York Lo: China Dispensary: Maker of Pinocine (白蘿仙) and Dermoline (丹杜蓮) For almost half a century, Pinocine Building stood in the heart of Central business district at 80-82 Queen’s Road Central and was known for the many medical practices that were tenants. The building was developed in 1964 by China Dispensary (中華大藥房), a leading local manufacturer of Western medicine in Hong […]
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Our article about the origins of the Aberdeen Gasometer led us to discover that it was originally constructed by Samuel Cutler & Sons of Millwall, London and Telford, UK. This in turn provided both Stephen Davies and IDJ with the opportunity to link this particular gasometer design to Cutler’s Patent Guide Framing which was patented in 1888. Very familiar to any UK city […]
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Hong Kong Air International Ltd was founded in the 1970s to provide helicopter services in the territory, such as scheduled flights, tourist flights, and external load lifting. The company was started by Maurice Holloway, as part of Hutchison (now Hutchison Whampoa), in 1971(?) and ceased trading in 1976. Many thanks to IDJ for sending the material used here and to […]
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Tymon Mellor’s article, Mui Wo Silver Mine – Part One – The Owner provides much information about Ho A Mei who promoted and developed the mine that lent its name to the well known Silver Mine Bay on Lantau island. Tymon has sent this Hong Kong Telegraph article published in 1905 which provides guidance on the plant and a plan to […]
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‘Scheduled seaplane services were a vital fixture in Victoria Harbour for more than two decades starting from the 1930s, and some of the floatplanes flying between Hong Kong and Macau had a special mission – shuttling gold between the two colonies. James Ng, an expert on Hong Kong’s aviation history and a member of the Hong Kong Collectors Society, […]
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York Lo – Liang Meng-Tsi – HK Paint Industry Pioneer Liang Meng-tsi (梁孟齊, 1902-1972) was an important figure in the history of the paint industry in Hong Kong. A US-trained chemist, Liang was a leading expert in paint technology in China and was involved in the founding of China Paint in 1932, Duro Paint (with backing of the Lee Hysan […]
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“The firm of Messrs. Caldbeck, Macgregor & Co., established in 1864, is the largest and best known in the wine and spirit trade in the East. The headquarters are in Rangoon Street, Crutched Friars, London, and there are branches in Glasgow, Shanghai, Hongkong, Singapore, and Tientsin; whilst agencies have been established at Port Arthur, Chefoo, Weihaiwei, Kiaochau, Hankow, Foochow, Taiwan, […]
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Tymon Mellor: The former mine at, and which was to give its name to, Mui Wo or Silvermine Bay, was arguably one of the most important mines in Southern China at the end of the nineteenth century. It was developed using private money and was a showcase of modern technology. It was hoped this would be the start of a […]
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HF: The image below shows the developing Tsuen Wan in the foreground, the Caltex oil storage depot in the background with a hill top cemetery above. JKW: I can confirm this, because I grew up here. My father worked for Caltex as a civil engineer supervising work at the oil terminal, as he called it, from 1973 to 1978. We […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent the Naval section of a British Army Aid Group (BAAG) Waichow Intelligence Summary (WIS No.15) dated 30th December 1942. This covers shipping movements in and out of Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation in World War Two during December 1942. These reports also describes time spent by vessels undergoing repairs and maintenance in a number of Hong […]
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