Sir Robert Brown Black (3 June 1906 – 29 October 1999) was a British colonial administrator who served as

Governor of Singapore The Governors of Singapore were the political leaders of Singapore during its pre-independence phase in the history of Singapore. Residents of Singapore (1819–1826) The Resident of Singapore ruled the British colony that is today the Republi ...

from 1955 to 1957, and Governor of Hong Kong from 1958 to 1964. Born in Edinburgh and educated at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871, and was m ...

and the University of Edinburgh, he would spend three decades overseas and return to Britain in the 1960s.

Colonial administration career

Sir Robert Brown Black served in the administration of Britain's colonies for more than 30 years. Entering the colonial service, Black was assigned to Trinidad, but the remainder of his postings were in Asia. During his posting in North Borneo Black was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps and involved in guerilla resistance against the Japanese. He was captured in 1942 and spent the remainder of World War II in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. After the war ended, he returned to the colonial service and served in North Borneo and Hong Kong before moving on to Singapore as Governor (1955–57). Subsequently, he became Governor of Hong Kong from 1958 to 1964.

Governor of Hong Kong

During his governorship, Hong Kong became increasingly prosperous. At the same time, many tens of thousands of refugees were illegally crossing the border from China every year, driven in part by widespread famine in China during the years 1958–1961. Some were stopped and sent back, but almost all of the hundreds of thousands who reached Kowloon were allowed to stay. This influx placed an enormous burden on the colonial authorities, but the needs of the refugees were met by a programme of

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, de ...

construction and public health measures. Robert Black had been dealing with the patriotic Hong Kong Chinese in a heavy-handed way. On 18 April 1958, a raid was conducted on the library of the Pui Kiu Middle School (PKMS). The officer-in-charge of the Hong Kong Island Section of the Inspectorate of Education visited the school with five assistants. Nineteen books were confiscated and four were used as evidence of the 'mismanagement of the school' in a warning letter addressed to the school supervisor on 13 May. On the basis of these and other accusations, such as hiring of unregistered teachers and discussion of political issues in school meetings, To Pak-fui (杜伯奎), the principal of PKMS, was deported on 6 August, to Lo Wu. Hong Kong experienced a prolonged drought of unanticipated severity during the last two years of his tenure, which led to a serious water shortage. Water rationing was imposed in May 1962 and continued through August 1964. From June 1963 until late May 1964 (when the arrival of Typhoon Viola ended the drought) the water supply was restricted to a single four-hour period every four days. Black helped establish the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...

by uniting several smaller institutions.Sir Robert BlackTough Scot sorting out the end of Britain's empire
/ref> He served as Chancellor of both the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong during his tenure as Governor of Hong Kong. He was knighted (KCMG) in 1955 and promoted to GCMG in 1962.

Post-governorship

Black returned to Britain in 1964. He was active with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Royal Commonwealth Society, and served as chairman of the Clerical Medical and General Life Assurance Society in the 1970s. He died on 29 October 1999, having been predeceased some years earlier (in 1986) by his wife Anne. He was survived by their two daughters, Barbara and Kathryn.

Tributes

* Robert Black College, a graduate college of the University of Hong Kong * Robert Black Health Centre in

San Po Kong San Po Kong () is an area in New Kowloon in Hong Kong. It is largely industrial and partly residential. Administratively, it belongs to Wong Tai Sin District. Location San Po Kong is located south of Wong Tai Sin and Diamond Hill, north of th ...

, Hong Kong * Sir Robert Black College of Education, now merged into the Hong Kong Institute of Education * (for his wife) The Anne Black YWCA, Kowloon * (for his wife) Anne Black Health Centre, North Point

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Robert Brown Governors of Hong Kong Intelligence Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II 1906 births 1999 deaths Administrators in British Singapore Chief Secretaries of Hong Kong Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at George Watson's College World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century Hong Kong people 20th-century British politicians Governors of the Straits Settlements