Hoo Ah Kay (; 1816 – 27 March 1880), better known as Whampoa (), was a Singaporean businessman and community leader. An immigrant from China to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, he held many high-ranking posts in Singapore, including honourable consul to China, Japan and Russia.

Early life

Hoo Ah Kay (Hu Hsuan-tse) was born 1816, in Whampoa, Canton,

Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

(present-day Huangpu District, Guangzhou, China). He immigrated to Singapore in 1830. Initially working with his businessman father at food supplier Whampoa and Co., Hoo inherited the establishment after his father died.

Career

Hoo received the honorific ''Mr. Whampoa'' for his political achievements and contributions to the Singaporean society. He is cited as both "the first Japanese honorable consul in Singapore" and "the first Chinese consul n Singapore, two posts he was given in 1877 and 1879 respectively. In 1859, Hoo played a key role in establishing the

Singapore Botanic Gardens The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a -year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...

(now a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

). In 1869, he was announced as the first Legislative Council member of Chinese ethnicity by the British, albeit an unofficial one. He was also a retail dealer specialising in ships working for the

British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. For a period of time, he ran a business supplying ice imported from the United States to Singapore; it folded in 1856. Hoo was hailed as "one of the most influential Chinese (Cantonese) tycoons in Singapore". He was awarded the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

, Class Companion (CMG). In 1869, he became the first Asian member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and within a few years, he was made an extraordinary member of the Executive Council, the only Chinese to have held this position.

Personal life

Hoo was described as having led a rich and glamorous lifestyle, occasionally organizing elaborate meals, mostly intended for overseas visitors. He would hire many dancers to perform for him, as well as personal servants to fan him, as depicted in an illustration by English painter Edward Cree. He also owned a few race horses; one of them reportedly earned him about a hundred thousand dollars. Hoo frequently let the public at large visit his residence, which was depicted as sprawling with lush greenery. Despite being eloquent in the English language, he maintained a Chinese personality, preferring to wear Chinese robes. His son Hoo Ah Yip (), was educated in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. When his son snipped off his ponytail and converted to Christianity, Hoo Ah Kay was written to have been "outraged".

Death

Hoo Ah Kay died on 27 March 1880, aged 64. A housing estate, Whampoa located in the subzone of Balestier, which is a part of Novena planning area in Singapore is named after him.

Popular culture

Hoo Ah Kay appears in

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a Scottish author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven n ...

's historical novel ''

Flashman's Lady ''Flashman's Lady'' is a 1977 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the sixth of the Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman novels. Plot introduction Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book descr ...

'' and in ''The Hills of Singapore'' by Dawn Farnham.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Hoo Ah 1816 births 1880 deaths Businesspeople from Guangzhou Chinese emigrants to Singapore Singaporean people of Cantonese descent Singaporean businesspeople