Trevor Sunderland
Some of you may wonder to whom I am referring.
Mr. Harold A. cheong once told me that there were too many Cheongs and decided to differentiate himself fom all the other Cheongs by adding his mother’s family name hing and thus became known as Mr Hing Cheong.
Furthermore he also preferred not to use his christian name “Harold” and preferred to be called Tony.
The foregoing is a brief summary of how Harold A. Cheong became Tony Hing Cheong.
When one starts out in life one never knows where one’s path is going to lead or who one is going to meet along the way. Tony arrived in The Bahamas in 1955. He had been recruited by Mr. Sweetnam of the Crown Lands Office along with another person by the name of Mr. Len Chee-A-Tow. To add to this coincidence Tony was married to Estelle who was Len Chee-A-Tow’s sister.
I arrived in The Bahamas in 1963 however I did not get to know Tony until 1972 when I was invited to become a member of the Rotary Club of East Nassau. At that time I came to know Tony and of course many of the other members of not only the Rotary Club of East Nassau but the other Rotary Clubs in Nassau.
In those early days it became obvious that Tony was the living version of the motto of all Rotary Clubs around the world and that is “Service Above Self”.
It was equally obvious that Tony was not a person who accepted the motto in principal but actually practiced it. In other words not only did he “talk the talk” but he “walked the walk”
The Rotary Club of East Nassau was formed in 1963 however Tony was not a founder member. In fact he had originally been asked to join the Rotary Club of Nassau. He declined the invitation because his job at the Crown Lands Office did not permit him the time to serve Rotary.
Fortunately, about 2 years later one of his friend’s, Sy Amoury persuaded him to join the fledgling Rotary Club of East Nassau. I use the word persuaded because to get Tony to change his mind was not easy – in fact there were times when he was downright stubborn.
I recall one of the early projects I was asked to participate along with other members of the Rotary Club was the construction of a utility shed at the Girl Guides camp in south beach. Needless to say after I had been there for a short while it became very evident that Rotarian Tony was in charge. He had volunteers undertake certain elements of the task, Tony was also the one who had taken a full box of tools so that we could not fail in our task.
During this time Tony was dashing here, there and everywhere ensuring the project was running on all cylinders. Of course the mission was successfully accomplished.
Although I have to confess I am not sure it was of the highest standard as I recall arriving home with something in my pocket – it was the roll of sealing tape that one was supposed to use prior to inserting the screws into the roof!
Nonetheless the project proved to be an eye-opener of what can be accomplished by a group of volunteers. Apart from the actual accomplishment the banter and camaraderie that ensued brought all of us much closer together as friends.
This type of “hands-on” projects were those where Tony excelled. He was a very practical person and was prepared to turn his hand to anything such as building, carpentry, plumbing, painting, repairing machinery especially motor cars etc. etc.
It is likely that a great deal of this knowledge was acquired in his early days in Guyana. He used to tell me stories of his early working days with the Guyanese Department of Lands & Mines.
At that time his talents were quickly noticed and was fast-tracked to greater things. On one occasion his boss advised him that he was going to give him a promotion and send him as a District Officer to a remote part of Guyana. Tony in his usual deferential manner said he could not accept. His boss looked at him in surprise and asked why. Tony replied that he was under age (still not 21) to be appointed a District Officer.
This caught his boss off guard but it was only a matter of time – i.e. as soon as he was of legal age he was sent off as a District Officer.
He recounted many stories over the years of his time in the jungle and its surrounds. He recalled various incidents including accidents, illnesses and what they had to eat etc.
One of the accomplishments of which he was rightly proud was the fact that he located all the markers that defined the internal boundaries of the country of Guyana. As you can imagine many of these markers were in very remote areas and often proved very difficult to travel there – driving through river beds and getting stuck etc. You knew however that once Tony got his teeth into something it was going to get accomplished! I did say he could be stubborn didn’t I? He certainly used this part of his make up as a driving force and would not readily accept defeat.
I now revert to Rotary times where Tony continued to spearhead or participate in nearly every hands-on project. His efforts were only too readily noticed and on several occasions he was asked to take office but every time the answer was “no”.
His main reason being that his job did not allow him the time he perceived it took to be an officer of Rotary. Although Tony enjoyed rotary he made it very clear that his job came first and foremost.
I have to confess that Tony was one of the most dedicated Civil Servants I have ever known.
As you may be aware Crown Lands was administered by the British Government – it was a part of the colonial days. Following independence the department came under the administration of The Bahamas Government and was re-titled the Department of Lands & Surveys.
All such changes had no impact whatsoever on Tony and his job. He knew what he had to do and simply got on with it irrespective of who was his boss. He recounted stories of times when he received a phone call from Sir Roland Symonette who was then Premier of The Bahamas who wanted to discuss something relative to Crown Lands. Tony said that he would be pleased to meet with him only to have Sir Roland say “no” I’ll come to your office. Tony could not believe that such a VIP would come and visit him!
He also mentioned the subsequent governments where he made his position very clear and outlined the correct procedures that needed to be followed. He was totally apolitical.
Over the years we have all been aware of bribes and favours. And on several occasions I have been known to say that everyone has their price. I think however there could have been one exception – namely Tony. I do not think he had a price he was the epitome of integrity. If only the world was blessed with more persons who held such high moral values as Tony.
Another foible of Tony’s which I found to be highly commendable were his values. He was a very simple down-to-earth person as you could meet. He had no interest whatsoever in collecting material things. I think this was underlined by his simple life-style and the fact that he chose to live in his “jungle in The Bahamas” on Tire Trail Road where he originally acquired 11 acres of woodland and where he built his home.
He was not a man for the hustle and bustle of a big city.
Reverting again to Rotary he was asked once more to consider becoming President of the Rotary Club of East Nassau. I cannot clearly recall just what circumstances had changed but he accepted and was President for the year 1982 – 1983.
The usual Rotary way for one to be elected President was initially to be elected to a lower position and then work one’s way up. This process provided the opportunity to learn all the facets of Rotary prior to becoming president. In Tony’s case he went straight to the top. I was privileged however that he asked me to be his Secretary which provided me with an ideal platform to be able to give him my full support.
This bonded our relationship even more and needless to say Tony had a great year as President. Although he disliked being in the limelight being President did not let it deter him from his job.
Over the years Tony was recognised for his efforts in community service on several occasions by being awarded a Paul Harris Fellow – at that time this was one of the highest awards that the East Nassau Rotary Club bestowed on its members.
In 1984, at the age of 60, Tony retired from Lands & Surveys. He said he had devoted himself to a lifetime of being a Civil Servant and it was time and to make room for others. He was asked to stay on but the streak of stubborness re-appeared and he was not prepared to re-consider.
However when problems began to surface at the Lands & Surveys department in 2007 he was invited back to the department, initially to provide consulting services. It soon became apparent that in order to fully undertake his work it was necessary for him to have an official title – he was appointed Surveyor General.
All this at the age of 83.
He was that highly respected and had direct access to the Prime Minister. He remained in this position for a period of 18 months before finally calling it a day. The driving to and from work troubled him considerably with so many inconsiderate drivers on the road it was proving to be too stressful.
Nonetheless his usual volunteering to help out when needed was highly appreciated by the prime minister who has publicly acknowledged Tony’s passing and offered condolences to the family – a very fitting tribute to a dedicated employee.
Throughout his life Tony dedicated himself to others yet he was most reluctant to allow other people offer him assistance. He habitually said “no” he did not want to cause a problem or be a nuisance.
Fortunately in his latter years when his health began to deteriorate he yielded a little. He allowed my wife and I to take him to doctors appointments. He hated going to the doctors and disliked the sight of blood.
It was not until the last few months that he allowed me to go and pick him up for one of our frequent Saturday morning coffee meetings. It was an event that Tony thoroughly enjoyed.
The coffee mornings started several years ago. Tony liked his cup of coffee and several of us – all past Rotarians (invariably past presidents) – decided to meet every two or three weeks for coffee and to talk about the good old days.
The original foursome was myself, Tony, Philip Worrell and Sidney Sweeting. We subsequently welcomed Al Cartwright, Terry Mosko and Fred Cadman and more recently we have been joined by Sir Durward Knowles and Rev. Charles Sweeting.
We have had some wonderful times sharing banter and stories for the next two hours – it was an extension of our Rotary experience – namely fellowship.
In fact we used to refer to ourselves as the Rotary Club of Palmdale.
This last year however has seen a dwindling of our numbers. Firstly Fred Cadman passed away within 3 days of sharing his last coffee with us, then Philip Worrell had a fall and now has Alzheimer’s. And now we have lost Tony.
I am fortunate to have had one last happy memory of Tony.
It was when we left the doctors office at Lyford Cay where he had been advised that he needed to have surgery on his foot as the injury was so bad that the doctor was unable to treat it adequately. I asked the doctor when he should be admitted to which the doctor replied the sooner the better – he could lose his foot. I looked at Tony and asked if we should go now? He said “yes”.
As I drove away from the doctor’s I suggested we stop off at the nearby News Café and have a coffee. He readily agreed. We sat outside under the shade of the umbrella. It was a gorgeous sunny day with a refreshing breeze blowing. It was The Bahamas at its best – it was pure delight to just sit there and discuss certain issues especially after his foot had healed and he could then move about again.
Of course he kept apologising for keeping me from work. I responded to tony that this opportunity was far better than any work – somehow I do not think I was able to convince him.
His last few weeks in hospital were not what any of us wished for him – it seemed so undeserved. However it was for a relatively short time.
I guess, in a way, Tony has won – he is no longer “a nuisance” nor “a trouble”.
Unfortunately, although I tried my best, I do not think he accepted the fact that he was never a trouble as we, especially to me. I enjoyed his company.
However, Tony was too modest to allow himself to believe that.
Nonetheless, it really has been a distinct pleasure to have met Tony on my journey through life for which I am truly grateful.
May he now Rest in Peace.
