Klaus Liphard recently left a comment on the history of ExxonMobil Socony and Standard Oil in Hong Kong. HF: I would like to thank Klaus and in this article use the material source he informed me about with the following milestones regarding these companies in Hong Kong. I have not included the most recent milestones included in this article as […]
» Read moreIDJ has sent the following newspaper article. Unfortunately we don’t know in which newspaper it was published or when. The script is not always clear, and I find this I will put the writing in [square brackets.] COMPANY MEETING MARSMANS LOOK TO BRIGHTER FUTURE Though the company sustained a loss of 123,043[pounds] during the last year an optimistic view of […]
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The China Navigation Company’s parent company, John Swire & Sons Limited, had its origins in a small Liverpool trading house founded in 1816. In 1866, John Samuel Swire (1825-1898) opened his first Far Eastern agency in Shanghai, and in 1872 he founded The China Navigation Company to operate a modest fleet of paddle steamers on China’s Yangtze River. IDJ has […]
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HF: In 1951, China requisitioned all property belonging to the Asiatic Petroleum Company in retaliation for the Hong Kong Government’s requisitioning of the tanker Yung Hao. Further information comes from this account in the book, Via Ports: From Hong Kong to Hong Kong, Alexander Grantham, Governor of Hong Kong from 1947 to 1957. This image is of the Yung Hao in later life as the […]
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Contributions from:- HF Hugh Farmer JH James Hayes IDJ ER Elizabeth Ride Charcoal JH: Extracted from James’ article Charcoal Burning in Hong Kong which was included in the RASHKB Journal Volume 11, 1971. Not an obvious candidate as a utility but see the reference to North Point Power Plant. Electricity 1943 Aug “By August the coal stocks were exhausted. The power stations […]
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Our article Needle Hill Tungsten Mine has the following extract: “This abandoned mine is situated on the southern slopes of Needle Hill between Upper Shing Mun reservoir and Tai Wai. It was among the largest mining operations Hong Kong has seen, [and certainly its biggest Tungsten Mine]. The deposit was discovered in 1935 by a civil engineer, Mr G Hull, […]
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HF: I came across this company(ies) when shown the May Ming Building, (310)-312 Nathan Road which has apparently been vacant since the 1970s. The ground floor was occupied, apparently, at that time by the Tai Un Radio Service Company. A quick online check of both the address and that company produced a wikipedia file on the Tai Lin Radio Services […]
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Mike T: “The West Point Industrial Reformatory was opened [in 1864], under Ignatius Ip Uen, James How, Aloy Leang and Asam Wan and taught 45 Chinese boys shoe-making, carpentry, tailoring and bookbinding. This institution may certainly be regarded as the first initiative in technical education in Hong Kong. It later received an annual grant of $1,000 from the Hong Kong […]
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Additional information in red Hugh Farmer: Various sources mention the origin of the name of the once heavily industrialised Hong Kong area Kwun Tong. In particular it is suggested that the area was named after the Koon Fu salt yards (官富場), set up by the government to secure central administration of the salt trade and prevent unauthorised salt preparation and trading. […]
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HF: Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen,衙前圍村, (“the walled village in front of the yamen”), also known as Hing Yau Yu Tsuen, 慶有餘村, (“overflowing prosperity”) in San Po Kong, at the northen end of Kai Tak airport is the only walled village left in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. The SCMP: Occupying an area of nearly 50,000 square feet…600 year-old square-shaped Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen […]
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