr. Noronha invariably carried off prizes and awards.

Through his connection with the shipping trade, Mr. Marcus Callisto do Rozario on one occasion succeeded in importing a number of Australian sheep with the object of creating an experimental sheep farm at Yaumati. However, owing to the unfavourable climate and the complete absence of suitable pasturage for the animals, the experiment proved a failure. The entire flock died one after, another. The proprietors of “Delmar” realising the futility of further trials, gave up their short-lived venture in animal husbandry.

The foreshore of Yaumati Bay, before the Government permitted the breaming of trading junks and sampans, was a beautiful, sandy beach and was, for some time, one of the most popular bathing resorts on the mainland. In the hot summer months, “Delmar” offered many attractions to the families of their joint owners, as well as their friends, who came over from the Island on picnic excursions and week-end visits.

A fact not generally known is that Mr. Noronha operated the first steam-launch ferry between Hongkong and the Mainland. The termini of the ferry-boat were, for Hongkong, a Government pier for private launches opposite the old Central Market (on the seawall in front of the present Fire Brigade building, on the Des Voeux Road side), and, for Kowloon, a bamboo pier in front of the Yaumati Police Station in Temple Street. The service began with a single deck steam-launch called the Blanche, which, after its name, was all painted white. At the beginning, a single fare amounted to less than one cent, and so fares were collected in cash (a cash was worth one-tenth of a cent)! There was no regular time-table. A long blast from the boat’s whistle announced the impending departure of the ferry, which took place when the Chinese coxswain thought that the launch had a sufficient complement of passengers on board. In the early morning hours, the passengers from Hongkong were mostly farm women (pig-wash women), returning from their rounds of Hongkong houses to the pig-rearing districts at Yaumati, Homuntin, and Kowloon Tsai. Who will say that the ferry service inaugurated by Mr. Noronha did not contribute to the development of Kowloon?

Mr. Noronha’s Blanche was the forerunner of an improved ferry service which was organised later by a Parsee gentleman, Mr. Dorabjee Nowrojee. Mr. Dorabjee Nowrojee promoted the “Star” Ferry Company, which was subsequently acquired by and operated with great success as a subsidiary company of the Hongkong & Kowloon Wharf & Godown Company, Ltd.

At the time of which I write Kowloon was more or less an agricultural area. Yaumati was covered with paddy fields, and so were the districts further inland, including Homuntin and Kowloon Tsai.

These places offered good ground for wild-pigeon and snipe shooting and were much frequented by sportsmen from Hongkong.

But Government soon realised that a time was fast approaching when Kowloon would cease to remain merely a rice and vegetable growing district. A proposal was put forward by the then Surveyor General (as the Director of Public Works was called in those days), Mr. James M. Price, recommending the conversion of the Farm Lots into Inland Lots – in other words, building-lots – with compensation to owners for any portion of their land surrendered for public roads. Mr. Price’s suggestion was eventually put into effect, and it applied to Yaumati and all the other villages in Kowloon Peninsula.

This led to greater interest being taken in Kowloon. Before long a foreshore site was sought on the western side of the Peninsula of Kowloon suitable for the construction of a graving dock. The enquiry was the result of a contention between two groups of shareholders in an already existing Dock Company. The “bulls” party endeavoured to force up the price of the Company’s shares; the “bears,” on the other hand, were for pushing it down. The side selected for the projected new dock was “Delmar”, which, with its extensive foreshore rights, was one of the most valuable sites in the area. A representative of one of the contending groups of shareholders then approached Mr. Noronha with a view to its purchase. He was offered a small sum for an option, but the old Portuguese gentleman was shrewd enough to insist on an out-and-out sale. He sold the property to the share speculators for a tidy sum, but though “Delmar” passed out of the hands of its Portuguese owners the projected dock never materialised. Mr. Noronha never told whether the share speculators really intended to carry through the dockyard scheme, or whether, having cleared sufficient profits from their “ramp,” they were glad to get rid of the land at some sacrifice. Nor did he ever reveal the identity of the would-be dockyard builders!

Besides the “Delmar” estate, Mr. Noronha bought land for Chinese shops and tenements in another part of Yaumati some distance from “Delmar”. At his death, this property was disposed of; but had his heirs retained in they would have owned property which subsequently, with the merging of Yaumati into “Greater Kowloon,” with its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants and its scores of thriving industries, became very valuable indeed.

There were other Portuguese owners of farm-lots in Yaumati besides Mr. Noronha and Mr. Rozário. Mr. José M. d’Almada e Castro bought a garden lot, with a small “sugar-loaf” hill on it abutting on the northern boundary of “Delmar.” Opposite Mr. d’Almada’s land was a plot of ground, also with a hillock, owned by Mr. J. A. Remedios (this “J. A.” must not be confused with the pioneer Remedios, “João Jose,” the founder of the firm of Messrs. J. J. dos Remedios & Co.). On the summit of the hill, Mr. Remedios built a small house as a week-end residence and picnic resort for his family and friends, and called it “Bimini” after his wife.

The first Portuguese to settle in the Tsim Tsa Tsui area of Kowloon was Mr. Mathias A. d’Azevedo. He was one of two brothers who went to Hongkong from Macao with an early batch of emigrants from the older colony in the 1840’s. Mathias A. d’Azevedo earned prominence by his unwavering faith in the future of Kowloon, which he was never tired of proclaiming in very enthusiastic terms. In him was to be found the good old Portuguese type of settler, sturdy and self-reliant. He bought one of the first Inland Lots in Tsim Tsa Tsui, below Signal Station Hill, and braving the malarial conditions of the early Sixties, when the efficacy of quinine was not generally recognised, he built on his land “Rose Terrace” (named after his wife, Maria Rosa, and occupied one of its four houses until his death. Other members of the family lived in the same house for many years after. By leading the way for others to follow, Mr. Azevedo did for Tsim Tsa Tsui what Mr. Noronha did for Yaumati. He enjoyed the reputation of being one of the first non-Chinese settlers – if not the very first – on Tsim Tsa Tsui Peninsula.

When Mr. Azevedo first went to live at Tsim Tsa Tsui the seashore came almost to the steps of his house, and the sandy shores of the bay were dotted with matshed hutments (much like the present swimming shacks at Castle Peak Bay and along the shores of the New Territories). These matsheds on Tsim Tsa Tsui beach were often used as week-end residences by Hongkong families. They were built on single-acre lots, sold originally by the Government at the uniform price of seventy-five Mexican dollars – as the unit of currency in Hongkong was then – apiece. Those same lots were worth about as many thousands in 1900, so phenomenally had the price of land risen in value! What each lot was worth in 1941 – probably a quarter of a million dollars at the very best – could never have entered the heads of the original purchasers!

It is doubtful whether Mr. Azevedo ever dreamt what the value of his property would eventually turn out to be. Although his land had little commercial value at the beginning, yet with the steady development of the Peninsula and the construction of Kowloon’s main thoroughfare, Nathan Road, on which “Rose Terrace” fronted, the property increased in value from year to year. His legatees eventually sold the site for a substantial sum. It was only shortly before the War came to Kowloon (in 1941) that “Rose Terrace” was pulled down. In its place stands to-day the group of shops know as “Chungking Arcade.” The syndicate which purchased the site from the Azevedo family had originally contemplated erecting a skyscraper, eighteen storeys high, for shops and apartments, but the scheme was dropped because of the war in China.

Besides Mr. Azevedo, the pioneer Portuguese residents who invested in land at Tsim Tsa Tsui included Mr. João M. A. da Silva, clerk in the Government Audit Office, and later the first Hongkong Government electrician in the Colony,125 Mr. F. X. Chagas, clerk in the Hongkong Government Harbour Office;126 and a Mr. Ribeiro. There were others, but their names escape me.

From small-scale investments in land on the Island of Hongkong and at Kowloon, the Portuguese participated in various projects undertaken by joint-stock companies requiring large capital to ensure success. In fact, their contribution to Hongkong’s public companies was neither negligible nor half-hearted, especially in the early years when the Chinese had not yet begun to take great interest in British companies as forms of investment for private fortunes or trust funds.

In the beginnings of British trade in China, all commerce was financed by the immensely wealthy and powerful East India Company; but the advent of independent traders and the subsequent closing down of the great Company created a number of new problems, among which was the need by traders with limited capital at their disposal to pool their resources in order to ensure a sufficiency of money and credit for mutual assistance and protection.

There are in particular two companies in which British merchants in China have every reason to pride themselves: the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (founded in 1864) and the Union Insurance Society of Canton, Ltd. (founded in 1835). The great insurance company, as it has become today, began in a small way in Canton, before the establishment of Hongkong, when the leading British merchants there combined together to supply funds, not for the purpose of profit, they declared, but to safeguard their businesses against abnormal losses.127

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, on the other hand, was a purely Hongkong creation. No sooner did the promoters invite subscriptions towards the capital of the Bank, than the Portuguese both at Macao and in Hongkong applied for shares. As evidence of the faith and confidence reposed by the Portuguese in the promoters of the Hongkong Bank, it suffices to cite two cases: one of a lady at Macao and the other of a Portuguese resident of Hongkong, on whose deaths, many years later, there were found, in the inventories of their estates, scrips of the original Bank shares, as well as “Bonus” and “New Issue” shares allotted to the applicants. In old homes in Macao, people occasionally come across early notes of the Bank, issued in its very first years.128 My friend Mr. J.M. Marques da Silva is my authority for the statement that, in its early days, and especially during the difficult years when Mr. (later Sir) Thomas Jackson, after the Bank had come on hard times, was putting the Bank on its feet again, Portuguese in Macao as well as Hongkong were urged by Mr. Manuel Felix Pereira129 to deposit their money in the Hongkong Bank and not to withdraw under any circumstances, so as to assist the Bank authorities to hold their own during that trying period in Hongkong. The Bank proved a veritable gold mine to the early investors. The British can truly be proud of the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation and the Union Insurance Society. From small beginnings these concerns have become “institutions” of world-wide importance, and it rightfully can be said that the Bank is the chief bulwark of British finance in China. The paid-up capital, which was originally (in 1864) $2,500,000, had by 1941 increased to the imposing figure of $50,000,000 with reserves amounting to £6,500,000 and $10,000,000 in Sterling and Silver respectively, and a note issue of well over $200,000,000 in Hongkong alone.

All through its long history, the Bank has employed Portuguese assistants not only in Hongkong and Shanghai but elsewhere in the Far East; and who will gainsay the value of their service? In fact, this important institution is known affectionately among the Portuguese as “The Bank.” May the happy association between “The Bank” and the Portuguese communities in the Orient always remain as close and as friendly as it has been in the past!

As I write of the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, an interesting item has come to my notice. It appears in the budget of the Santa Casa da Misericordia, Macao, for the financial year 1874-1875, published in the Boletim da Provincia130 (Government Gazette), exactly ten years after the Bank opened its doors in Hongkong. The item refers to a sum of $470 received as interest for the year 1874, being as to $200 interest on $4,000 deposited with the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank at 5%, and as to $270 interest on $5,400 deposited with the Chartered Bank, at 5%.

Besides the Union Insurance Society of Canton, Ltd., and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, mentioned above, the Hongkong Fire Insurance Company and the Canton Insurance Office (both under the management of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd.), the China Fire Insurance Co., and several other old companies with head offices in Hongkong were approved favourites for investment by the Portuguese.

The confidence in Hongkong company investments having been established, interest was further developed when in 1865 the Hongkong, Canton and Macao Steamboat Company was started, to provide steamship connection between Macao, Hongkong, and Canton. Among the first directors of the new Company were the Baron de Cercal and Mr. J. J. dos Remedios. As it should be, Portuguese gentlemen have been associated with the Company for many years, both on the Board of Directors and on the executive staff. Mr. P. A. da Costa was Secretary of the Company at one time; he died in a disastrous explosion on the Company’s steamer Yotsai in 1884. Portuguese gentlemen, besides the  Baron de Cercal and Mr. Remedios, who have served on the Board, include Mr. F. D’A. Gomes, Mr. J. A. Gomes, Mr. J. M. Alves, Mr. C. A. da Roza, and Mr. J.P. Braga. The American shallow-draft river steamers Kinshan (the first boat of this name), White Cloud, and Fire Dart were the Company’s earliest acquisitions. The White Cloud was a paddle-wheeled vessel, which was sold out of the Company during the Spanish-American War. A number of Portuguese have been members of the Company’s floating staff over the years. For considerable time past the efficient Macao agent of the Steamboat Company has been Mr. A. A. de Mello, grandson of the early director, Baron de Cercal.

It is sought to preserve in this book a record of the part played in the pageant of life in Hongkong by quite a few of “our” people, in different rôles. In this and preceding chapters the names of some of the early Portuguese residents of Hongkong have come under notice. Apart from those whose activities brought them into prominence, there were many whose collective efforts contributed towards the forming of their community into a stabilising element in the settlement of the British colony. Descendants of many of the first generation of Portuguese settlers will recall with pride the names of forbears whose doing should serve as examples for emulation.

Summarised notes regarding a few more prominent early Portuguese residents are presented in the remaining pages of this chapter. No claim is made to complete accuracy in every case; and for any inadvertent errors, and also, probably, important omissions, a plea for indulgence is entered. Much material relating to the Portuguese of Hongkong which the writer had laboriously gathered over a number of years is now, unfortunately, no longer available, and he has had to rely largely on his memory, now by reason of advancing years not a very dependable guide. It is hoped, however, that these notes may fill a gap. Those who may be in a position to add to them or correct any inaccuracies of mine will be doing a service by kindly offering the required information. For any unintentional mistakes or omissions, my apologies are offered.

Arranged alphabetically, the principal names mentioned below are of Portuguese gentlemen who may be regarded as belonging to the earlier period- as distinct from the later period- of the first century of the Portuguese of Hongkong.

The first name to come under notice is that of Mr. Mathias Azevedo (already referred to in this chapter), who was an assistant to Edward H. Pollard, a member of the legal profession. As far as can be remembered, he never left the employ of lawyers’ firms. Upon Mr. Pollard’s departure from Hongkong, Mr. Azevedo worked for Messrs. Brereton and Wootton, who were joined later by Mr. Victor H. Deacon, by whose name the well-known firm of solicitors, Deacons, is called to-day. Like so many other Portuguese, Mathias Azevedo was an unassuming man, who brought up his small family in a quiet, modest way.

Appearing in the early directories as a mercantile assistant of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co. is the name of Mr. J. A. Barretto. He was one of the Barrettos who had been well known as merchants and philanthropists in Bengal earlier in the century. After playing a leading part in the community life of the Portuguese at Hongkong, Mr. Barretto went to Manila. Announcing his death there in 1881, the Hongkong Telegraph131 summarised his activities and stated that “Mr. J. A. Barretto was mentioned as one of the oldest residents of the colony of Hongkong. Mr. Barretto was for a long time bookkeeper to Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co. in Hongkong. His name was closely associated with the establishment of the Club Lusitano; in fact, he may be said to have been the prime mover in the foundation of that institution, as he advanced no less than three-fourths of the money necessary for its establishment.”

I have no means, here in Macao, of ascertaining whether this Mr. J. A. Barretto was the same gentleman who with his old friend José Maria de Castro Basto visited Europe for the purpose of raising funds for floating a company to exploit the mineral resources, principally petroleum, of Portuguese Timor. A few years after their return from Europe, the International Petroleum Company was formed in Hongkong with the object of ascertaining if the oil fields of Timor could be exploited to commercial advantage. Whether from shortage of funds, or the failure to “strike oil”, the Company was wound up, since when no more has been heard of the projected oil enterprise.

Mr. Marciano Baptista’s name is one which will endure for a long time to come. He was the son of the skipper of a lorcha. As a young man, Marciano, who early showed an aptitude for painting, was a pupil of the famous Irish artist, George Chinnery, at Macao. He was reputed to be Chinnery‘s best pupil. He achieved a high standard of excellence as a painter in water colours, for the correctness of details and fine colouring of his pictures. Quiet and gentle in manner, Marciano was always ready to help in any good cause. Mr. Baptista will be best remembered by “old-timers” of Hongkong for his splendid work in connection with theatrical shows produced by the Hongkong Amateur Dramatic Society, and in particular one of the Society’s most brilliant successes, the pantomime Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

The very effective stage scenery on that occasion was for the most part the work of Mr. Baptista and Captain Clayton, the producer. Mr. Baptista was responsible furthermore for redecorating the dome of the Theatre Royal in Hongkong every year until his death. Marciano’s artistic gifts were inherited by one of his sons, and then by a son of that son. I overheard a curious remark quite recently: that only the Baptistas christened “Marciano,” of the first, second and third generations of Hongkong Baptistas, were any good at painting, as none bearing a different Christian name has ever shown the same proficiency with paint and brush. The Marciano of to-day, grandson of the old gentleman, is an artist of unquestioned merit, and is just as obliging as his grandfather used to be. In recent years, nearly every illuminated address and farewell presentation gift to retiring officials or other important persons requiring special artistic treatment has been entrusted to Mr. Baptista, whose work has never failed to please by its originality and fine execution. The elder Marciano Baptista had a large family, who were all brought up in the best traditions of the Portuguese, and their children in turn are also stalwarts of the Church and useful members of the Community.

The name of Mr. Antonio D’Eça (known among his intimate friends as “Dom Antonio”) is recorded in the China Directory for 1861 as an assistant in the firm of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co. He was afterwards appointed purser of the old paddle-wheel river steamer White Cloud upon its acquisition by the Hongkong, Canton and Macao Steamboat Co. He remained a purser until his death, when, in recognition of his long and faithful service, the post was given by the Company to his eldest son, Mr. Celidonio D’Eça, upon whose death he, in turn, was succeeded as purser by his younger son, Francisco (“Dico”).

Mr. Joaquim P. Campos figures in the Hongkong Almanack of 1849 as a mercantile assistant of Messrs. MacVicar & Co. His name appears again in the China Directory for 1861, with those of several other Portuguese assistants in the service of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., when Mr. Maximilian Fischer was Superintendent of its Hongkong branch and the celebrated Mr. (later Sir) Thomas Sutherland was chief assistant. Mr. Campos was an uncle of Mr. F. P. de V. Soares, whom he brought, when a young man, into the service of the P. & O. S. N. Co. many years later.

Mr. Januario A. de Carvalho was one of the early arrivals in Hongkong from Macao. Entering Government service, he rose to become Chief Cashier in the Treasury. On the 7th October, 1878, he was nominated by the Governor, Sir John Pope Hennessy, to be Acting Colonial Treasurer, with a seat on the Executive and Legislative Councils of the Colony. Eitel tells us132 that “the appointment had, however, to be revoked, as it was found that Mr. Carvalho, being an alien (Portuguese), could not take the oath of allegiance.” Mr. Carvalho continued to enjoy the greatest consideration, however, and was appointed an official Justice of the Peace of the Colony. His elder son, Edmundo A. Carvalho, stepped into his father’s shoes after the latter’s retirement and, in due course, also became Chief Cashier in the Treasury. From this post he retired on pension to England, where he died some years after. Two sons of Mr. E. A. Carvalho were educated in England, one of whom died at a comparatively early age; the other established his home in Shanghai. The younger son of old Mr. Januario A. de Carvalho was Mr. Carlos Francisco de Carvalho. He was employed at the head office of the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, rising to the post of Chief Clerk of the “local” staff. He married Guilhermina (“Nina”), the daughter of Mr. João Albino Cabral , a Colonial Treasurer of Macao. On retiring from the Bank’s service, Mr. Carlos Carvalho proceeded to London, but did not live to enjoy his retirement long; he died within a year, and his widow died in Portugal not long after. Mr. Carlos Carvalho built and owned his house, which he named “Valverde,” on May Road, on the upper middle levels of the Hongkong Island. He left a considerable fortune at his death.

Mr. Marcus A. de Carvalho was the eldest of the four brothers Carvalho. The second was Mr. Januario A. de Carvalho, just referred to, the other two being Mr. Luciano de Carvalho, employed as writer in H. M. Naval Dockyard, and a painter of no mean ability; and Mr Geraldo M. de Carvalho. Marcus was first engaged as a clerk in the firm of Messrs. Turner & Co., merchants. He served this Scottish firm long and well under several chiefs, including such well known Hongkong personages of those days as the Hon. Mr. Phineas Ryrie, the Chamber of Commerce representative on the Hongkong Legislative Council, Mr. E. C. McCullough, and Mr. James H. Cox, of Kowloon fame. Mr. M. A. de Carvalho was married to a daughter of Mr. João Baptista Gomes, who was at one time Acting Chief Justice of Macao. At the time of his death, Mr. Carvalho was the owner of “Craigengower,” a fine private residence with extensive grounds on Caine Road, opposite Mr. C. P. (later Sir Paul) Chater’s home on the same road. “Craigengower” was afterwards rented by a Mr. Braidwood, who used it as a school – the Craigengower English School for boys – which thus derived its name from Mr. Carvalho’s house. The students of “Craigengower” later formed a sporting club, which perpetuates the name of the school, in the Happy Valley district of Hongkong.

The fourth Carvalho, Mr. Geraldo M. de Carvalho, after a period of clerkship in Hongkong, married a daughter of Mr. Delfino Noronha and went to Kobe (Japan) in the employ of a mercantile firm. Returning to Hongkong he joined the book-office of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co.

Mr. José M. V. de Figueiredo was connected by marriage to the old and well-to-do Macao family of João Baptista Gomes. He was employed by the old firm of Augustine Heard & Co., and was a man of culture. He was much attached to the Club Lusitano in its early days, just as his son, Mr. Eduardo José Figueiredo, also was many years after, and played a prominent part in the activities of the Club. Mr. J. M. V. de Figueiredo became a partner with his brothers-in-law, the Gomeses of Macao, in the firm of Brandão & Co., with offices in Wellington Street, Hongkong, and at Rua da Sé, Macao. All the partners took an active part in the Portuguese community life in the neighbour colonies.

Mr. Marcus Callisto do Rozario, who has been mentioned earlier in this chapter as joint owner with Mr. Delfino Noronha of “Delmar,” belonged to the group of the earliest Portuguese settlers in Hongkong. He was at first a partner of Mr. James Stevenson in the firm of Messrs. Stevenson & Co., shipping agents and merchants trading with Australia. Later (in 1857) he established his own firm under his own name, and did a large and profitable business.

Mr. Rozario married Miss Virginia Machado, by whom he had two sons and several daughters. Both sons were educated in England. The elder took his degree in civil engineering, but never practised his profession after returning to Hongkong. The younger son – Mr. Augusto J. Rozario – was married to Miss Eugenie Leiria. He carried on the business established by his father and at one time acted as consul in Hongkong for one of the South American republics. Mr. Rozario had an only daughter, who joined an order of Catholic nuns in the United States of America.

Mr. Albino Silveira will be remembered by the older generation as the Portuguese ancião of Hongkong. His venerable appearance, with his long, white, flowing beard, and his courtly manners, inspired respect. Born at Macao, he resided for a long time in that city, where he cultivated an intimate friendship with Comendador Lourenço Marques and his wife. A group photograph is extant, in the possession of Mr. J. M. Marques da Silva, showing Mr. Silveira with the distinguished couple, Comendador and Mrs. Lourenço Marques, in their old age, in the Marques mansion at Camoens Gardens in Macao.

Mr. Albino Silveira will be remembered by the older generation as the Portuguese ancião of Hongkong. His venerable appearance, with his long, white, flowing beard, and his courtly manners, inspired respect. Born at Macao, he resided for a long time in that city, where he cultivated an intimate friendship with Comendador Lourenço Marques and his wife. A group photograph is extant, in the possession of Mr. J. M. Marques da Silva, showing Mr. Silveira with the distinguished couple, Comendador and Mrs. Lourenço Marques, in their old age, in the Marques mansion at Camoens Gardens in Macao.

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