When British couple Brian and Chris Duggan first came to Macau, it was on holiday with their children in 1978. They took the 3-hour boat trip from Hong Kong where they were living at the time and stayed at the Sintra hotel, which along with the Lisboa hotel and casino, were the tallest buildings in the city.
“We fell in love with Macau for its obvious relaxed Mediterranean feel rather than the more formal British life-style in Hong Kong”, explains Brian.
The pace of everything back then was very laid back.
“We’d take the children to see the water buffalo ploughing the paddy fields in Taipa!”
Being devout Christians they also appreciated that Macau is full of Christian celebrations, so they started visiting more regularly … particularly when the Hong Kong University where Brian worked as a lecturer had their long holiday break at Easter. The Feast Day in Coloane, the vibrancy of Chinese New Year with its fireworks – it all seemed like a magical place.
Fast forward 20 years, and Brian’s retirement date was looming and neither of them were looking forward to the prospect of moving back to England. Chris sensed this and in 1999 she told Brian that she’d be prepared to retire in Asia if they could live in Macau.
And so the decision was made and they started to look for a home here, but try as they may, they couldn’t find a single estate agent in those days who could speak English. Eventually it all got too difficult so they bought an apartment in Hillsborough Court on Old Peak Road in Hong Kong. Brian was persuaded by the university Dean to stay on to set up the Medical Engineering degree programme, a first of its kind for Hong Kong.
But Macau kept calling. So in early 2003 during the SARS outbreak in Guangdong and Hong Kong, when property prices starting dropping like a stone, through the help of English friends David and Jackie (owners of the Macau Soul wine bar), they eventually settled on a 2,600 square foot apartment in Hellene Gardens, Coloane – at that time costing the grand sum of HK$500 a square foot. In 2005, they rented out their Hillsborough Court hone and moved to Macau.
As he was still working for Hong Kong University, for the next couple of years Brian commuted to Hong Kong every day. Once his work was complete on the degree programme he became advisor to the university President.
Then, on Boxing Day 2006, while strolling through the Tap Seac area they saw an estate agent shop with signs in the window in English. The agent was friendly and spoke good English and took them to see a roof top apartment of a 14-storey building a short walk along the Praia Grande towards town. Built in the 1980’s, the apartment for sale was huge: 4,000 square feet on one level, plus another 4,000 square feet above, half of which is open terrace.
“It was a total wreck,” laughs Brian, “and needed an entire rebuild”, but the Duggans decided to take the project on.
Prices were soft at the time due to the Bird Flu outbreak, so it was a brave move, but at HK$1,000 a square foot for a central Macau location, it has proved to be a very sound investment decision.
And besides, “we love living here,” says Chris, “there are three supermarkets, the centre of town and the central business district all within a two-minute walk. We like our neighbours, most of whom are older owner residents.”
“When we first bought,” Brian says, “one could see from our roof terrace straight through to the airport, but since then of course so many new buildings have come up – Lake View Tower, Wynn Encore, MGM, Le Arc, One Central Residences and the Mandarin Oriental – what big changes there have been!”
It took a year to remodel and renovate. Virtually everything, building materials and furnishing was bought direct from across the border in China at a fraction of the price that it was in Macau. There are now five bedrooms, four bathrooms, Brian’s study, a library, formal living room, formal dining room, spacious kitchen, housekeeper’s room cum laundry and two balconies on the first floor. Up the internal staircase and there is a very large family dining and living room, a sixth bathroom and an enormous roof terrace. Tables and chairs are set out on the terrace for after-dinner scrabble contests.
Flooring is golden-gleaming teak wood parquet, while the walls, sofas and chairs are predominantly white. Splashes of colour come from the oriental rugs, curtains and artwork – some copies by local artists of the well-known Beijing-style art, some others beautiful Irish landscapes by Gillian Icke. And pride of place – some on counter tops, some in glass fronted cabinets – stand the Duggan’s collection of Shi Wan glazed ceramic figurines, many in the classic reds and blue.
A mock fireplace provides the focus to the formal living area. Decorative coloured glass inlay set in frosted glass panels in some doors encourages plenty of natural light to flood in.
The Duggans have been married now for 50 years and over that time have made a huge number of longtime friends, many of whom like to visit. Having such a big home makes this easily possible. The space is perfectly set up for entertainment, be it dining or lounging. Especially the upstairs where, being keen film buffs, they keep their big screen TV and collection of DVDs. Regular church-goers and stalwart supporters of the Morrison Chapel, the Duggans often invite families over for Sunday afternoon films. With Brian’s boisterous enthusiasm and Chris’ quiet but firm presence, a sense of comfort, kindness and conviviality pervades their home.
And after a 35-year old love affair with Macau, what does the future hold for the Duggans? Chris plans to continue working intermittently supporting the research of journalists such as Hong Kong-based Gillian Bickley. After a distinguished career in education, Brian finally retires this year from the University of Hong Kong as Emeritus Professor and Honorary Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. Both intend to spend more time involved in their charitable foundations, in particular the Langham project that focuses on providing books to Africa, preaching in schools and sending bright, committed Christian students to top universities to do their PhDs in theology.