Sunlaws: A Story of Two Empires

The name Sunlaws links two worlds - the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders and the dense jungles of colonial Malaya - through the remarkable Hubback family. And at the heart of this story lies a single, touching inscription on a 1927 portrait that connects the Hubbacks to another prominent colonial family: the Haynes.

Contents: Scottish Sunlaws · Sunlawshill Farm · Malayan Sunlaws · A.S. Haynes · The Connection · Yvonne's Search · Two Stations · Summary

The Scottish Sunlaws

The original Sunlaws was an estate in Roxburgh parish, Roxburghshire, on the eastern side of the River Teviot.[1]Source: Groome, F.H. (1882-4). Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Entry for "Sunlaws". Its mansion was described as "a handsome Tudor edifice, with a lofty tower" - tragically, it was "totally destroyed by fire on 16 Jan. 1885".

The estate belonged to the Scott-Kerr family. Its owner in the mid-19th century, William Scott-Kerr, Esq. (b. 1807; suc. 1831), held 2,662 acres in the shire. By 1903, the seat was occupied by Major Robert Scott-Kerr.

Sunlaws Mansion in Scotland, now known as SCHLOSS Roxburghe, a luxury hotel managed by Hyatt Hotels. The ancestral estate that inspired the Hubback family's bungalow in Malaya.

The Sunlaws Mansion in Scotland.
Now called SCHLOSS Roxburghe, and is
An exclusive destination managed by Hyatt Hotels.

The Hubbacks at Sunlawshill

The link between the Hubback family and the Sunlaws estate is clearly documented in official records. During the Ordnance Survey of 1858-1860, the Name Books for Roxburghshire recorded a farm called Sunlawshill (also spelt Sunlaws Hill) as being tenanted by a member of the Hubback family.[2]Source: Scotland's People. Ordnance Survey Name Books – Roxburghshire, OS1/29/33. Entry for "Sunlawshill".

One entry lists the tenant simply as "Mr. Hubback Tenant", describing the property as "a farm house situated on a rising ground on the east side of the turnpike road; the property of W. Scott Ker Esq. of Sunlaws".

A second entry provides the full name: "Thomas Hubbach Tenant" (a variant spelling of Hubback), describing the farmhouse as "two stories high slated & in good repair, having commodious & extensive offices attached".[3]Source: Scotland's Places. Ordnance Survey Name Books – Roxburghshire, OS1/29/10/14. Entry for "Sunlawshill". A contemporary trade directory confirms this, listing: "Sunlawshill, Roxburgh, Thomas Hubback, farmer, Kelso".

Thomas Hubback (born 1807) was the eldest son of Joseph Hubback and Sarah Clay of Berwick-upon-Tweed. His younger brother was Joseph Hubback (1814-1883), who left Berwick for Liverpool, became a successful merchant, and served as Lord Mayor of Liverpool in 1870.[4]Source: The A.B. Hubback Project – Parents; Liverpool Footprint – Arthur Hubback.

Joseph Hubback's son was Theodore Rathbone Hubback (1872-1942) - the man who would carry the family's name to Malaya.

The Malayan Sunlaws Bungalow (1920)

Theodore Hubback travelled to Malaya in 1895, where he became a prominent figure - initially a big-game hunter, later transforming into a passionate conservationist.[5]Source: Wikipedia – Theodore Hubback; The A.B. Hubback Project. He was instrumental in creating the Krau Wildlife Reserve and the King George V National Park (now Taman Negara).

In 1920, Theodore built a bungalow on his 100-acre estate by the Jelai River, about 15 miles from Kuala Lipis in Pahang. He named it "Sunlaws" - a direct homage to the Scottish estate where his uncle Thomas had once been a tenant farmer.[6]Source: The A.B. Hubback Project – "Sunlaws, Bukit Betong (1920)".

The bungalow was designed by his brother, Arthur Benison Hubback (A.B. Hubback), one of Malaya's most distinguished architects. The architectural style was Tudor, featuring timber frames in a 4' x 4' grid. Contemporary accounts describe it as having "a splendid garden with numerous flowering trees". The family used a boat named the HMS Camp to travel between Bukit Betong and Kuala Lemoi, which was stored near Sunlaws.

T.R. Hubback and N.H. Walter standing at the main entrance of Sunlaws bungalow in Pahang, Malaya. A rare photograph of Theodore Rathbone Hubback at his 100-acre estate.

T.R. Hubback and N.H. Walter
Standing at the Main Entrance of Sunlaws
Photo Courtesy of Yvonne Barbor (née Hubback) & Family

Reverse side of the Sunlaws photograph showing T.R. Hubback and N.H. Walter, demonstrating the period's cursive handwriting that often leads to spelling errors in historical records.

At times, I really understand why there are spelling errors
in our records. Their cursive handwriting takes some time
to get used to.
Photo Courtesy of Yvonne Barbor (née Hubback) & Family

In 1939, Theodore Hubback published a scientific paper on the Asiatic Two-Horned Rhinoceros in the Journal of Mammalogy, listing his correspondence address as "Sunlaws, Bukit Betong, Kuala Lipis, Pahang".[7]Source: Hubback, Theodore. (1939). "The Asiatic Two-Horned Rhinoceros". Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 20, Issue 1, Pages 1-20.

Alwyn Sidney Haynes: The Colonial Administrator

Alwyn Sidney Haynes (22 October 1878 - 9 May 1963) was a prominent British colonial administrator who had a long and distinguished career in Malaya.[8]Source: Wikipedia – Alwyn Sidney Haynes. He was educated at Haileybury College in Hertfordshire.

Haynes joined the Federated Malay States Civil Service in 1901 as a cadet and arrived in Singapore in 1902. Over the next three decades, he held a remarkable number of senior posts across the region:

Year	Post
1902	Treasurer of Krian District
1906	Assistant District Officer, Kuala Kangsar
1915	District Officer, Kuala Kangsar
1916	District Officer, Tampin
1920	Secretary to the High Commissioner for Malay States
1922	Secretary for Agriculture, Straits Settlements and FMS, and Director of Food Production
1924 & 1926	Acting British Resident, Pahang
1925	Acting British Resident, Perak
1925	British Adviser, Kedah
1930	Controller of Labour, Malaya
1930-1933	British Adviser, Kelantan
1933	Colonial Secretary and Member of Executive and Legislative Councils, Straits Settlements

He was appointed OBE and later CMG.[9]Source: Wikipedia – Alwyn Sidney Haynes. From 1935 to 1940, he served as a Lecturer on Malay and on Far Eastern Countries at Oxford University. He was an Honorary Life Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute and an External Expert on the Board of Advisers in Malay at the University of London. He passed away on 9 May 1963 at the age of 84.[10]Source: Wikipedia – Alwyn Sidney Haynes.

The Connection: A Portrait and a Visit

Haynes and Hubback were contemporaries in the Malayan Civil Service. They likely crossed paths frequently, given that Haynes served as Acting British Resident of Pahang in 1924 and 1926 - the same state where Hubback had his "Sunlaws" bungalow.

The connection is immortalised in a 1927 portrait of Theodore R. Hubback, held at Cambridge University Library.[11]Source: Cambridge University Library Archives. Portrait of Theodore R. Hubback (1927). Reference: GBR/0115/RCS/BAM 7/26. The portrait is inscribed:

"With my best remembrances to Mrs Haynes [wife of Alwyn Sidney Haynes]
Theo R. Hubback 12.4.27.
May your visit to Sunlaws not altogether fade from your memory."

This inscription confirms a personal friendship between the two families, and suggests that Mrs. Haynes and her husband had visited Hubback at his Sunlaws bungalow in Pahang. The warm, almost wistful tone - "May your visit to Sunlaws not altogether fade from your memory" - speaks to the hospitality Hubback offered at his jungle retreat and the fondness with which he recalled their time together.

Yvonne Barbor's Search for Sunlaws (1981)

Long before this online archive existed, Yvonne Barbor (née Hubback) — daughter of Arthur Benison Hubback and Theodore's niece — embarked on a personal quest to rediscover a lost piece of her family's history.[12]Source: Personal interviews with Yvonne Barbor (August 2008); Family records courtesy of Yvonne Barbor. In 1981, at the age of 69, she travelled to Malaysia in search of Sunlaws, the bungalow her uncle Theodore had built on his 100-acre estate by the Jelai River.

Letter from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Malaysia circa 1980, responding to Yvonne Barbor's enquiry about the location of Sunlaws in Pahang.

Reply from the
Department of Wildlife & National Parks of Malaysia
Regarding the location of Sunlaws - circa 1980
Letter courtesy of Yvonne Barbor (née Hubback) & Family

By 1981, the building had fallen into obscurity, its location known only to a few. Yvonne's journey was a quiet act of devotion — a daughter retracing her father's footsteps, determined to see with her own eyes what remained of the house her father had designed for his brother more than sixty years earlier.

View of the Jelai River captured by Yvonne Barbor in 1981 during her search for Sunlaws, her uncle Theodore Rathbone Hubback's bungalow in Pahang.

View captured by Yvonne Barbor - The Jelai River
Photo Courtesy of Yvonne Barbor (née Hubback) & Family

She documented her search through photographs, capturing the landscape, the remnants of the bungalow, and perhaps the ghosts of a bygone era. Her determination to find Sunlaws, even as the jungle slowly reclaimed it, speaks volumes about her commitment to preserving her family's legacy.

As I write this revival in 2026, I have discovered those very photographs — along with some negatives — tucked away in the archive materials Yvonne so generously shared with me during my visits to her home in Somerton. They are a testament to her determination and her love for her family's history. Here, for the first time, are four images from her 1981 journey:

Yvonne Barbor's 1981 photograph questioning whether this is Sunlaws – the elusive bungalow of her uncle Theodore Rathbone Hubback in Pahang.

Could that be Sunlaws?
Photo Courtesy of Yvonne Barbor (née Hubback) & Family

Rediscovery of Sunlaws in 1981 – Yvonne Barbor's photograph of her uncle Theodore Rathbone Hubback's 100-acre estate by the Jelai River, Pahang.

The Rediscovery of her uncle's home
Sunlaws - T.R. Hubback's 100-acre estate in Pahang
Photo Courtesy of Yvonne Barbor (née Hubback) & Family

Close-up photograph of Sunlaws bungalow taken by Yvonne Barbor in 1981, documenting her rediscovery of Theodore Rathbone Hubback's Pahang estate.

Close up of Sunlaws. Designed by A.B. Hubback
Photo Courtesy of Yvonne Barbor (née Hubback) & Family

These images are more than just photographs — they are windows into a moment when one woman, armed with little more than a camera and a family story, went looking for a place that time had nearly forgotten. They remind us that preserving history is not just about grand gestures; sometimes, it is about one person's quiet determination to remember.

Digitally enhanced photograph of T.R. Hubback and N.H. Walter at Sunlaws entrance, confirming the location matches Yvonne Barbor's 1981 rediscovery photographs.

This is a Digitally Enhanced Photo to confirm
that the entrance is the same as the one Yvonne took in 1981

Digitally enhanced version of Sunlaws bungalow by the Jelai River, Pahang, reconstructed based on descriptions of its beautifully curated garden setting.

I leave you with a Digitally Enhanced version of Sunlaws.
Taking into account descriptions that it sat in a beautifully curated garden.

A.B. Hubback: A Story of Two Stations

While Theodore was taming the wilds, his brother Arthur Benison Hubback was taming the cityscape. A.B. Hubback, the chief government architect, left his own mark on Malaya - most famously with two buildings that face each other across Jalan Hishamuddin in Kuala Lumpur.[13]Source: Wikipedia – Railway Administration Building, Kuala Lumpur.

In 1910, he completed the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, a grand Indo-Saracenic masterpiece of white arches and horseshoe-shaped domes. Seven years later, he topped himself by designing the Railway Administration Building directly opposite - this time three storeys tall, the tallest building in the Federated Malay States at the time.[14]Source: Wikipedia – Railway Administration Building, Kuala Lumpur.

The two buildings stand today as they always have: the station and the administration, forever in a state of station-ary opposition. One grand, one taller - but both, like their architect, firmly planted in their place in history.

Two brothers, two empires, two Sunlaws - and Arthur's two stations, still standing, still watching each other across the tracks.

Summary

Location	Period	Key Figures	Significance
Sunlaws Estate, Scotland	19th century	William & Major Robert Scott-Kerr	Seat of the Scott-Kerr family
Sunlawshill Farm, Scotland	c. 1858-1860	Thomas Hubback (tenant)	First Hubback connection to the name
Sunlaws Bungalow, Pahang	1920-1942	T.R. Hubback, A.B. Hubback	Tribute to Scottish family heritage
Malayan Civil Service	1901-1934	Alwyn Sidney Haynes	Friend and visitor to Sunlaws
Cambridge University Library	1927	Portrait of T.R. Hubback	Inscription confirms the visit

What began as a Scottish estate owned by the Scott-Kerrs, tenanted by Thomas Hubback, became the namesake for a Tudor bungalow in the Malayan jungle - built by Thomas's nephew, Theodore, as a lasting tribute to his family's roots. And it was there, in that remote Pahang retreat, that Theodore entertained fellow colonial servant Alwyn Sidney Haynes and his wife, preserving their visit in a photograph that survives to this day.

Decades later, Theodore's niece Yvonne Barbor retraced that same path, determined to see Sunlaws for herself before it vanished entirely. And now, in 2026, her photographs have resurfaced, ensuring that the memory of Sunlaws — and the family that built it — will not fade.

The name Sunlaws thus links the Scottish Borders to the rainforests of Pahang, and the Hubback family to the Haynes family - a testament to the intertwined lives of British colonial families across two empires, and the enduring legacy of a name that travelled halfway around the world.

Footnotes

Groome, F.H. (1882-4). Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Entry for "Sunlaws".
Scotland's People. Ordnance Survey Name Books – Roxburghshire, OS1/29/33. Entry for "Sunlawshill".
Scotland's Places. Ordnance Survey Name Books – Roxburghshire, OS1/29/10/14. Entry for "Sunlawshill".
The A.B. Hubback Project – Parents; Liverpool Footprint – Arthur Hubback.
Wikipedia – Theodore Hubback; The A.B. Hubback Project.
The A.B. Hubback Project – "Sunlaws, Bukit Betong (1920)".
Hubback, Theodore. (1939). "The Asiatic Two-Horned Rhinoceros". Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 20, Issue 1, Pages 1-20.
Wikipedia – Alwyn Sidney Haynes.
Wikipedia – Alwyn Sidney Haynes.
Wikipedia – Alwyn Sidney Haynes.
Cambridge University Library Archives. Portrait of Theodore R. Hubback (1927). Reference: GBR/0115/RCS/BAM 7/26.
Personal interviews with Yvonne Barbor (August 2008); Family records courtesy of Yvonne Barbor.
Wikipedia – Railway Administration Building, Kuala Lumpur.
Wikipedia – Railway Administration Building, Kuala Lumpur.

References

Groome, F.H. (1882-4). Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Entry for "Sunlaws".
The A.B. Hubback Project. "Sunlaws, Bukit Betong (1920)".
Scotland's People. Ordnance Survey Name Books - Roxburghshire, OS1/29/33. Entry for "Sunlawshill".
Scotland's Places. Ordnance Survey Name Books - Roxburghshire, OS1/29/10/14. Entry for "Sunlawshill".
Hubback, Theodore. (1939). "The Asiatic Two-Horned Rhinoceros". Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 20, Issue 1, Pages 1-20.
Cambridge University Library Archives. Portrait of Theodore R. Hubback (1927). Reference: GBR/0115/RCS/BAM 7/26.
Cambridge University Library Archives. Papers of Alwyn Sidney Haynes (1924-1956). Reference: GBR/0115/RCS/RCMS 103/4/34.
Wikipedia. "Alwyn Sidney Haynes". Available at: en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia. "Railway Administration Building, Kuala Lumpur". Available at: en.wikipedia.org

Thank you for reading. I invite you to explore more about the Hubback brothers and their lasting impact on Malaysia's architectural and natural heritage.

Originally Published: 26 June 2026 | Last Updated: 28 June 2026