A. Shelton Hooper
Augustus Shelton Hooper | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age England |
| Died | June 13, 1936 (aged 76) London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Architect, civil servant |
| Years active | 1886–1920 |
| Known for | Member of the Sanitary Board and Licensing Board of Hong Kong; secretary of Hongkong Land Investment and Agency Co. Limited |
Augustus Shelton Hooper (September 1859 – 13 June 1936) was an English architect and civil servant who worked in Hong Kong. He held positions on the Sanitary Board and Licensing Board, and served as secretary for the Hongkong Land Investment and Agency Co. Limited.
Biography
Born in September 1859, Hooper was the son of Henry Wilcocks Hooper, a solicitor and coroner based in Exeter, and Julia Evelina Richards. His education took place at Newton Abbot College in Devon.
Hooper arrived in Hong Kong in September 1886, initially employed as a surveyor within the Land Office of the Hong Kong government. Two years later, in 1888, he assumed the role of assessor and municipal rates valuer. After resigning from this post in 1889, he joined the Hongkong Land Investment and Agency Co. Limited as its inaugural secretary, capitalizing on his expertise in government land matters.
In 1890, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace, and from the founding of the Hong Kong and South China Masonic Benevolence Fund in 1893, he acted as its agent and trustee. By 1905, Hooper had qualified as a registered architect.
Hooper ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Sanitary Board in both the 1891 and 1903 elections but succeeded in securing election during the 1906 contest. He became a member of the Licensing Board in 1910 and was re-elected in 1916 and again in 1919. However, he resigned from the Sanitary Board in 1911 due to disagreements over government amendments to Scavenging and Conservancy regulations.
In 1906, Governor Matthew Nathan appointed Hooper to serve on the Public Health and Regulations Ordinance Commission tasked with investigating allegations of corruption within the Sanitary Department. The commission’s report prompted reforms to the Sanitary Board through changes to the Public Health and Building Ordinance enacted in 1908.
Hooper was an active Freemason and belonged to the Hong Kong Club. He also held the presidency of the Hong Kong Devonian Society.
After three decades as secretary of Hongkong Land, he retired on 1 January 1920 with a pension and departed from Hong Kong. Hooper passed away at age 74 on 13 June 1936 while residing in a nursing home in London.
Personal life
Hooper was affiliated with both the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club and Hong Kong Cricket Club, living at "Rougemont" on MacDonnell Road. He was married to Sarah Hooper, who died on 31 August 1942 in Matlock. Together they had one son and two daughters. Their daughter Christine Jessie Shelton Hooper married Colonel John Urmson Hope, connecting the family to military leadership circles. Another daughter, Dorothy Annette Shelton Hooper, wed John Farrar Macgregor, establishing ties with influential business networks. Their son managed Manila Wine Merchants, a subsidiary company of Caldbeck, Macgregor and Co., reflecting ongoing family involvement in regional trade.