Chittagong Club Limited

The History of the Chittagong Club Ltd. may be traced from the year 1875 when Mr. W. A. Campbell a well-known Tea Planter of that period started a club in that year. It was placed at the disposal of only the Tea Planters of the District but they had to make their own arrangement both for servant and food during their stay.

During 1870s the Tea Industries stated to grow at a rapid pace, the Chittagong Hill Tracts were opened, the Steamer Services were improved, large four-masted sailing Vessels began to call at Chittagong Port and more officials were posted in the District.

As a result Campbell’s provisional club became too small to provide facilities for a large influx of officials. Discussion began to start a club having adequate accommodation and facilities for increased number of European residents and on 23rd August 1878 Campbell’s Provisional Club was taken over by the Chittagong Club which opened its doors to all European residents of the District in the building situated on the Hill near the Telegraph Office, known as Forest Bungalow.

To improve the services and accommodation new residential quarters were provided, a Badminton Court was built, a Billiard table (Englishman’s favourite pastime) was procured and everything was done to bring the club up-to-date as far as its limited resources allowed. The first Hony Secretary was R. D. Murray. But the club really attained some importance when D. R. Lyall CSI the Commissioner of Chittagong became the Chairman of the Committee. He called the first meeting of the volunteers in the Club premises on 3rd March 1885 to discuss ways and means of starting a Race meet and the first Meet was held I April of that year at the Chittagong Stadium.

In the early 1890s work began on the Railway with the result that there was a large influx of Europeans; houses sprang up on all hilltops and general tempo of life at Chittagong increased. The Club became too small for its large number of members and their guests.

In order to overcome this difficulty a new Club house was erected at the present site which was known as Pioneer Hill and was originally the site of a Tea Garden planted in 1840. The land belonged to a big landlord of the time Rai Nityananda Rai Bahadur who very kindly gave the land to the club at a nominal rental.

The club at this premises was opened on the 27th March 1901 and in 1908 it was registered as a company and as per Article 1 the membership was restricted to only 100 members but the Committee was authorized to alter this number as and when required. There was no Ballotting Committee and proposal for permanent Membership was decided at an extraordinary general meeting where every member could vote for or against a candidate and any two members of the club could Black Ball.

After the registration of the club under the companies Act the administration was put on proper footing, membership increased, new rooms were added to the original halls, a Billiard room was built, books were collected for a library and the club continued to provide facilities and amenities to its members and visitors to Chittagong.

An exciting event, which failed to materialize, was the decision of the Armoury Raid group to blow up the club in 1930. According to a member of the group, fuses and detonators were placed quietly all over the hill and a time was fixed to ignite them so that this symbol of British Raj could be brought down with its foreign inhabitants. However it was Easter time and the members had gone to Calcutta or Cox’s Bazar for vacation. The revolutionaries gave up the idea and spared the place when they found that the only inhabitants at the time were a few sleepy abdars and mosallchis. During the Second World War the club acted as host to many an officer of the Armed Forces passing through Chittagong before or after the Burmah Campaigns and several stories of club hospitality and friendly atmosphere are on record.

Partition in 1947:

The partition and subsequent independence of this sub-continent in the year 1947 brought fresh opportunities as well as challenges to the club. The club authorities during these periods made good use of the former and adequately met the latter.

The Committee of the club at the time of partition consisted entirely of expatriates. The first non-expatriate who is known to have joined it was renowned for his jokes. Even long after his departure from Chittagong his jokes and repartees are fondly remembered by those members who had the privilege of hearing it from him.

There is a nice story about A.B.Z. Hasan. It appears that in one of the A.G.M. when the club accounts were being discussed he also drew the attention of the chair that he would like to speak about some points in the accounts. On being permitted he rose and started cutting some jokes. In his 30 minutes speech the entire house burst into a roar of laughter hearing his jokes and repartees. Ultimately he sat down without raising any points about the accounts. The first Pakistani to be elected as Chairman of the club committee was Mr. N.M. Khan, the then Commissioner of Chittagong Division. During his regime many Articles of the club and bye-laws were amended in keeping with the spirit of the time. An elected Ballotting Committee came into existence so that new members could be admitted by the chosen representatives.

When considering the services rendered by some well-known past Chairman, mention must be made about the remarkable and outstanding services rendered by Mr. M. Shabbir Ahmed who was Chairman of the Club committee for 15 terms from 1953-54 to 1954-55, 1956-57, to 1958-59, and from 1961-62, to 1970-71. During his long association with the club first as Joint Honorary Secretary with C.W. Tassie and then as Chairman of the Committee many of the new constructions and renovation of the club including the construction of Swimming Pool were completed. His great services to the club will always be remembered with gratitude by the members who have seen the development of the Club.

The Hony., Secretaries of the early years who have left permanent mark on the state of the club were Ted Boase, Bill Cookes (both of Lloyds Bank) and Colin Tassie continued to look after the interest of the club for a long time. During this period the club building was rehabilitated and signs of neglect of years immediately preceding independence of the sub-continent were removed. Cottages for living accommodation were built with the financial assistance of various companies, cubicles to accommodate members and their guests who were flocking to this boom town were constructed in the area which now comprises Card Room and Cinema Hall. Three new Tennis courts were laid at the present site and a plan for remodeling the club building and constructing a Swimming Pool were made and put up before the members but these plans were not put into effect as there was a dispute regarding the ownership of the land on which the club is situated.

The controversy regarding the ownership of land of club as well as other adjacent area cropped up soon after partition both the Provincial Govt. and the Military claiming the ownership of the entire area from Almas Cinema to Christ Church. Ultimately Military got the ownership of the entire area and by Martial Law order No.41 dated 2nd January 1959 resumed the control of the entire area measuring about 280.484 acres. The club authorities were than asked to apply for lease from the Military estate Officer but the premium demanded was Rs. 5.68 lacs which the club with its limited resources could hardly afford to pay. However through the persistent effort of Tassie and Shabbir Ahmed and the reasonable attitude taken by the Military Authorities, the premium was reduced to a nominal amount of Rs. 100/- which was promptly paid. A lease for 99 years was executed by a registered deed on 26th July 1961.

As soon as the proper title was established proposals for renovation of the club building and construction of Swimming Pool was revived. A comprehensive scheme was put up before an extra-ordinary general meeting of the Members held on 23rd October 1962 and approved amongst enthusiasm and pleasant anticipation.

Now the club can boast of an Olympic sized Swimming Pool situated in a picturesque surroundings with a filtration plant running 24 hours, a bar and other conveniences. The Cinema Auditorium of the club which can seat 300 persons is the best hall in the town. The new dining room, the renovated Billiard Room and the new lounge have greatly improved the look and added to the joys of visiting the club. These additions and improvements together with other facilities available such as Tennis, Squash, Library, Cinema, Housie, Card-room, Cricket Section provide larger number of amenities for the members than any other club does in the country.

With the growth of membership, the renovations and improvements in the building and the additional facilities made available, the real character of the club has not been allowed to change. The club life and its atmosphere have continued to be friendly, cordial and relaxed. The membership which is truly cosmopolitan mixes well and without any stress. The club has retained its reputation as the foremost institution of its kind in the country. It has become a family club where not only the members but their families also could enjoy its amenities. The present Management has conceived a plan for the construction of a Residential Hostel for members and their guest since the available accommodations has become inadequate due to increase in the number of members. It is intended to call an extra-ordinary general meeting of the members very soon where the plan and estimate would be put up for approval and hope that the foundation of the accommodation would be laid during the centenary celebrations of the club.

The club has also been lucky in having devoted and faithful members of the staff. There are several cases like that of Nasir Bearer who was employed at the age of 16 and retired at the age of 68. Our previous cashier Babu Durga Prasanna Chakraborty joined the club in 1929 and retired in 1975.