Paul Chater

Early life

Chater was born Khachik Pogose Astwachatoorean (Armenian: Խաչիկ Պօղոս Աստուածատուրեան) in Calcutta, British India, one of thirteen offspring of Armenian parents, Miriam and Chater Paul Chater. His father was a member of the Indian Civil Service.

Chater was orphaned at the age of seven, and he gained entry into the La Martiniere College in Calcutta on a scholarship. In 1864, he moved to Hong Kong from Calcutta and lived with the family of his sister Anna and her husband, the Armenian-born Jordan Paul Jordan (1820–1875).

In the early days in Hong Kong, he was an assistant at the Bank of Hindustan, China and Japan. Later, with the aid of the Sassoon family, he set up business as an exchange broker, resigned from the bank, and traded gold bullion and land on his own account. He took sea-bed soundings at night in a sampan and was thus instrumental in plotting the reclamation of Victoria Harbour. He is credited with a pivotal role in the colonial government's success in acquiring lands then held by the military, at a cost of two million pounds sterling.

In 1868, he and Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody formed brokerage company Chater & Mody, a largely successful business partnership in Hong Kong, although the firm's Hong Kong Milling Company (aka Rennie's Mill) failed in 1908 and resulted in the suicide of Albert Rennie.

In 1886, he helped Patrick Manson establish Dairy Farm, and he entered the Legislative Council that same year, taking the place of F.D. Sassoon. Also in 1886 Chater established Kowloon Wharf and Godown, predecessor of The Wharf (Holdings).

In 1889, he established Hongkong Land with James Johnstone Keswick. Hong Kong Land commenced the land reclamation project under the Praya Reclamation Scheme in 1890. Persuaded by the suggestion of temporary councillor Bendyshe Layton that Hong Kong should have electricity, they secretly acquired an old graveyard in Wan Chai, where they built one of the earliest power stations in the world. In 1890, the Hongkong Electric Company went into production.

Chater was enthusiastic in two sports: He played for the Hong Kong Cricket Club 1st XI, and was a thoroughbred horse racing enthusiast. He reportedly never missed the weekly races at the Happy Valley Racecourse in 60 years. He set up the Chater Stable in Hong Kong in 1872 that won many races at Happy Valley. The Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup, the Group One third leg of the Hong Kong Triple Crown, is named in his honour.

In 1896, Chater joined government ranks when he was appointed to the Executive Council, and served there until 1926, the year of his death. He was knighted in the 1902 Coronation Honours, receiving the accolade in person from King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 24 October that year.

In 1901, Chater constructed a very fine home with imported European marble at 1, Conduit Road, Hong Kong which he named 'Marble Hall'. Therein, he housed his collection of fine porcelain. To commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902, Chater presented a statue in bronze of the King to Hong Kong, executed by George Edward Wade and unveiled at Statue Square in 1907. In 1904, Chater single-handedly financed the construction of St. Andrew's Church.

Some titles and positions held by Chater:

Master of the Perseverance Lodge, 1873

Steward at the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club

Chairman of the Board of Stewards of the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, 1892–1926

Senior Justice of the Peace in Hong Kong

District Grand Master of Hong Kong and South China, 1881–1909

Director of Dairy Farm Co. Ltd., 1886

Consul for Siam in Hong Kong

Treasurer and Chairman of the Queen Victoria Jubilee Committee, 1887

Member of the Légion d'honneur by the French Government at Tonkin, 1892

Member of the Public Lighting Committee, 1896

Member of the Governor's Executive Council, 1896

Chairman of the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Committee, 1897

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1897

Honorary degree of LL.D. by the University of Hong Kong for services as the Honorary Treasurer, 1923

In May 1923, Chater, then treasurer of the University of Hong Kong, made a donation of $250,000 to the university at a time critical to its survival.

In 1924/25, Chater made the single biggest donation to any institution or organisation whilst still alive, donating 1.1 million Rupees to his alma mater, the desperately struggling La Martiniere College, thus allowing it to avoid certain closure. To honour his contribution to the school, Sir Paul Chater's name was included in the school prayer.