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Brigadier General Arthur Benison Hubback CMG, DSO - Architect
Brigadier General Arthur Benison Hubback CMG, DSO (1871-1948) is usually credited as the master architect who designed The Kuala Lumpur Train Station (now commonly called The Kuala Lumpur KTM Komuter Station) and The Railway Administrative Building in Kuala Lumpur during The Massive Buildings Period. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser of 28 December 1909 reported that Mr A B Hubback has been admitted to the Fellowship of RIBA. It added that among the drawings submitted by him were Railway Offices; Town Hall; Mosque, Kuala Lumpur; Malay Residential School, Kuala Kangsar; Residency, Seremban; Anderson School, Ipoh; and Tanjong Rambutan Asylum (Central Mental Hospital. Among his other notable works on buildings there are several more in Perak as can be seen in this list of his major works.
- The Railway Station, Ipoh, Perak
- The Old City Hall, Kuala Lumpur (Now Panggung Bandaraya)
- Ipoh Town Hall Building, Perak
- The White House of Klang (Now Galeri Diraja Sultan Abdul Aziz, under the auspices of the Sultan of Selangor)
- Jamek Mosque, Kuala Lumpur (Masjid Jamek)
- Ubudiah Mosque, Kuala Kangsar, (Masjid Ubaidah, under the auspices of the Sultan of Perak).
- State Secretariat Building, Seremban (Now State Library)
- Numerous smaller buildings in Medan Pasar, Kuala Lumpur
- Post Office, Kuala Lumpur
- Kowloon Canton Terminus, Tsim Sha Shui, Hong Kong
Known as A B Hubback when he arrived in Malaya, Arthur became Chief Architect to the Federated Malay States (FMS), but would later return to the United Kingdom to begin his military career. It is often said that he was the first British Architect to achieve the honour of the rank of Brigadier General. Of importance, the family name 'Hubback' is always misspelled in books, publications, magazines, websites; even on plaques displayed at the buildings he designed as 'Hubbock'. The same can be said about his initials. We hope that by writing this archive, we can help spread awareness and to correct such mistakes.
We are grateful to the Hubback family and to Lloyd Gan, the webmaster of http://www.thehubbacks.org/2008/09/who-are-hubback-brothers.html which allowed us to use the above information
We are also informed that before the Great War (1914-1918) A B Hubback also served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Malay States Volunteer Rifles (MSVR) for many years and had a tremendous interest in the Corps.
Known to his friends as "Trilby", did not return to the Civil Service after the war, but continued in the army. He married a sister of A B Voules, Legal Adviser to the FMS and had one son, Gordon, who joined the Royal Navy and served as an officer in HMS Malaya.
His brother, Theodore, was a well known Big Game Hunter from Negri Sembilan who often hunted in Pahang, where he had a residence by the Jelai River, near Bukit Kota. He also owned a rubber estate near Jelebu.
To read more about The Ipoh Town Hall, click here.
To read more about the first Anderson School building, click here.
To read more about The Ipoh Railway Station and Hotel, click here.
To read more about The Central Mental Hospital, click here.
To read a short introduction to local volunteer forces, click here.