A Macanese Entrepreneur

Praia Grande

During the 17^th Century, Macau was the "Venice" of European trade with China, Japan and South East Asia. Here is a picture of Praia Grande, with the stately homes of the traders of that era.

After the Opium War of 1842, Hong Kong was ceded to the British and trade between the European and Chinese soon moved from Macau to Hong Kong. Mercantile activities in Macao dwindled and the only jobs available to the Macanese in Macao were in government, gambling or infrastructure services. The Macanese soon followed the British to Hong Kong as clerks and intermediaries since they were conversant in all three languages, Portuguese, English and Chinese.

My great grandfather Joaquim António GomesClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (10842) to be taken to his personal page was born in Macau in 1832 and traces his ancestors back to Miguel de Macedo (1690 Macau). He married Prudência Maria dos RemédiosClick on the SEARCH icon and enter her ID number (10841) to be taken to her personal page and had nine children: EustrógiaClick on the SEARCH icon and enter her ID number (22689) to be taken to her personal page (Toja), João Jerónimo Click on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (14764) to be taken to his personal page (my grandfather), Timóteo AnastácioClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (10927) to be taken to his personal page (Chiquito), QuintinaClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (22690) to be taken to his personal page (Titi Chia), Carlos TiagoClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (14762) to be taken to his personal page (Carlito), JoanaClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (22712) to be taken to his personal page, Joaquim FranciscoClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (3085) to be taken to his personal page, José HipólitoClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (3293) to be taken to his personal page, (Coque) and Simplícia VeridianaClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (22728) to be taken to his personal page (Chicha).

My cousin Pureza d'Eça NunesClick on the SEARCH icon and enter her ID number (29736) to be taken to her personal page wrote that,

"I never got to meet our great grandfather but as a child I was fortunate to know our great grandmother Prudencia, fondly called Avó Chencha. She was bedridden for quite a long time, lovingly cared for by her daughters, our grand-aunts, and residing during the later years at Travessa do Roquete #7, near the Post Office in front of the Leal Senado where she died at 100 years of age (mais ou menos), having previously lived for many, many years at Travessa de Misericórdia, next to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia. The Travessa do Roquete house will always be remembered by the older ones as we used to cross over from Hong Kong with our family members to attend the more popular religious feasts, especially the Sabado da Cruz evening procession and the Sunday afternoon Procissão do Senhor dos Passos, with a different Veronica every year, stopping to sing at each of the seven stations and unfolding the scroll imprinted with the Holy Face of Jesus. These processions never failed to provide one of the most treasured reunions of the Capigalos¹."

Being 20 years younger then Pureza, I do not have her memory of those early years but I can remember the processions during and immediately after the war, especially the feast we use to have at Fat Sui Lau after the processions. At the last Encontro², I was fortunate to have my whole family in Macau and I took them over to Fat Sui Lau – I don't think anything has changed at that restaurant. Brought back great memories.

My cousin Pureza also remembers Tio Coque's children: AmáliaClick on the SEARCH icon and enter her ID number (3212) to be taken to her personal page, Maria MargaridaClick on the SEARCH icon and enter her ID number (3211) to be taken to her personal page and Luiz GonzagaClick on the SEARCH icon and enter her ID number (3214) to be taken to her personal page (Inho). She said, "Amalia (Soti) died young, Maria Margarida was a Public School teacher and brilliant concert pianist (Fellow of Trinity College of London – Music) and even worked for a time in opera and stage in Hollywood. Eventually she returned to Macau and I was fortunate to have her as my piano and music teacher."

Biography by Graciete Batalha

Pureza also said, "Luiz Gonzaga (Inho) was a Public School Teacher, violinist, researcher and author of several books on the History and Culture of Macau. He was fluent in Portuguese, English, French and Chinese." In the last Encontro (2007), in celebration of the centennial of his birth, Jorge RangelClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (831) to be taken to his personal page published a book about his contributions to Macanese culture and history. Jorge Forjaz (Vol II p41) calls him one of the most distinguished Macanese of the 20th Century. In Hong Kong my grandfather João Jerónimo worked for the Hong Kong and Whampoa docks as an accountant and lived in the employee quarters in the Hunghom area of Hongkong. He later joined Kowloon Docks and moved to the Kowloon Mata Moro in Granville Road. My grandfather was active in the Macanese community in Hong Kong and was one of the founding fathers of the Sociedade Beneficente Portuguesa de Hongkong. The Honorary President was Dr Lourenço MarquesClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (27903) to be taken to his personal page and the President of the General Assembly was Agostino G. Romano, Consul General of Portugal. Mr Jack BragaClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (14492) to be taken to his personal page writes in his memoirs that Club Recreio had its genesis in my grandfather's living room. He would offer his home to a group of friends to play cards every weekend and they became the founding members of Club Recreio3.

Biography by Jorge Rangel

My father Luiz Braz GomesClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (22741) to be taken to his personal page, the consummate entrepreneur, was born in Hong Kong in 1896. In his youth, he worked for General Electric of Great Britain in Canton, China as an accountant, but in the late 1920's he got bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and decided to go into business with his friend, William Jacks, and they formed William C. Jacks & Co, incorporated in Hong Kong.

Before the war, William C Jacks & Co had offices in Holland House in Hong Kong and a subsidiary called Phoebus Neon Light Company on Hangkow Road in Kowloon. The company imported electrical appliances and exported enamelware and Hong Kong made textiles. For better or worse, his company erected the first neon light sign on Nathan Road, Kowloon and forever changed the appearance of this majestic street.

William C. Jacks & Co was quite successful in those days, and we lived a fairly comfortable life. He was even able to purchase a house, in Humphrey's Ave for his family and enjoy the company of his friends in the "Club" playing hearts and manila. He also indulged in his life-long passion – hunting in the New Territories with his friends.

Christmas Shoot 1949 – Pak Tam Chang Collection Victor Roza-Pereira

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation 1946

He especially enjoyed visiting my mother's cousins "the Cruz family" in Saigon to hunt wild boar. However, the Second World War changed everything. At the outbreak of the war, his partner and friend Williams C. Jacks died and my father was left with the unenviable task of liquidating the business and joined the rest of the community in the mass evacuation to Macao. Portugal was neutral during the Second World War, so the Macao government arranged for two mass evacuations to Macao. The first evacuation took place in January 1942, and some months later there was a second evacuation which, included our family. Most of the Portuguese from Hong Kong who went to Macao during the war lived in communal settings and were fed by the Portuguese authorities. We however were fortunate, since my father received a subsidy from the British Government and was also able to garner employment with Melco Electric since his uncle worked as a mechanical engineer for the company. The money he received from Melco was deducted from our subsidy, but the job kept him busy and productive during those dark days of the war, and we were able to buy goods such as beans, rice, oil, etc at the company store at a reduced rate. After the war, in 1945 my father and my older brother JackieClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (22758) to be taken to his personal page returned to Hong Kong and prepared the house on Humphrey's Ave for the family and restarted William C. Jacks & Co. The house was in awful disrepair as squatters had settled in during the war. The population of Hong Kong had dwindled to 600,000 as most had fled to China and Macau during the occupation. In the aftermath of the war, the government and business leaders in Hong Kong were anxious to get as many businesses going as fast as possible. Dad was able to get a loan from the Bank and restarted William C. Jacks & Co. He had no collateral, but fortunately for him, many of his Macanese friends went back to work for the major Banks in Hong Kong. I always remember him telling me that he got the loan based on "his reputation and a handshake". He set up his main office on 7 Ice House Street (Fu House) in Hong Kong and established an electrical repair business in the godown in Kowloon.

Godowns in Kowloon near Holts Wharf

Many Macanese entrepreneurs who returned to Hong Kong after the war also established offices in Fu House. During my teens, I spent many a summer in that building visiting with many of the Macanese business owners. William C Jacks & Co exported textiles and enamelware to South East Asia, South Africa and South America. They also imported small machinery and refurbish them in a warehouse near the old Holts Wharf in Kowloon. In my youth, I would ride my bike over to the warehouse and chat with the workmen repairing electrical machinery. I learned a great deal from them and became adept at fixing the dynamo which ran the lights on my bike. I always enjoyed spending time there, until one day, I saw one of the workman get electrocuted – I never went back again. My father, like most Macanese of that era, hired many relatives and friends. My mother's cousin, Tully VictorClick on the SEARCH icon and enter her ID number (32355) to be taken to her personal page worked for my father in the Kowloon Office, next to Lambert Brothers Auctioneers, in those early years. My Uncle Francisco "Bottles" BotelhoClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (37331) to be taken to his personal page worked for him for many years after the war; he would live with us during the week and commute back to his home in Macao on the weekends. My father's sister, Auntie Mia RemediosClick on the SEARCH icon and enter her ID number (9741) to be taken to her personal page worked for him after her husband passed away. My dad's friend Mr. Ribeiro, worked for him as an accountant. He even had a Spanish Interpreter, Mr. Fong, who prepared all the documents for South America. Even my brother Jackie worked for him when he returned from Brazil in the early fifties. The business thrived after the war and there were over 30 full time employees between his office in Hong Kong and the Godown in Kowloon. Unfortunately my father did not understand that not everyone was as generous and honest as himself. He was an easy mark and was defrauded by a Brazilian firm, which took him for a substantial sum of money. The Brazilian Company ordered some machinery from him and sent him a Letter of Credit for HK$1,000,000 drawn on a reputable bank. He shipped the goods and when it arrived in Brazil, they would not accept the goods, so it sat on the docks while the lawyers had a field day. He finally had to settle for 50 cents on the dollar. That was a lot of money in those days and William C. Jacks & Co never fully recovered after that, and was sold to an American company in the late 40's.

A very interesting thing happened after my father left William C. Jacks & Co. I remember a family meeting to discuss finances, since my father would not be drawing a monthly salary from his business in the near future. To our surprise, my mother brought out her savings book and turned it over to my dad – apparently, all these years she had been saving a portion of the household expenses. I learned a valuable lesson from my mother – always prepare for a rainy day. We subsisted on her savings while my dad started a new business.

My father then started an Import and Export business on his own called Luiz B Gomes & Co in the early 50's. They imported used Singer Industrial sewing machines, refurbished them, and sold them to the textile factories cropping up in the new territories. In the early days of the business, he had the used Singer Industrial sewing machines delivered to our house on Humphrey's Avenue and his employees would recondition them in our front yard. Even I learned to recondition the old machines. What a sight this was – I am sure our neighbors were not very happy with us.

He then imported sewing machines from Japan and opened a showroom in Prince Edward Road in the early 50's, to display his imported sewing machines and give sewing classes. He even had his own brand name "Gomesco" on his sewing machines. He exported clothing and enamelware to South Africa and other Latin American countries from his Hong Kong office – however, he never traded with Brazil again. He also had a granite quarry at the end of Diamond Hill. My brother Francis, and I, loved to ride our bikes to the quarry and play in the hills above the quarry. We were always very careful and paid attention to the red flag and horn which would signal that they were ready to set of a series of dynamites to dislodge the granite. We must have paid attention, or our guardian angels sure worked overtime, since we are both still alive today. This company lacked capital and never achieved its full potential. However, it survived for close to 15 years and provided a decent living for our family.

My father had many great qualities, but the one I most value, is time he spent with the family even though he had a very busy schedule. Every Sunday, throughout the summers, he would pile us into his old Oldsmobile, and take us to the "shack" at Eleven Mile Beach. We would leave right after Mass on Sunday mornings and come home late at night after dinner. This was the highpoint of our lives – These were the best of times.

¹    Capigalos (Squeeze fighting cock) Nickname of the Gomes family. Daniel Gomes reports on a family legend: "Apparently one of my forefathers was a cockfight aficionado and always had a cock tucked under his armpit as he indulged in that sport."

²     Every three years or so, an Encontro (Meeting) is organised to bring together, for about a week, Macanese from all over the world.

³    Extract from In Search of a Better World

CLUB DE RECREIO

The Portuguese population in Kowloon was growing rapidly and the need was felt for a place for social gatherings According to JP Braga "the seed of the idea" for the Club de Recreio at Kowloon had its modest beginnings on the ground floor of a private residence in Granville Road at Kowloon. The house was tenanted by João Gomes, a clerk in the employ of the Hongkong & Whampoa Dock Co.

Gomes and his family had been a resident of Kowloon for many years. In the course of an informal conversation one evening, a group of friends suggested that they might look around for some convenient central meeting place where they could gather every evening and enjoy a quiet game of cards or other indoor recreation. Gomes generously placed the room at the disposal of his small group of friends, rent-free. Frequent meetings were suggested and from this small beginning, a club was started.