Lauw-Sim-Zecha family

[1] They came to prominence at the start of the nineteenth century as Pachters (revenue farmers), Landheeren (landlords) and Kapitan Cina (government-appointed Chinese headmen) in the colonial capital, Batavia (now Jakarta), and in the hill station of Sukabumi, West Java.

[3][1] Following the Indonesian revolution (1945-1950) and revolutionary leader President Sukarno's nationalization of private assets, the family left Indonesia and is now based mostly overseas.

[8][9] They also became important Landheeren or landlords through their acquisition of significant agricultural landholdings ('particuliere landen') in the Ommelanden or rural hinterland of Batavia, including the estate of Tjimanggis (now Cimanggis).

[1] Luitenant Lauw Tek Lok, who served in office with distinction until his death in 1882, nonetheless caused some consternation among the colonial authorities due to his unconventional, interracial marriage with an Indo-Bohemian woman, Louisa Zecha.

[12][13][14] Kapitein Sim Keng Koen and Louisa Zecha's youngest son, Chester Lauw-Sim-Zecha, was also an important community and business leader, as well as a Freemason, in the first half of the twentieth century.