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THE GOLDEN NEEDLE
THE BIOGRAPHY OF FREDERICK STEWART
DE83-1389)
by Gillian Bickley
BOOK REVIEW
Gillian Bickley (1997), The Golden Needle: The Biography of Frederick Stewart (1836-1889), with a foreword by Lady Saltoun, Hong Kong: David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies.
Frederick Stewart, born in Buchan, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, was known by his contemporaries as the “founder of Hong Kong Government education.” He was the first headmaster of the Central School, now Queen's College, which led Hong Kong English education from 1862 until 1911 when the first university in Hong Kong was established.
Stewart became Registrar General, then Colonial Secretary, acting as Governor of Hong Kong on several occasions. He was keenly aware of his historical context at the meeting of the two cultures of East and West, and of his role as a facilitator in the modernisation of Chinese thought. His consistent policy was to educate pupils in Western knowledge, while preserving their Chinese identity, and he insisted on equal time for Chinese and English studies. Although retiring, unassuming and modest, Stewart was highly popular among the Chinese, foreign and Portuguese communities. By the end of his life, Stewart's intimate knowledge of Hong Kong was considered unequalled among non-Chinese in Hong Kong at the time. Never married or in particularly good health, he died at the early age of 52 of double pneumonia and is buried at Happy Valley.
“Unassuming and modest,” in the nicest possible way, might be a good description of the book and its author. Although the book is printed using an unusually small font, it still manages to be 308 pages long, which gives you an idea of the amount of content. As regards the author, who is an Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Baptist