Reginald Edward Stubbs (1876–1947) was a British colonial administrator, born in Oxford on 13 October 1876, the son of William Stubbs, Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford and successively Bishop of Chester and Bishop of Oxford. Educated at Radley College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford, he joined the Eastern Department of the Colonial Office in 1900 and was posted in 1913 to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) as colonial secretary, several times acting as governor. He became the 16th Governor of Hong Kong on 30 September 1919, succeeding the ailing Francis May. From January to March 1922 a seamen's strike saw tens of thousands of seafarers and dockworkers lay down tools, their numbers rising to some 120,000 and paralysing shipping; the government declared an emergency and restricted some unions before employers conceded wage rises, a landmark in the territory's labour history, and the Sha Tin incident of 4 March 1922 left six dead. His term also saw public works including Castle Peak Road (1920), Repulse Bay Road (1924) and Shing Mun Reservoir (1923) and the completion of King's College; in 1923 he unveiled the Cenotaph in Central, and that year the government legislated to regulate the mui tsai system. On 26 May 1925 Stubbs travelled to Kam Tin in person to return to villagers the linked iron gates of Kat Hing Wai, removed during the 1899 resistance, easing relations with New Territories residents. The Canton–Hong Kong General Strike broke out in June 1925 and he was recalled to Britain that October. He went on to govern Jamaica (1926–1932), Cyprus (1932–1933) and Ceylon (1933–1937), retiring in 1937 and dying in 1947, aged 71. Stubbs Road, running from Wan Chai towards Happy Valley, is named after him.
Stubbs governed Hong Kong through the turmoil of the seamen's strike and the eve of the Canton–Hong Kong General Strike, and his return of the Kat Hing Wai iron gates became a symbol of the colonial government mending ties with New Territories villagers. He also pushed through public works such as Castle Peak Road, Repulse Bay Road and Shing Mun Reservoir, and Stubbs Road remains a main artery on Hong Kong Island.
Achievements
- 1919 · Took office as the 16th Governor of Hong Kong.
- 1922 · Handled the seamen's strike, which ended with the employers conceding wage rises after an emergency was declared.
- 1925 · Returned the Kat Hing Wai iron gates; the Canton–Hong Kong General Strike broke out that year and he left office in October.