A walk around the city of Kuala Lumpur would reveal many
fine buildings dating from the early years of the twentieth century. Of
particular note are the majestic Kuala Lumpur railway station and the Jamek
Mosque, the oldest in the city. Both of these buildings, along with many others
across what was then British Malaya, were designed by Arthur Benison Hubback
who hailed from Liverpool.
He was born on 13th April 1871, the son of
Liverpool corn merchant Joseph Hubback and his wife Georgina (née Benison),
their home being at 74 Rodney Street L1. They had some standing in the city,
Joseph Hubback serving as mayor from 1869-70, and Orchard’s Liverpool Legion
of Honour noted that Georgina was involved in the administration of parish
relief and was president of the Liverpool Needlework Guild which supplied poor
people with clothing. Soon after Arthur's birth the family moved to 6 Sandon Terrace, Upper Duke Street L1, then moving to West Kirby. Joseph died in the 1882 and the family returned to city, living at 22 Falkner Square L8. He had three brothers;
Theodore was a civil engineer and conservationist in Malaya, Joseph was a civil
engineer and rubber broker, and George who became a Church of England bishop.
After school at Fettes College in Edinburgh Arthur Hubback began
working as an apprentice to the city architect, Thomas Shelmerdine. In 1895, at
the age of 24, he left England to take up a post as chief draughtsman of the
Selangor public works department in Malaya. He remained in Malaya for 19 years until the outbreak of the First World War. This
was a period of great activity in construction and he worked on buildings in
both Malaya and Hong Kong. He was involved in at least 25 buildings in Malaya
many of which are considered of great relevance to Malaysia’s architectural
heritage.
He had begun his military involvement in 1907 when he took
charge of the Federated Malay States Volunteer Rifles, promoted to major in
1910 and lieutenant-colonel in 1914. At the start of World War 1 he returned to
the UK serving firstly as a major then as lieutenant colonel commanding the 20th
London Regiment, serving on the Somme, where he was wounded. Promoted to brigadier
general he was mentioned in dispatches six times and was made a Companion of
the Order of St Michael and St George in 1916 and awarded the Distinguished
Service Order in 1918. He continued to serve in the military until 1924 and by
then had ceased to practice architecture. He died on 8th May 1948
aged 77 at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.
He married Margaret Voules in 1901 and had two children, a
son Arthur and daughter Yvonne. The son, Arthur Gordon Voules Hubback, served
in the Royal Navy, rising to become Fourth Sea Lord.
