Robert Chatterton WILCOX [????-????]

Submitted by Serena on Fri, 04/19/2024 - 18:01
Names
Title
Mr
Given
Robert Chatterton
Family
Wilcox
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased

I came across a "Wilcox, Robert Chatterton" when typing up the jury list, who first appeared on the jury list of 1892 with the occupation of "Gentleman". This caught my eye so I did a bit of digging.

He became a special juror (with the occupation of Estate Agent) in 1893 and went on to become the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce in 1897. 

Putting his name on Google led me to a book 車水馬龍:香港戰前陸上交通 written by 馬冠堯 on pre-war land transportation in Hong Kong. It mentioned that Wilcox was appointed into a commission investigating the difficulty of  procuring and retaining reliable Chair and Jinricksha Coolie in 1901. (E-book on the HK Public Library website)

I checked out the Hong Kong Weekly Press in 1901 quoted by the book, with an article regarding the Chair and Jinricksha Coolie Commission's Report and the report itself. The article said that Wilcox, upon receiving the appointment to the Commission, had begged the Government to widen the scope of investigation to all classes of Chinese servants, which was rejected by the then Governor, despite a "very large section of our community suffers through the shortcomings and misdoings of domestic servants generally".

Another mention of him is from an antique bookstore in Australia. Apparently he also published stories in the newspapers and had privately printed the stories into a book in Hong Kong for circulation among his friends. 

There is also a Mrs Chatterton Wilcox in the Ladies Directory on Gwulo residing in one of the same addresses as Robert Chatterton Wilcox on the jurors' list.

Photos that show this Person