The name A.B.Hubback is still remembered in Kuala Lumpur and, although there is no formal commemoration to him, it is his elegant buildings which he helped design and which have been lovingly preserved in the old colonial quarter and elsewhere, which serve as his fitting memorial.
Arthur Benison Hubback C.M.G, D.S.O. was born in Liverpool in 1871, son of an ex-mayor of that city, Alderman Joseph Hubback. After completing his education he decided to pursue a career in architecture and served his articles in the Surveyor’s Department of the Liverpool Corporation, before he left for the Malay States.
Arriving in May, 1895 he entered the service of the Selangor State Government as Chief Draughtsman to the Public Works Department, moving the following year to the position of District Engineer in Ulu Langat, Selangor, and then in 1897 to Factory Engineer in Kuala Lumpur. It was during this time that he became involved in his first major public works project, the main Government Offices in Kuala Lumpur, known today as the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, credited to architect A.C.Norman and engineer C.E.Spooner.
Perhaps becoming disillusioned with working in the State Government, in December, 1897 he decided to resign his service and try his hand in private practice, joining a well known contractor, Mr. W. Nicholas, affectionately known as “Old Nick”, who became one of the wealthiest contractors in the Malay States. That relationship was to last over three years until in July 1901, he returned to public service as Architectural Assistant to the Public Works Department in the Federal Government.
The next fifteen years was a golden age for Malayan architecture when Mr. Hubback made his name becoming the most famous architect in the history of British Malaya. Most of the so called heritage buildings in the centre of Kuala Lumpur were constructed in the period before the First World War, and he was involved in most of the works, as well as several other important buildings outside the capital.
Buildings with which Mr. Hubback was involved in include the following (some were completed after his departure):
1897 Government Offices (Sultan Abdul Samad Building), Kuala Lumpur
1901 Carcosa Seri Negari, Kuala Lumpur
1904 Town Hall-Sanitary Board, Kuala Lumpur
1905 FMS Central Railways Office (National Textile Museum), Kuala Lumpur
1906 Selangor Museum, Kuala Lumpur, and King’s Pavilion, Kuala Kangsar
1907 FMS Railway Terminal Building (Wisma Kastam), Penang
General Post Office, Kuala Lumpur
1909 Jamek Mosque, Kuala Lumpur
Malay College, Kuala Kangsar
White House, Klang
1910 Railway Station and Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Royal Selangor Club, Kuala Lumpur
Federated Survey Office, Kuala Lumpur
1913 Kowloon Railway Station
1915 High Court, Kuala Lumpur
1916 Town Hall and Post Office, Ipoh
1917 Ubudiah Mosque, Kuala Kangsar, Malay Railway Building, Kuala Lumpur
1920 Ipoh Railway Station and Hotel
Many of the new buildings in Kuala Lumpur were constructed in the Indo-Saracenic style which became associated with Mr. Hubback, and which had never been seen before in the Malay States. Reminiscent of medieval India during the Mughal Age they included onion domes, horse-shoe shaped arches, and colonnades. Reasons why this architectural style was used is open to speculation; his colleague State Engineer, C.E.Spooner, who with R. Bidwell, was responsible for the design of the first such project, the Sultan Abdul Samad building, had lived in Ceylon for fourteen years, and had travelled to India to look at buildings, but Mr. Hubback had never been to India. Perhaps, as Kuala Lumpur had become the centre of the British administration it was decided to create an impression of a “mini-Raj” in its new government buildings, as in India.
In 1911 he got the top job as Government Architect of the Federated Malay States, this after briefly resigning from government service a second time the year before to work for Messrs. D.C.P. and R.C.M. Kindersley in the management of the Kajang group of Estates. It seems that his services had been missed during his year-long absence and that the promise of promotion may have lured him back to the government ranks.
When the First World War broke out in 1914 he was on leave having recently been engaged by the governor of Hong Kong to prepare designs for the new Kowloon Terminal Station of the Kowloon to Canton Railway, much to the chagrin of the local architectural community who were dismayed at having been overlooked for the job. It was a mark of his growing reputation that he could now be considered for such prestigious projects outside the Malay Peninsula.
In 1914 he returned to England to do his duty and was gazetted as a Major in the 20th Battalion London Regiment. He had already been deeply involved in military matters in Malaya whilst working as government architect. In his early years in Selangor it was said that he was one of the first to join the Malay State Volunteer Rifles (the MSVR) when it was established in 1902, being appointed Captain, at the young age of 21.
He would quickly climb the ranks being described as “an excellent officer and a born leader of men”. From the beginning he was popular in the community, frequently captain of the Selangor and FMS cricket teams, as well as being involved in football and hockey, and amateur dramatics, and a devout churchgoer. In 1907 he became Commandant of MSVR, replacing the retiring Mr. F. St. G. Caulfield, and in 1911 he became its overall commander, travelling to London with a contingent to attend the coronation of King George V.
The following year, after passing his exams in Singapore, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. The success of the MSVR and its continuing existence was said to be due to his exceptional leadership as Commander, which position he pursued at the same time as working as Chief Government Architect.
However, as mentioned, the outbreak of World War I brought an end to his life in Malaya, as it did for many in the administration, and he soon found himself in a very different world, in Flanders, fighting in the trenches. He would serve with distinction, being the only volunteer officer commanding a battalion on the Somme in 1916. In 1917 he was wounded and was awarded the C.M.G. from the King at Buckingham Palace. He was mentioned in despatches several times, was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and at the end of the war received the D.S.O.
In 1924 Arthur Hubback, or “Trilby” as he had become affectionately known, retired from the army. He continued to live in England with his wife Margaret Voules, whose brother was a colleague serving as Solicitor-General in the Straits Settlements, and their marriage was said to be a happy one. They had a daughter, Yvonne who married in Kuala Lumpur, and a son, Arthur Gordon, who later became a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy. He died on 8th May, 1948 in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.
Malaysia 1786 - 1957 