Sir Robert Brown Black (1906–1999) was born in Edinburgh, educated at the University of Edinburgh, and spent much of his early career in the Malayan colonial service. He was Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1952 to 1955, Governor of Singapore from 1955 to 1957, and arrived in Hong Kong in January 1958 as its 23rd Governor. By then the population had passed three million, and housing, schooling and water were all in short supply; his administration sped up resettlement blocks and in 1962 launched a low-cost housing scheme for lower- and middle-income families, expanded satellite towns such as Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong and pushed a primary school expansion programme that paved the way for universal education. Officials also began studying a freshwater reservoir at Plover Cove to meet rising water demand. In 1962 a large influx of residents from the mainland forced him to manage both population pressure and border order; in September that year Typhoon Wanda struck the colony directly, causing heavy casualties and damage and prompting a review of building and disaster precautions. In 1963 a severe drought led the government to ration water to four hours every four days. In September 1963 the Legislative Council passed the Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance, and on 17 October he personally presided over its inauguration at City Hall; formed from New Asia, Chung Chi and United Colleges, it became the city's second university, a milestone for Chinese-language teaching and local higher education. He left office in April 1964, succeeded by David Trench, and died in 1999 aged 93.
Black accelerated resettlement housing and a primary school expansion that widened housing and education for ordinary residents; the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which he inaugurated, gave the city its first university teaching mainly in Chinese, an influence that continues today.
Achievements
- 1958 · Became the 23rd Governor of Hong Kong.
- 1962 · A large influx of residents from the mainland forced the government to handle population and border pressures and to accelerate resettlement housing and primary schooling.
- 1963 · The Legislative Council passed the Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance, and he presided over its inauguration on 17 October.