York Lo: New Asiatic Chemical Works (新亞藥廠): Pharmaceutical Star Left: Trademark for New Asiatic Chemical Works Hong Kong (HK Government Report, 1939); Right: Advertisement of New Asiatic Chemical Works’ tuberculosis drug Tibilon in Hong Kong from the 1950s Founded in Shanghai in 1926 by K.C. Hsu and two others, New Asiatic Chemical Works was one of the largest pharmaceutical and […]
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A 19th Century Company Town in North Point, Hong Kong By Jennifer Field Lang In 1881, Butterfield and Swire (the Far Eastern branch of the British trading firm John Swire and Sons) established the Taikoo Sugar Refinery in Hong Kong. John Swire (1793-1847) the son of a Halifax cloth merchant founded the general merchant trading company in 1816 in Liverpool, […]
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York Lo: Pacific Union Trading (聯泰有限公司) Ad for Pacific Union Trading in 1948 (Tung Wah Monthly Magazine, October 1948) According to the 1948 ad above, the firm’s auto division was the exclusive agent of Hudson Motors. Meanwhile, its electric division was the sole agent in Southern China for China Electric Co Ltd, the subsidiary of International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation […]
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HF: The following article has been extracted from the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography. The article about George Ernest Marden and John Louis Marden was written by Robert Nield and first published in the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography, edited by May Holdsworth and Christopher Munn. The publisher, HK University Press, has kindly granted permission for it to be posted here, but […]
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York Lo: The Wongs and the Hungs – Pre-War pioneers of HK real estate and philanthropists The four founding brothers of the Wong and the Hung families who donated the Four Friends Library at the Shimen Middle School in their hometown in the 1930s. Left to right: Wong Tze-lam, Wong Kin-chi, Hung Mak-yuen, Hung Sean-chau Natives of the Nanhai prefecture […]
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Tymon Mellor: Those who walk the Maclehose or Wilson Trails, or who enjoy walking in the country parks will be familiar with Lead Mine Pass; the high pass linking Kowloon with the New Territories. But why is it called Lead Mine Pass, where is the mine it is named after? Ever since the New Territories has been part of Hong […]
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York Lo: Tung Hing Lung Engineering Works (東興隆機器廠) Left: Tung Hing Lung ad from the 1950s with pictures of some of its firefighting products; Right Tung Hing Lung founder Chan Din (WKYP, 1963-12-5) Tung Hing Ling is one of the oldest and largest manufacturer of fire fighting equipment and provider of related installation services and maintenance in Hong Kong. A […]
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HF: In January 1904 Alfred Dickinson and Company, the consulting engineers for Hong Kong Tramways Ltd wrote to the under-secretary of state at the Colonial Office. The letter states that the company had discussed with Sir Paul Chater the possibility of constructing a tramway system on the Kowloon Peninsula and of extending this as far as Shum Chun in China. […]
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York Lo: Live Long and Prosper: Longevity Condensed Milk (壽星公煉奶), Black and White Evaporated Milk (黑白淡奶) and Friesland Ice Cream (菲仕蘭雪糕) Left: Longevity milk from 1980 HK TV commercial (YouTube); Right: Friesland Ice cream factory on Hennessy Road in 1953 (Gwulo) Since the 1930s and 1940s, Longevity sweetened condensed milk and Black & White evaporated milk have become staples […]
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HF: Tymon Mellor has sent a report by Sir David J Owen dated 24th February 1941 on Future Control and Development of the Port of Hong Kong. Let’s start with the scope of the report: The Report contains a wealth of information both about the history of the port since early colonial days, the contemporary situation in 1941 and possible […]
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