Edbert Ansgar Hewett, (5 September 1860 – 24 November 1915) was a prominent British merchant in Hong Kong and China and member of the Executive Council and

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...

Family and early life

Hewett was born on 5 September 1860, second son of the Sir George John Routledge Hewett, 3rd Baronet., descent of Sir George Hewett, 1st Baronet, and Clara von Pochammer. On 2 February 1893 he married Ruth Jeannette McKendrick, daughter of Quentin K. McKendrick of New York. He was educated mainly by private tutors. At the age of seventeen he joined the

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company P&O (in full, The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) is a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World c ...

at their head office in London. He arrived in Hong Kong in 1880 and acted as agent for the company in Shanghai for seven-year, in Yokohama for two years, and in Kobe for six months. He became the Superintendent of P&O Co. Hong Kong branch, responsible for the whole traffic in the Far East from Yokohama to Penang.

Shanghai

Hewett was the member of the

Shanghai Municipal Council The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British Concession (Shanghai), British and American Concession (Shanghai), American list of former foreign enclaves in China, enclaves in Shanghai, i ...

from 1897 to 1901 and served as chairman in 1900 to 1901. During the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

he was active in preparations for the defence of the Settlement when the naval fleet sailed to Peking leaving about 12,000 white population and nearly half a million Chinese under his charge. As civil commandant of the volunteers he enrolled all able-bodied men and had a force of nearly 1,200 whites under arms. He also organised the first company of Japanese volunteers that had ever been raised outside Japan. The highest encomiums were passed upon him by both the naval and military authorities. He took great interest of conservancy of the

Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its maj ...

throughout his residence in Shanghai. He was on the committee of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce and represented the chamber at Peking in 1901 to urge for the Shanghai river conservancy as dealt with in Peace Protocol after the Boxer Rebellion. A special committee consisting of the English, German, American, French and Dutch ministers was formed as a result and adopted Hewett's proposals as the chamber's representative which were embodied in the protocol.

Hong Kong

Hewett moved to Hong Kong and was elected vice-chairman of the

Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC; ) was founded on 29 May 1861, and is the oldest and one of the largest business organizations in Hong Kong. It has around 4,000 corporate members, who combined employ around one-third of Hong Kon ...

shortly afterward in 1902. He was the longest serving chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce from 1903 to 1915. Hewett represented the Chamber of Commerce in the

from 26 April 1906 and later was appointed to the Executive Council on 1 June 1906. He was also an unofficial member of the

Sanitary Board The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

from 1903 and member of the Medical Board and the Licensing Board until his death in 1915. He was the chairman of the commission from May 1906 to March 1907 to inquire into administration of Sanitary and Building Regulations, enacted by the Public Health and Building Ordinance of 1903, which report in March uncovered widespread corruption among officials. He was also on the governing board of the Queen's College and committee of the

Diocesan Boys' School The Diocesan Boys' School (DBS) is a day and boarding Anglican boys' school in Hong Kong, located at 131 Argyle Street, Hong Kong, Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon near Mong Kok East station. The school's mission is "to provide a liberal educat ...

. For his services to Hong Kong he received the

Companion of 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 IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in 1912. He died suddenly at 12:40 pm on 24 November 1915 of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

at the age of 55 at the Government Civil Hospital. He was buried at the Protestant cemetery at Happy Valley. All flags in the colony were at half-mast throughout the day.

Honours

He received the English Medal for China, 4th Class Sacred Treasure of Japan, Iron Crown of Austria and decorated as a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau of the Netherlands for his services in Shanghai. *

Justice of Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

(CMG) * English Medal for China 1900 * Iron Crown of Austria (3rd Class) – 1902 – ''in recognition of services rendered during the recent Military Operations in China''. *

Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open ...

* Imperial Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure (4th Class) – 1902 – ''in recognition of valuable services ... during the disturbances in China in the year 1900''. * Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(F.R.G.S.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewett, Edbert Ansgar 1860 births 1915 deaths British businesspeople in shipping Hong Kong shipping businesspeople Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th class Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau British expatriates in Hong Kong British expatriates in China Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Members of the Sanitary Board of Hong Kong P&O (company) Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Chairmen of the Shanghai Municipal Council 19th-century British businesspeople