Chau Cham-son (),

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

CStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

, JP, was the

Chief Commissioner A chief commissioner is a commissioner of a high rank, usually in chief of several commissioners or similarly styled officers. Colonial In British India the gubernatorial style was chief commissioner in various (not all) provinces (often after be ...

the Scout Association of Hong Kong The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts. The Catho ...

from 1985 to 1996. He was the son of Sir

Chau Tsun-nin Sir Tsun-nin Chau, CBE (; 22 December 1893 – 27 January 1971) was a prominent Hong Kong businessman and politician. Honours He was designated a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of ...

Education

He attended Wah Yan College, an eminent

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

secondary school for boys in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, and later graduated from the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

with a degree in

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. He qualified as a Registered Architect. He also undertook further post-graduate studies at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and qualified as a registered

town planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

Career

He was the first registered

in Hong Kong. Chau retired from the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in 1990 as Director (General) of Buildings and Lands after 30 years of public service. He has been described as "instrumental in establishing a fully-fledged town planning office in the 1980s with the modern concept of urban planning".''Growing with Hong Kong'' (Hong Kong University Press, 2002)
page 161
He was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1987 and a Commander of Order of Saint John in 2002. Chau was a steward of the

Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

, beginning in 1989; from 1998 to 2002 he served as deputy chairman.

Scouting

Chau joined the

Scout Movement Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

in 1946 as a Boy Scout. He became a

scoutmaster A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...

in 1949 for his alma mater, the 15th Hong Kong Group of

Wah Yan College, Hong Kong Wah Yan College, Hong Kong also referred to by its acronym WYHK is a private Catholic all-boys grant-in-aid secondary education institution run by the China Province of the Society of Jesus in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It was founded by on 16 De ...

. He was appointed assistant district commissioner in 1957 and succeed Tse Ping Fui as district commissioner in 1962. He had been honorary treasurer and deputy chairman of

The Scout Association of Hong Kong The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts. The Catho ...

. He also was chairman of Campsites and Properties Committee between 1978 and 1984. He became chairman of the

Scout Association of Hong Kong The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts. The Catho ...

in 1983 and also chaired the Headquarters Building Management Committee in the crucial period during the fundraising, planning and construction of the 25 storey Hong Kong Scout Centre. Chamson became

chief commissioner A chief commissioner is a commissioner of a high rank, usually in chief of several commissioners or similarly styled officers. Colonial In British India the gubernatorial style was chief commissioner in various (not all) provinces (often after be ...

of the Scout Association of Hong Kong in 1985, a post he held for the next 11 years. As chief commissioner, Chau streamlined the organization of the Scout Movement in Hong Kong, and his greatest legacy is the 25-storey Hong Kong Scout Centre, one of the largest, most advanced and well-equipped Scout headquarters in the World.

International

Chamson served in Asia-Pacific Region (APR) Regional Committee from 1986 to 1992. He was awarded the

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee (WSC) to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement". It is the highest honor that can be given a volunteer Scout leader in the world and it is the ...

in 1990 and was elected a member of the

World Scout Committee The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

(1993–1999). Chau co-founded the APR Scout Foundation in 1992. By making the first contribution he became its first Foundation Member. He is a Baden Powell Fellow of the World Scout Foundation.

Awards and honours

Besides the Bronze Wolf, he received Scouting awards from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. He was awarded the APR Scout Medallion (1986) and the APR Distinguished Service Award (1995). Chau has been a Vice President of the Scout Association of Hong Kong since his retiring from the post of Chief Commissioner in 1997. He is also a holder of Long Service Medal with four stars signifying he has served faithfully for no less than 55 years as an adult leader of Hong Kong Scouts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chau, Chamson Hong Kong politicians Hong Kong architects Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Wah Yan Scouting and Guiding in Hong Kong Year of birth missing (living people) Living people