Lauw Tek Lok, der Chinezen (died in Meester Cornelis in 1882) was a high-ranking government official and landlord in Batavia,

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, and a member of the

Lauw-Sim-Zecha family The Lauw-Sim-Zecha family is an Indonesian family of the 'Cabang Atas' or the Chinese gentry of the Dutch East Indies (colonial Indonesia). They came to prominence at the start of the nineteenth century as '' Pachters'' (revenue farmers), '' Lan ...

, part of Java’s

Cabang Atas The Cabang Atas (''Van Ophuijsen Spelling System'': Tjabang Atas) — literally 'highest branch' in Indonesian — was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of colonial Indonesia. They were the families and descendants of the Chinese ...

gentry. He is remembered today for his long tenure as ''Luitenant der Chinezen'' (or government-appointed head mandarin) of Bekasi, and for his interracial marriage with

Louisa Zecha Francisca Louisa Zecha (1848–1939), usually known as Louisa Zecha, was a prominent, colonial Indonesian community leader and the '' Indo''-Bohemian matriarch of the Lauw-Sim-Zecha family, part of the 'Cabang Atas' gentry of the Dutch East Indie ...

. Born in Batavia, Lauw Tek Lok was the son of the early nineteenth-century tycoon Lauw Ho (died in 1863), part of the powerful Ngo Ho Tjiang opium partnership. His father was an important revenue farmer, and served as '' Wijkmeester'' (ward master) of Meester Cornelis. The younger Lauw became one of the most important landlords (' Landheeren') in Batavia with significant agricultural landholdings (' particuliere landen') in the city's ''Ommelanden'' (the then rural hinterland of Batavia), including the estate of Cimanggis. Lauw was appointed on December 23, 1854 to the newly-created government post of der Chinezen of Bekasi, a civil administrative position he would keep until his death in 1882. At the same time, his brother Lauw Tek Kang was also raised to the post of ''Luitenant der Chinezen'' of Meester Cornelis. As ''Luitenant'', Lauw Tek Lok played a significant role in the Dutch colonial development of Bekasi and its surrounding region. On his death in 1882, Lauw was succeeded as ''Luitenant der Chinezen'' of Bekasi by another local landlord and his son-in-law, Tan Kang Ie. Despite his satisfactory records as a colonial administrator, Lauw caused some consternation among the colonial authorities due to his unconventional and interracial marriage with an Indo people, ''Indo'' woman of Bohemian descent, Louisa Zecha. Together, they became the ancestors of the prominent

, and were the great-grandparents of Adrian Zecha, Adrian Lauw Zecha, founder of Aman Resorts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauw, Tek Lok 1882 deaths Indonesian people of Chinese descent Lauw-Sim-Zecha family Kapitan Cina Cabang Atas People from Jakarta People from Bekasi Indonesian landlords