Robert Gordon Shewan (13 November 1859 – 14 February 1934) was a Scottish businessman 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 Delta i ...

Early life

Robert and his twin brother William were born in London on 13 November 1859. They were sons of Andrew Shewan (1820–1873), a master mariner, and Jane (née Thomson) Shewan (1822–1886).

Career

Shewan arrived in Hong Kong in 1881, in the employ of

Russell & Company Russell & Company () was the largest American trading house of the mid-19th century in China. The firm specialised in trading tea, silk and opium and was eventually involved in the shipping trade. Foundation In 1818, Samuel Russell was approached ...

, which was then one of the largest mercantile companies in the Far East. He and Charles Alexander Tomes, who was a grandson of merchant David Hadden, acquired the infrastructure of that firm subsequent to its dissolution in 1891, and consequently created Shewan, Tomes & Co. in 1895. The new company formed the Green Island Cement Company and the China Light and Power Company, which generated electricity for Kowloon. He was subsequently dismissed from the latter by its principal shareholder, the

Kadoorie family The Kadoorie family or "Khedouri" ( he, כדורי, ar, خضوري) are a wealthy Hong Kong-based family, originally Mizrahi Jews from Baghdad, Iraq. From the mid-18th century they were established in Mumbai, British Raj India becoming one of t ...

. Shewan was also the director of the

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...

and of many other local companies. In 1902, Shewan was elected as the representative 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 ...

in the Legislative Council. He also served as Consul for Chile at Hong Kong. Shewan was unsympathetic to the Canton-Hong Kong strike in 1925: he told the ''Daily Press'' that employers should punish those of their Chinese labourers who went on strike. He also posted a notice to his office clerks that stated that those who left and did not return by the next morning would be permanently dismissed.

Personal life

Shewan was married to Dorothy "Dolly" Kate Lucas (d. 1961), who was a daughter of William Lucas and former wife of James Marke Wood. Shewan died on 14 February 1934. He was buried at the

Hong Kong Cemetery Hong Kong Cemetery, formerly Hong Kong (Happy Valley) Cemetery and before that Hong Kong Colonial Cemetery, is one of the early Christian List of cemeteries in Hong Kong, cemeteries in Hong Kong dating to its colonial Hong Kong, colonial era beg ...

Happy Valley, Hong Kong Happy Valley () is an upper-income residential area in Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island. The area is bordered by Caroline Hill to the east, Jardine's Lookout to the south, Morrison Hill to the west, and Causeway Bay to the north. Adminis ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shewan, Robert Gordon 1859 births 1934 deaths Hong Kong businesspeople Scottish expatriates in Hong Kong Chairmen of HSBC Businesspeople from London Hong Kong people of Scottish descent Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong