He was teaching in a temporary position at
Stubbington House School when a post was announced in the
Aberdeen Journal on 7 August 1861 for the headmaster position of the newly established
"Government Central School", known today as
Queen's College. Five months later, Stewart would accept the position, reaching Hong Kong at the age of 25 on 15 February 1862.
Ho Kai was one of his pupils. As part of a new British government initiative, he also became the inspector for all government schools in Hong Kong that same year. On 30 June 1865 Stewart became the first head of the
"Government Education Department" in Hong Kong. He resigned on 19 May 1881 at the age of 45. In 1879 his alma mater, the
University of Aberdeen, awarded him the honorary degree of
LL.D for furthering the interests of education in Hong Kong. Stewart was appointed police magistrate in 1881 and Registrar-General in 1883. From 1887 to 1889 he would serve as the
Colonial Secretary, second only to the Governor of Hong Kong. Informally, he would also act as the leading advisor on educational matters in Hong Kong. He was also the
dean of the
"Faculty of Medicine", the precursor of the
University of Hong Kong until his death in 1889. ==Memory==