Jane Austen & The Hubback Family

Prior to leaving for the United Kingdom and meeting Mrs.Yvonne Barbor, I was meticulously looking for information on A. B. Hubback at the Malaysian National Archives and numerous publications online with regard to his works. Whilst on the internet, I discovered quite by accident, a possible relationship, to Jane Austen. This seemed interesting and as such, I requested from Mrs. Yvonne Barbor is they had kept records of their family tree. Suprisingly, Yvonne's son, Mr. Peter Barbor sent me and electronic file and I had to go and look for a friend who had a copy of The Family Tree Maker by ancestry.com.

Who is Jane Austen? Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics. Among her renowned works Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). Excerpt taken from wikipedia. For more information, please click here.

 Jane Austen

Next, we would have to be introduced to Cassandra Elizabeth Austen, Jane's older sister,born January 9, 1773, two years before her famed sister Jane. In a family of 6 boys, the girls became fast and close friends.Excerpt taken from The Jane Austen Center. For more information, please click here.

And now, let me introduce you to Catherine-Anne Hubback (1818-1877), née Austen, was the eighth child and fourth daughter of (Sir) Francis Austen (1774-1865), one of Jane Austen’s brothers, a successful naval officer who became Admiral of the Fleet and G.C.B. His first wife, Mary Gibson, bore him eleven children. Five years after her death in 1823, he married Martha Lloyd, who had long lived with old Mrs Austen and her unmarried eldest daughter, Cassandra. Born in 1818, Catherine never knew her Aunt Jane. However, Cassandra, Jane Austen’s elder sister, was a frequent visitor, introducing Frank’s children to the works of their Aunt Jane, to the history of her life, and also to her unpublished writings. Excerpt taken from The Jane Austen Center. For more information, please click here.

Ok. So lets recap : Jane Austen [writer] ---> Cassandra Austen [elder sister] ---> Catherine-Anne Austen [niece of Jane & Cassandra]. So how is all this connected to Arthur and Theodore Hubback? Let's explore the relationship which was given to me via Mr. Peter Barbor and ancestry.com;

So it looks like Arthur and Theodore are the nephews of Catherine-Anne Austen? That would make them like related to Jane Austen! Ok, let's just sample a simple test;

Excerpt from The Jane Austen Center : Their first child, Mary, only lived long enough to be baptised and died in 1843. John Henry, the eldest surviving child, was born in 1844, followed by Edward Thomas in 1846 and Charles Austen -- whose second name is yet another indication of the family's cultivation of the Austen-connection -- in 1847.Doesn't the above ancestry file look familiar?

So I will leave this one to you. It appears that A.B. Hubback and T.R. Hubback are the grand nephews of Jane Austen! Now isn't that cool?

ANOTHER ROUND ... THE FIGHT BEGINS

Well. I won't have to tell you that its really tough going on this project. Coupled with the Global Economic Downturn, I have been hearing a lot of stories of companies and organizations freezing this and that. Erm... it's disheartening, yes, but I must continue on, and fight for what I believe in.

In actual fact, I have begun to realize that people think we are in it for the money. Well, I will reiterate, we are not in it for the money or the fame. We just want to realize this project. Is that simple. Can you believe that? No?

Anyway, regardless of what you think, I will continue with another round of fights for this project. This time around, I think I will be approaching some Government Bodies and in the tradition of most of my other projects, I will be putting up my letters here. I made a promise to the Hubback family that everything will be transparent and so I am carrying out that promise. I still believe in this project and will continue to fight ... so here are the two letters I have sent out today (the original ones I made a big boo boo my putting the dates as 25 February 2008! I am still living in the past year!

At times, I really don't know what to say. Currently, only WWF Malaysia has responded and expressed interest in our project in part because Mr. Theodore Rathbone Hubback's work is still in use today. Despite The Hubback's contributions to Malaya, not many are even aware of who they are. This looks like the making of another sad tale that will vanish with time.

Anyhow, back to the present, we too won't really know what will happen to us here at The Heritage Station Hotel. We can only hope for the best and do what we can for now ... in fact this is a tale of not many people know about our efforts because we lack the economic means. But I will still continue my works and promises, until the day come when I say goodbye and return to ashes..... Take care and we will be updating our blog on The Hubback Brothers sometime soon ....

ALONE AGAIN .....

Hello! It's been sometime since I have updated my blog on The Hubback Brothers. It's not like I do not want to update this blog, but I have been very busy with Hotel works and other matters related to the Hubback Project right here at The Heritage Station Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In fact, in the recent weeks, I have had meetings with many people; I met students from Unitar, UiTM, etc, all doing projects related to the Hotel. It does not come as a suprise to me when many of the students are actually oblivious to the History of the building.... in fact they can't even tell me much about the buildings in this vicinitiy. How sad.

Today, I have also registered this blog with bloggersunited .... and strangely I have put this blog under the section 'politics'. Is it a ploy? Nope. Firstly, I have come to realise that if I don't put pictures on a blog, no one actually bothers to read it. Secondly, inept as a maybe in Blogging, I am very sure that there were politics involved even during The Hubback's time when they were here in Malaya. So 'politics' it is.

In actual fact, I have met Mr. Anuar Isa a reasearcher and representatives from the Malaysian Tourism Department to try and get this project off the ground, but as always, its really tough. I have come to the point where promises made, I dare not hope anymore. However, they did managed to recharge my batteries on this project and here I am again, trying to get it off the ground for the numerous time .... Will I succeed? Will I have to go back on my words with the Hubback Family? No. I made a promise and I will carry out that promise to the best of my efforts.

THE RETURN OF ARTHUR

My journey to the United Kingdom has brought me close to Glastonbury Abbey, the famous ruins where King Arthur and Lady Guinevere are rumoured to be resting. I am a great fan of mythology and theology, but I did not have time to go for a pilgrimage through Glastonbury and Salisbury Plains ... one of the 'sacred' places that holds a special place in my heart.

I did not bring back the legendary sword Excalibur but I brought back the story of the individual who also contributed much to our young nation then, Malaya. His name was aptly, Arthur as well! Brigadier General Arthur Benison Hubback, considered to be the first Architect to reach the position of Brigadier General in Great Britain and The British Colony!

So what do we plan to do in the coming future? We @THSH have plans of incorporating a Mini Museum coupled with activities in our Hotel in order to raise the awareness of our National Heritage, from Buildings to Natural Resources. Now let me test a little bit of your historical knowledge of Malaya .... how many buildings do you know that were designed by A. B. Hubback? I bet the number one building on your mind would be The Railway Buildings and Masjid Jamek. Ok. Good .... some more?

Below is the hand written copy of A.B. Hubbacks, "Candidate Separate Statement", that was submitted to The Association of The Royal Institute of British Architects (A.R.I.B.A) for his admittance as a Fellow.

Part of A. B. Hubback's personal handwritten submission.
For a bigger image, please click on the picture.
Documents courtesy of the Hubback Family, United Kingdom

Part of A. B. Hubback's personal handwritten submission.
For a bigger image, please click on the picture.
Documents courtesy of the Hubback Family, United Kingdom

Yes, amongst his most notable works which normally featured the famous neo-moorsih designs but not always just limited to that particular style, were;

• The Railway Station, Kuala Lumpur
• The Railway Station, Ipoh, Perak
• The Railway Administrative Building, Kuala Lumpur
• The Old City Hall, Kuala Lumpur (Now Panggung Bandaraya)
• Ipoh Town Hall Building, Perak
• The White House of Klang (Now Galeri Diraja Sultan Abdul Aziz, under the auspices of the Sultan of Selangor)
• Jamek Mosque, Kuala Lumpur (Masjid Jamek)
• Ubudiah Mosque, Kuala Kangsar, (Masjid Ubaidah, under the auspices of the Sultan of Perak).
• State Secretariat Building, Seremban (Now State Library)
• The Extensions of The Royal Selangor Club, Kuala Lumpur (What we see it as, today)
• Carcosa Sri Negara, Kuala Lumpur
• Numerous smaller buildings in Medan Pasar, Kuala Lumpur
• Post Office, Kuala Lumpur
• Kowloon Canton Terminus, Tsim Sha Shui, Hong Kong
  

These documents only cover A. B. Hubback's works up till 1909. His later works were not chronicled in these documents.

Since documentation in the 1890's in Malaya was in its infancy, there is much discussions amongst historians that there may have been influences from other notable gentlemen, like R.A.J. Bidwell, C. E. Spooner and of course A.C.A. Norman. Doesn't Norman's name sound familiar? Well if you don't know, he is credited to have designed the "Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad". However it is also noted that Hubback may have had a hand in it to.

SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE FAUNA OF THE EMPIRE

Many individuals whom I have come into contact with in these past few weeks have asked me, why are you doing this? If you are aware of what we are doing @THSH, you will actually realise that we are trying to get more people aware in the need to preserve our National Heritage in all sense of the word, namely our Buildings and Natural Resources. We do not do this via donations currently, but by organizing activities and trying to revive interest in our National Heritage, through friendship, education and active participation. Of course, our reach at current is very limited, but I am also pleased to note that more and more individuals are beginning to take notice of what we are doing. The process is extremely slow, but we will continue to march on.

And this is where our Historical Project, The Hubback Brothers; draws some parallel, they believed in what they were doing, even though it meant forking out their own monetary resources. They had a vision and a goal, and yes, they may have stepped on a few toes along they way, but they persisted and in the end prevailed in their pursuit of their goals.

An this was true about Theodore Rathbone Hubback. According to the book Nature and Nation : Forest and Development in Peninsular Malaysia by Jeyamalar Kathirithamby Wells, (ISBN:997169302X, 9789971693022) printed in the year 2004, she describes Theodore's early life as follows, of which I have extracted;

Hubback [Theodore] arrived in Malaya in 1895 and, having served in the Public Works Department both there and in Borneo, turned to rubber planting in Negri Sembilan. By this time, his love of wildlife and his truculence were recognised hallmarks of his personality. Following a spell after World War I studying a rare sheep. Ovis dalli, in Alaska, he settled in 1920 as a planter in Pahang.

Despite his difficult personality, his unrivalled knowledge of Malayan Wildlife and unstinting devotion to the cause of its preservation, won respect and admiration. His perception of conservation in terms of protecting the forest habitat as a whole was evident in his campaign for national parks, game reserves and wildlife sanctuaries for the preservation not only of large mammals but also birds and river fish. Unlike Forest Reserves,nurtured to enhance economically valuable species, Hubback pressed for park sanctuaries 'for preservation of the natural features of the primeval jungle'. Such areas, he argued, would also offer protection for Orang Asli, specifically the Negritos, untainted by civilization.

Hubback's residence in Pahang became the headquarters for a historic campaign for wildlife preservation, which swept the Peninsula into the mainstream of the international movement for nature conservation, In 1921, Hubback succeeded in having the Federal wildlife laws upgraded. The new law provided for State Game Wardens, but in the absence of salaries appointments, members of the hunting fraternity served in a voluntary capacity. They included besides Hubback and Banks, K.P. Reynolds, R.R. Hartley and A.T. Edgar. A salaried Game Warden was appointed only in Johor where Sultan Ibrahim, a keen hunter, lent his wholehearted patronage to game protection.

So, can you guess what Theodore Hubback did for Malaya?

DID YOU KNOW?

The Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire was based in London. There was a local chapter called the 'Society For The Preservation of the Flora and Fauna of Malaya' made up by Theodore with his hunting fraternity members as so aptly described by Jeyamalar Kathirithamby Wells above. Unfortunately, the locals perception as the society was comprised of game hunters in a 'guise' of preservation and conservation, they coined the name 'Society of The Pertinent Butchers' (Information provided by the Hubback Family, United Kingdom)

PEOPLE & LETTERS - FOR OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS?

Fast forward to the present. It's 10 September 2008 and I am sitting in my office @THSH trying to figure out how I am going to go about this entire tribute. It has been very busy for me since coming back home as we are also involved in other community works via our other blog www.prewedding.info. In actual fact, I have been talking to a number of people with regards to The Hubback Brothers, but many seem to be disinterested. Is it actually possible that the people in Malaysia do not take an interest in History? Or could it be my presentation? I wonder.

As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. In my respect, I do believe its true as support for this project initially manifested in a very strange form. My partners from the other community project @THSH, namely En. Ismail Hashim, Mr. John W. Ishii and Mr. Tommy Yap actually volunteered their services at no cost. The Team @THSH has also been very supportive of this project and more importantly my wife. This actually gave me the strength to carry on.

Of course, I will have to look for patrons and corporate sponsors as I nor @THSH has the means to go it alone. So no point in procrastinating. Let's get the ball rolling. After all, one of my primary goals is to be able to record part of Malaya's history for our future generations. Is it really possible to chronicle such events here? There are a lot of questions running through my mind.

Today I sat down and wrote a total of five official letters to various organizations in anticipation that they will agree to provide us with support for this 'historical project'.

One of our official letters that were sent out to potential supporters/sponsors via email and post,
depending on the availability of their address. You can view our letters by clicking on the photo above.
To protect their privacy and as we have not revealed all on
The Hubback Brothers, we have blurred certain portions of text.

I am beginning to wonder if the Malaysian Public in general are really interested in History at all. Students that have come to @THSH doing research on the buildings, well, let's just say not many of them are actually interested, it's just a term paper research anyway... however, on rare occassions, I do bump into 1 or 2 that impresses me. With the announcement of Penang and Malacca as 'Heritage Cities' under the auspices of UNESCO, do we not want to do more for our other Buildings and Natural Heritage in other states? I do believe, and I may be wrong, that many people may just adopt the attitude of, let's leave it to somebody else, or the Government, for that matter. Well, I am of the opinion that the Government is already doing all they can, so we should lend them a helping hand, at our best efforts too! However, I do hope to get the endorsement of certain Government Agencies, like Kementrian Perpaduan, Kesenian, Kebudayaan dan Warisan (KEPKKWA - Or, in English, Ministry of Unity, Arts, Culture and Heritage).

Rewind to the past, it's now 19 August 2008 on this blog. It's about 3.30 pm in the United Kingdom. Yvonne tells me that her neighbours, Douglas and Lesley have asked us over for tea. After brief introductions, we settle in to their lovely living area. A nice fire is going, and I gaze in awe at an actual fireplace! They are very nice, and offer me wine, but I would actually prefer a cup of tea, which Lesley graciously brews for me in the kitchen. We began talking and they are very curious to know what I plan to do. After a long chat, Douglas passes a comment to me; "Lloyd, it seems like you are a 1 man army". I understand his statement and I take it in, without offence, as I believe in this project and the passion has grown prior to my trip to the UK. I will do my utmost to make sure this project runs as far as I can make it.

To Douglas and Lesley, thank you so much for your hospitality! I hope you are keeping well! Lets all get together for another spot of tea soon! Oh, by the way, I forgot to take a picture of your famous doorway!

DID YOU KNOW?

"While convalescing from an illness in Port Dickson, Sultan Idris Murshidul-adzam Shah (1887-1916) made a vow to build a mosque at Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar, when he fully recuperated.

After his return to Kuala Kangsar, he commanded Colonel Huxley of the Public Works Department, Kuala Lumpur, to design a mosque which he wanted to build. Architect A.B. Hubback designed the mosque by adopting Moorish architecture in his design. Mr. Caulfield, the State Engineer then, was responsible for the construction. The unique Moorish design by Mr. A. B. Hubback has made Ubudiah Mosque one of the buildings which attract tourists for its interesting architectural features.

On September 1913, Sultan Idris Murshidul'adzam Shah laid the foundation stone for the mosque but its completion was delayed due to damage to imported marbles from Italy brought about by elephants owned by the Sultan and Raja Chulan.

According to the story.....One day, during a ceremony and a feast to celebrate the circumcision of Raja Khalid, a son of Sultan Abdul Jalil, suddenly His Highness' elephant named Kulub Chandan and its mahout, by the name of Kulub Said fought another elephant named Kulub Gangga with its mahout by the name of Uda Debok. The latter belonged to Raja Chulan.

In the ensuing battle the elephants came to the palace where the marbles and materials for the Mosque were kept and totally destroyed them. The battle lasted for several hours until Raja Chulan called his elephant by name and commanded it to stop fighting. The two elephants surprisingly obeyed his command and stopped fighting. Previous attempts made by other people to stop them from fighting were in vain.

As the marbles and materials for the Mosque were destroyed, fresh order was placed with Italy again. By this time the World War I broke out and the materials arrived very late as it had to travel via Cape of Good Hope.

However, in 1917, the construction of the Mosque was completed, and it was officially opened by Sultan Abdul Jalil Karamatullah Shah (1916-1918) who succeeded Sultan Idris I, who passed away in 1916. "

Source : The Office of His Royal Highness, Sultan of Perak, Perak Darul Ridzuan's Official Website.

Note : Construction actually began in 1910, but was delayed due to the damaged tiles and the advent of World War I. Masjid Ubudiah, Kuala Kangsar, Perak was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback. Kuala Kangsar is located in Perak, Malaysia and is The Royal City of Perak.

LUNCH & TAIPING

Well, it's still 19 August 2008 on this blog at about 11.00 am, UK time. Having already met Yvonne at her house after a nearly disastrous walkabout, I could finally settle down and get to work. Yvonne lives in a nice Cottage in this village and all the cottages and manors look so stately. Looking back, the documentaries and BBC programs have not failed to paint the right picture. I really am loving it here, in the UK. Cool weather with overcast clouds that keep on moving with the passing breeze, excellent scenery and imagery.

"I'm terribly sorry about the weather", Yvonne apologized.

"No, please don't be. Coming from the tropics, I must say, what lovely weather we are having!", I exclaimed.

And we laughed.

Really, even though Yvonne is now 95 years old, she was very active around the house and she even tended to her own garden, making compost and everything! We sat down on her dining table and began chatting about her father (Brig. Gen. Arthur Benison Hubback) and was supposed to discuss her uncle's history (Mr. Theodore Rathbone Hubback) tomorrow. However, as both of us were pretty excited about the whole event, everything got intertwined, unintentionally.

As it was about lunch time, Yvonne promised me a very typical English Lunch. We had Traditional Fish Pie (A combination of mashed potatoes, trout, haddock and herbs, covered with cheese and baked till brown) with Vegetables from her Garden. Oh My! That was utterly delicious. Any 5 Star Fine Dining Restaurant back home in Malaysia would have paled in comparison. As luck would have it, for dessert we had Fresh Strawberries and Clotted Cream .... simply heaven. I am now wishing for more helpings!

Later, Yvonne was showing me some of her family history, she handed me a tattered photo. Taiping Golf Club. Taiping? I wondered. Taiping, Perak, Malaysia? The place which is known to have the highest rain fall in Malaysia? Isn't this coincidental as to the weather in the UK at current?

Yvonne told me that the Taiping Golf Club was a small shack back then and the members decided to put in some money to build a new golf club. She also mentioned to me that she actually 'lent' the picture to the Club itself a few years ago, and she wrote to them to have it back. After a few months, they did return it to her. That's very nice and ethical. In actual fact, Yvonne has also contributed some of her family's personal belongings to various causes and museums in the region and I am indeed in awe of her generosity in a time and age when money seems to be at the crux of everything.

DID YOU KNOW?

Prior to construction of The Kuala Lumpur Train Station, the Colonial Office had instructed A. B. Hubback that all materials especially the steel columns used for the actual station must conform to British Standards. This standard calls for the use of steel columns that were, technically, to be able to withstand the combined pressure of snow as deep as 6 feet. Yvonne tells me that her father at that time thought this was rather 'odd' as Malaya was in the tropics (I would too), but still went ahead in conforming with the requirements.

WHO ARE THE HUBBACK BROTHERS?

I personally, have always dreamed of going to Stonehenge located at Salisbury Plains in the United Kingdom, as I am intrigued greatly by mythology. As luck would have it, I did actually get to see Stonehenge thanks to Mr. Wally Elliot, who so kindly picked me up from London's Heathrow Airport after a tiring 12 hours flight!

I ended up in a very nice and quaint village at about 7.00 pm UK time, and was introduced to LG, the Inn's owner, who happened to be a very nice man as well. They all knew why I was here and even though I was supposed to have a drink with Wally, I crashed out in my room, as I was very tired. This all happened on 18 August 2008.

The next day, I woke up with a start and realized it was only 4.00 am in the morning. My meeting with Yvonne, the daughter of Brig. Gen A. B. Hubback C.M.G., D.S.O., was not until 10.30 am! Yes, Yvonne is going to be 96 years old this coming October! Going outside and taking in my nasty habit, I waited patiently, anxious about our meeting. Luckily, before I crashed yesterday, LG told me that Breakfast was included in my room rate! Lovely! I was treated to a good sumptuous English Breakfast of Cereals, Toast, Sausages, Bacon, Eggs and my one of my favourites, grilled fresh button mushrooms! And all this was after about 4 hours of waiting!

After breakfast, I packed my bags and thinking to myself that I was looking like your average tourist, decided to try to find Yvonne's house in the village .... unfortunately I ended up on the main road and a public bus stopped for me without me flagging it down ... It was so embarrassing. Making my way back to the Inn, LG so kindly offered to take me to Yvonne's place but being the stubborn me, I looked at the Village Map and decided to try one more time!

Luckily, this time around, Yvonne was wondering where I was, and was just about to come and meet me. Thank goodness I actually sent her a picture of myself so she recognized me!

So who are The Hubback Brothers?

Many of you may not realize this, but Brig. Gen. Arthur Benison Hubback was the architect who actually designed the Two 'Sister' Train Stations in Kuala Lumpur. He also designed many other buildings in Malaysia and we will disclose the story as this project goes along. He was only known as Mr. A. B. Hubback when he came to Malaya prior to his military career. Of more importance, the family name 'Hubback' is always mis-spelt in books, magazines and websites as 'Hubbock'. We hope that by writing this blog, we can correct such mistakes.

And what about Mr. Theodore Rathbone Hubback? Well, when Mr. T. R. Hubback came to Malaya he actually did work with his brother, Arthur and started as an engineer on our Malayan Railway tracks but in his later years, become a plantation owner as we will also disclose, in the course of our tribute to 'The Hubback Brothers'.

Furthermore, when Yvonne told me about her youngest Uncle, Bishop Goerge Clay Hubback, and his works in Assam, India, I was really taken aback. Just like Yvonne, the Hubback Family is highly active, and with more research into their family, I was astounded at how active most of their generations were! We will of course disclose the story in due course, but for now we will focus more on their contributions to Malaya.

The most interesting discourse in my entire research, was that so far, there was no notes that came along suggesting Arthur and Theodore were brothers! I had my suspicions initially and this was confirmed when Yvonne told me about her Uncle. However, to be fair, the two bothers had actually contributed so much to Malaya, that many researchers would prefer to focus solely on the individual as opposed to 2 individuals. This is my only conclusion.

On behalf of @THSH, I am deeply in gratitude to Yvonne and her family, for welcoming me and sharing such wonderful stories, biographies, pictures and insights into their family. We, @THSH will work to our utmost in trying to materialize this goal.

DID YOU KNOW?

Apparently, when Brig. Gen. A. B. Hubback was designing the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, he had 3 sets of plans. One was the 'grand' scale' plan, which was considered too expensive and grand, one was the 'small scale' plan, which was considered too small to meet with the needs of the people and the other was the 'mid scale' plan. Which is supposed to be what we see today. However, I am told, the 'mid scale' plan was not big enough and during construction, they actually had to expand the plans. This may explain why the 'sister' building, "The Railway Administrative Building" was then built in my humble opinion. (Information provided by the Hubback Family, United Kingdom)

THE JOURNEY BEGINS!

I have actually been very busy since joining The Heritage Station Hotel, Kuala Lumpur or what we like to abbreviate as @THSH. In fact, I am really very lucky to be here @THSH. Much of what I have read and experienced @THSH from the general public, newspapers, friends in the hotel industry, guests comments and the team @THSH was initially very disheartening. But I guess that's where I come in with my 'quirky' expertise. I am actually a Hotelier who started his career in what would be considered as the 'creme de la creme' of Hotels, Deluxe Class Luxury , Award Winning 5 Star Resort in Penang, and my former property actually gave me a good foundation in Hotel Product knowledge and I am very thankful to my former Food & Beverage Director, Mr. Andre Scholl and Assistant Food & Beverage Director, En. Wan Aiksan, for all their guidance and opportunities.

After working & travelling a bit within the region, I began to realize that international hotel scene in South East Asia were actually becoming more rigid and systematic in their approach to managing people. This is not a bad thing as it will only give rise to better uniformity to all service personnel in ensuring guests are taken care in a professional manner. However, I personally, felt that this would lead to a more 'robotic service industry' to a certain degree, and since I am a person who requires his own creative freedom, I left the glamorous life of the 5 Star Deluxe Class Hotels to venture into the unknown ... it was a very rebellious and adventurous time for me. So here I was, coming out fresh from the sheltered, protected nutshell industry, lured by the unknown. I have since then opened and closed restaurants, worked in shocking conditions, built custom computers, came back to the backpackers hotel industry, or what you can call, a fall from grace. Do I regret it? No. Absolutely not ... it was a real experience to remember...... just like fine dark chocolate, bittersweet - it matures with time.

Since coming @THSH, the climb took on a vertical challenge in essence. Yes. I am not kidding, it was a ninety degree climb if not more! However, as my personal motto is "nothing is impossible until you, yourself, make it impossible", I gritted my teeth and rolled up my sleeves. Nothing could be worse, I thought remembering, one of my former hotel employers posting me to their newly acquired 3 star hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Furthermore, this is home, it should be easier. While working @THSH, warm thoughts of my experiences from Cambodia and how proud my colleagues were of their language, culture and customs kept nagging at me. Despite Cambodia being an open economy, their monthy pay of about USD50-100 a month, it made me realize how lucky we in Malaysia were. It's so much more expensive in Cambodia then it is here, the Cambodians literally struggle to survive!

As such, I decided to try and learn more about our own Malaysian history and @THSH provided me with the perfect opportunity to do some research into the building. It started as a curiosity and what little information I could gather, started falling into its place, fueling my curiosity. I was really lucky to be able to get in touch with the family of the Hubback's and as they opened up to me, I was bewildered at the amount of stories and contributions they have made to our young nation then. The question at the back of my mind was always, why do we not know enough about The Hubback Brothers despite attributing some recognition to our buildings?

My curiosity by now has become a full blown passion. I had been consistenly meeting students @THSH who were studying architecture and conservation, doing research, which the latter is a new curriculum in Malaysia, and was appalled that not many of them really knew who The Hubback Brothers were. In fact, many of their interviews were laden with information which to me, was not very accurate. After talking to my wife, she gave me the 'thumbs up' without any grouses, of which I am extremely grateful, I decided to close and withdraw my personal bank accounts, and told the Hubback Family that I was going to meet them in the United Kingdom. This was going to be one of my biggest challenges, I told myself ....

After the arrangements were made, I posted on my other blog and project www.prewedding.info and set my email auto responders to away from 18 - 24 August 2008, I took my first step in meeting the Hubback Family in the United Kingdom.

In all honesty, I actually did a dummy posting on 27 August 2008, but this actual blog entry was written on 8 September 2008. Why? Well, since coming back, I have been busy with my hotel operations, looking for patrons, corporate sponsors and organizing our community project on my other blog, but I will chronicle my journey in trying to realize this project through this humble blog.

I really apprecite my team @THSH and my wife on this project as without them, I may not have been able to now, tell this story. I would also like to thank the Hubback Family in the UK, and it was indeed a privilege and honour to have met you all.

The gun has sounded, I have stepped out of the starting line, there's no turning back now .... please help support us @THSH!