Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala (sometimes written 'Nowrojee') was an Indian businessman of
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
descent in Hong Kong.
Early years
He first arrived in Hong Kong in 1852 as a stowaway aboard a ship from Bombay bound for China and was a cook.
Career
Founding of the Star Ferry
Naorojee is most recognized for the founding of the Kowloon Ferry Company in 1888 for transporting passengers and cargo (especially bread) between
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
and
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
. The company was renamed in 1898 to
Star Ferry
The Star Ferry is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Com ...
, which today transports passengers throughout Hong Kong.
Hotel Business
Dorabjee Naorojee was also a hotel entrepreneur, starting the King Edward Hotel in
Colonial Hong Kong
Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the British ...
. According to some sources, he leased the
Hong Kong Hotel
The Hongkong Hotel was Hong Kong's first luxury hotel modelled after sumptuous London hotels. It opened on Queen's Road and Pedder Street in 1868, later expanding into the Victoria Harbour waterfront of Victoria City in 1893.
History
The ori ...
in 1873 for ten years and afterward started one hotel on
Pottinger Street
Pottinger Street is a street in Central, Hong Kong. It is also known as the ''Stone Slabs Street'' () since the street is paved unevenly by granite stone steps. It was named in 1858 after Henry Pottinger, the first Governor of Hong Kong, ser ...
and two in
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
.
Other sources have a businessman by the name of Mr Hing Kee, who was tired of the hotel business and sold his landmark in 1903 to Mr Farmer, who was a veteran of the hotel business. Farmer had also worked in Australia before arriving in Hong Kong in 1890 to work at the Victoria Hotel, then the New Victoria Hotel, where he became the proprietor in 1898. His son Dhunjeebhoy Dorabjee Naorojee ran the hotel after his father returned to India and until his death in 1911. Supposedly around 1906 or 1907 Mr Madar, Dorabjee and Mr Farmer started the King Edward Hotel at 3
Des Voeux Road
Des Voeux Road Central and Des Voeux Road West are two roads on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. They were named after the 10th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir William Des Vœux. The name was sometimes spelt with the ligature œ in ...
situated in
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
. It is believed that this hotel used the name as a franchise lease, not the original nor the very first King Edward Hotel.
Mithaiwala retired from his businesses in Hong Kong and returned to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mithaiwala, Dorabjee Naorojee
Hong Kong businesspeople
Star Ferry
Parsi people
Hong Kong people of Indian descent
Hong Kong people of Parsi descent
Year of death missing
Year of birth missing