# Loke Wan Tho

Tan Sri Loke Wan Tho (simplified Chinese: 陆运涛; traditional Chinese: 陸運濤; pinyin: Lù Yùntáo; Jyutping: Luk6 Wan6 Tou4; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lio̍k Ūn-tô; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Lu̍k Yun-thàu; 14 June 1915 - 20 June 1964) was a Malaysian business magnate, ornithologist, and photographer. He was the founder of Cathay Organisation in Singapore and Malaysia and the chairman of Cathay Organisation, which included Cathay Cinemas and Cathay-Keris Film Productions. He was also involved in the Motion Picture and General Investments Limited (MP&GI) in Hong Kong.

## Early life and education

Born on 14 June 1915, in Kuala Lumpur, Loke Wan Tho was the ninth child of Loke Yew, an ethnic Chinese businessman of Cantonese descent, and his wife of mixed Hokkien-Hakka ancestry named Loke Cheng Kim.
Loke was 2 years old when his father died. His early education was in Kuala Lumpur at the Victoria Institution, a school set up by the British for Chinese boys which counted his father as one of its founders.
In 1929, due to his delicate health, Loke and his two younger sisters were taken by his mother to Chillon College in Montreux, Switzerland. Loke was the Swiss County (Vaud) long jump champion in 1932.
Loke then attended King's College, Cambridge where he obtained an honours degree in English Literature and History in 1936. For a brief period afterwards, he attended the London School of Economics before returning to Malaya just before the outbreak of the Second World War.

## Biography

During World War II, in February 1942, Loke boarded the vessel Nora Moller, in order to leave Malaya before the Japanese army could arrive. The Nora Moller was sunk by a Japanese aircraft in the Strait of Bangka. He was rescued, but suffered from temporary blindness and severe burns. Later, he was hospitalized in Batavia and then evacuated to India. He survived his injuries, and, after arriving in Bomba, was introduced to the Indian ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali, who eventually became a lifelong friend and a frequent companion on many major expeditions. Loke credited Salim with inspiring his passion and wrote in his book A Company of Birds: "Under the guidance of an expert (Salim Ali) my interest in birds which hitherto had been but of a dilettante kind blossomed into a deeper passion."
In 2008, Bombay Natural History Society, published the book Loke Wan Tho’s Birds. A large collection of his bird photographs is kept in the library of the Bombay Natural History Society at Mumbai.

## Business career

Loke inherited a large fortune of tin mines, plantations and properties from his father, and went on to grow the company which he formed together with his mother in 1935 called Associated Theatres Ltd. The Pavilion Cinema in Kuala Lumpur and the Cathay Cinema in Singapore were built. Partnerships were forged with other filmmakers such as Ho Ah Loke to form the Cathay cinema circuit, which counted 80 cinemas at its peak. Associated Theatres Ltd. later changed its name to Cathay Organisation in 1959.
By 1953, Loke and Ho had started the production of films at Cathay Keris Studios, which were purpose built. Loke's other studios have produced various films, such as Pontianak, Orang Minyak, Bawang Puteh Bawang Merah, Hang Tuah, and Hang Jebat.
Loke also bought a Honk Kong film studio in 1955 and started to produce a library of Chinese films to supply to his chain of cinemas which stretched from Singapore to Bangkok. The films were also distributed to the region and Cathay stars like Ge Lan, You Min, Lin Dai, and Yeh Fung. The films became household names in Indochina, Thailand, Burma, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Sarawak, Borneo, and of course Singapore and Malaya.
The Cathay Organisation, of which Loke was chairman, owned and operated cinemas and film studios, produced Malay and Chinese films, and owned and operated hotels and restaurants. (The Cathay Hotel, Ocean Park Hotel, and their attendant restaurants in Singapore; and Grand Pacific Hotel and The Cathay Hotel Lautoka in Fiji.) He also had interests in rubber, palm oil and coconut plantations in Malaysia.
From the end of the war Loke had become increasingly involved in the business world. Besides his own companies, he was Chairman of Malayan Airways Ltd, Singapore Telephone Board, Malayan Banking; and was among the board of directors at Wearne Brothers, Sime Darby, Kwong Yik Bank, Great Eastern Life, H.A. O'Connor's Ltd, Straits Steamship Co. Ltd, and Rediffusion Singapore Ltd.
In his lifetime, Loke was honoured by the state of Kelantan in Malaysia, from which he received his Datoship.

## Personal life

In September 1963, Loke married his third wife, Mavis Chew in London.
On 20 June 1964, Loke and his wife were killed in the crash of Civil Air Transport Flight B-908, along with his chief executives, leaving Taichung after attending the 11th Asian Film Festival.

## Honours
### Honour of Malaya

* Malaya :
** Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) – Tan Sri (1961)

## Memorials

* Loke Wan Tho Photography Exhibit is housed on 3rd floor of Singapore Photography Society
* Loke Wan Tho Library in Singapore Jurong Bird Park
* Wan Tho Avenue in Potong Pasir, Singapore
* Loke Wan Tho Star, No. 38 Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong
* Museum open to the public housed on 2nd floor of The Cathay

## Publications

* A Company of Birds. Michael Joseph, London 1959
* Angkor, by Malcolm MacDonald and Loke Wan Tho, Jonathan Cape, London, 1958,59,60.
* Text by Malcolm MacDonald, with chapters including "The History of Khmers"。"The Ruins of Khmers"。 111 Black and White Plates of Angkor Wat, taken by Loke Wan Tho and M.MacDonald。