Prominent Hong Kong people
Our “Click!” quiz in the Spring 2025 issue of EL featured a photo of St Andrew’s Church in Kowloon. Constructed in 1906, the church was financed entirely by prominent businessman Sir Catchick Paul Chater (1846-1926). Here are a few facts about this interesting historical figure.
8 things about Paul Chater
#1 Chater was born Khachik Pogose Astwachatoorean to Armenian parents in Calcutta. Orphaned at age seven, he moved to Hong Kong with his sister’s family.
#2 He was a key figure in the reclamation of Victoria Harbour, heading out at night in a sampan to take sea-bed soundings.
#3 In 1889, he co-founded property investment company Hongkong Land. Today, it has a portfolio estimated at around US$35 billion.
#4 Chater loved sports, playing for the Hong Kong Cricket Club 1st XI and being a regular at the horseraces at Happy Valley. A Group One race was named in his honour, The Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup. (2024 winner: Rebel’s Romance.)
#5 In 1902, King Edward VII bestowed a knighthood on Chater at Buckingham Palace.
#6 Marble Hall was the name of Chater’s sumptuous private residence at 1 Conduit Road, made from imported European marble. One visitor there was Royal Navy Commander Charles Drage, whose description of the opulent abode has a sting in the tail:
“He has a lovely house full of wonderful china, and gave us an excellent meal with superlative wine. His collection of china is well known and, though much of it is said to be faked, the pieces are really beautiful. But the furnishing of the rest of the house is in atrocious taste.”
#7 Various Hong Kong landmarks are named after Chater, including Chater Garden (pictured), Chater House, Chater Road and Catchick Street.
#8 Aside from building the aforementioned church in Kowloon, Chater made some enormous philanthropical donations, including one to the University of Hong Kong, and another to save his childhood school in India, La Martiniere College, from closure.
This Paul Chater article first appeared in Expat Living in March 2025. Purchase the latest issue or subscribe so you never miss a copy!
