Tan Liok Tiauw Sia (1872 - 1947) was a prominent Chinese-Indonesian landowner, planter and industrial pioneer in the late colonial period, best known today as the last Landheer (or landlord) of Batoe-Tjepper, now the district of Batuceper. History Family background Born in Tangerang, Dutch East Indies in 1872, Tan hailed from a family of landlords and Chinese officers, part of the 'Cabang Atas' or the Chinese gentry of colonial Indonesia. The Chinese officership was a high-ranking government position in the civil bureaucracy of the Dutch East Indies, consisting of the ranks of Majoor, Kapitein and Luitenant der Chinezen. His father, Tan Tiang Po, served as Luitenant der Chinezen in Tangerang from 1877 until 1885, while his grandfather, Luitenant Tan Kang Soey, sat on the Chinese Council (Dutch: 'Chinese Raad'; Hokkien: 'Kong Koan') of Batavia or modern-day Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. Tan's paternal great-grandfather was the tycoon Tan Leng (died in 1852), who was part of the powerful Ngo Ho Tjiang opium partnership. Through his mother, Lim Hong Nio, Tan was a grandson of Lim Soe Keng Sia and Tan Bit Nio, as well as a great-grandson of Tan Eng Goan, the first Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia (1802-1872). As a descendant of Chinese officers, Tan Liok Tiauw held the hereditary title of Sia from birth. Tan's sister, Tan Him Nio, was married to Khouw Yauw Kie, Kapitein der Chinezen (died in 1908). His daughter, Corry Tan Pouw Nio (1900-1961), was married in November 1917 to the prominent, half-Austrian, colonial politician Loa Sek Hie (1898-1965). He also had two sons born to two different concubines: August Tan Tsjiang Kie and Jan Tan Tsjiang Bie. Life Tan grew up between his family's townhouse in downtown Batavia and their principal private domain, the particuliere landerij of Batoe-Tjepper, an agricultural estate in Tangerang. He was given a traditional Chinese education, but also had a private Dutch tutor. Tan's father, Luitenant Tan Tiang Po, retired from his role as Landheer in the late 1880s, and handed over the management of Batoe-Tjepper to his son. Aged only 16, Tan Liok Tiauw not only improved the running of Batoe-Tjepper, but further developed an existing factory on the estate that manufactured building materials, roof-tiles and other terracotta products. Many important colonial buildings in Java, in particular in Batavia, were built using materials from the factory. In July 1923, Tan hosted Dirk Fock, the 30th Governor-General of the Dutch