John Livingstone McPherson was a missionary with the Canadian Presbyterian Church whose life’s work was developing the YMCA movement in Hong Kong from 1905 to 1935.
Born in Ontario, Canada, he went to the University of Toronto, in Ontario, gaining a BA in Philosophy in 1901 and his MA in 1903, after which he gained experience working in the community and for the YMCA association.
He arrived in Hong Kong in March 1905. He was to spend the next thirty years of his life building up the YMCA. He served for a year as the General Secretary of the European YMCA, and concurrently as the General Secretary of the Chinese YMCA until 1910. Alongside this, much time was spent in learning the Cantonese language.
He had become a member of Union Church, Hong Kong, and it was here in this church that he married the missionary and artist, Gertrude Briggs, in 1911, and they went on furlough that year. They went on to have three daughters.
In 1913 a boat was purchased for work amongst the boat people, thought to be some 40,000, ‘sadly neglected outsiders more or less, beyond the protection and restrictions of the law as far as China was concerned’. Alongside that was a reading programme for children.
In 1916 the St John Ambulance Brigade was formed out of YMCA volunteers.
About 1919 the McPhersons moved from their address at 6 The Peak to a property they had had built on Cheung Chau, possibly House #13 or House 27A, which had a tennis court. McPherson was a keen tennis and golf player. He served as Secretary and President of the Cheung Chau Residents’ Association.
The McPhersons had amahs to look after the home and help care for the children, allowing more time for Mrs McPherson to paint, and to return to teaching once again as she had done previously. The girls grew up speaking fluent Cantonese, so much so that on one of their furloughs in Canada they were called ‘the Chinese girls.’
In 1925 it was noted that the YMCA had grown from a movement of hundreds to a movement of thousands with a budget of tens of thousands. A day school, an English Commercial night school, a special summer school for backward students & two educational clubs were provided.
That year the European YMCA had completed the first part of its new building in Salisbury Road, Kowloon. For the ten years from 1925 to his retirement, McPherson would serve the European Association as General Secretary in an honorary capacity.
He held many other positions over the years, including being President of the Hongkong Missionary Association.
In 1929 the Chinese YMCA opened a new building on Waterloo Road, in Kowloon.
That same year, the Hong Kong government formed the "Playgrounds Committee" with Colonial Secretary Southon as chairman and McPherson as director. In 1933, it became the government-funded Children's Playgrounds Association. The next year, the association received land for six playgrounds, including the Mong Kok site named McPherson Playground and McPherson Stadium after its honorary director.
In 1935 McPherson retired. At his retirement, appreciation was shown for the work he had done in Hong Kong, including the children’s playgrounds. At that time there were many tributes to him either spoken or in print.
The Mcphersons left for Canada and England where they lived out the remainder of their lives with their grown family in Tunbridge Wells in Kent.
John McPherson died there, peacefully, in 1947.
Source:
J L MCPHERSON: Hong Kong YMCA General Secretary, 1905-1935 by Sue McPherson