From the Archive

Rediscover stories from Hong Kong’s industrial past, published on this date in previous years.

Douglas Lapraik – watchmaker, shipowner and co-founder of the Hongkong & Whampoa Dock Company

Articles, Hong Kong Companies, People, Shipyards + Shipping

Douglas Lapraik arrived in Hong Kong in 1842 in apparently somewhat straitened circumstances from Macau. Things changed for the colourful Mr Lapraik. In 1863, together with Thomas Sutherland and Jardine, Matheson & Co,. he co-founded the Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Company (Kowloon Docks) which at its peak was the largest shipyard in Asia. The following article has been extracted from […]

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Smaller Shipyards in Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation 1942-1945

Articles, Hong Kong Companies, Shipyards + Shipping

The information about these shipyards comes mainly from extracts from British Army Aid Group (BAAG) Intelligence Summaries kindly sent by Elizabeth Ride. Aberdeen Dock (Lamma Shipyard) See: Aberdeen Dock (Lamma Shipyard) during the Japanese occupation 1942-1945 Ah King´s Shipyard. See: Ah King’s Shipyard during the Japanese occupation 1942-1945 plus possible photo 1937 The image below, courtesy of gwulo.com may show Ah […]

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Green Island Cement Company photographs – Set 3 – Exterior – human scarecrows, brandy and hens…

Articles, Hong Kong Companies, Manufacturing

Jane Taylor: My grandfather, Robert Taylor, appears to have started out in Macau in 1912 and moved to Hong Kong around 18 months later. He served as manager of the Green Island Cement Company, I think from the late 1920s, until his retirement in 1949. Recently discovered family photographs show the manager’s house clearly, and also its pre- and post-war […]

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Trailblazer: the life and time of Wang Tseng-hsiang (王增祥, 1926-2012), Taiwanese developer and investor in HK, Japan and the US

Articles, Banks and Finance, Property, Transport
Wang Tseng Hsiang Taiwanese Developer Detail Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Trailblazer: the life and time of Wang Tseng-hsiang (王增祥, 1926-2012),Taiwanese developer and investor in HK, Japan and the US Left: Wang Tseng-hsiang speaking to the press in HK in the early 2000s; Right: the cover of Wang’s book The Financial Collapse of Japan published in 1998 (Cosmos Books) A pioneer in the HK real estate industry in the […]

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F Blackhead & Company, c1908 article

Articles, Hong Kong Companies, Manufacturing

IDJ has sent the following article about F. Blackhead & Company written about 1908: In the early days, before the establishment of Hongkong as a British Colony, Whampoa was the farthest point to which the Chinese permitted foreign ships to proceed up the West River. Many difficulties were experienced at this port by vessels in obtaining stores, and it was […]

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More on Continental Rubber Manufactory (大陸樹膠廠)

Articles, Hong Kong Companies, Manufacturing, People
More On Continental Rubber Factory Detail Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: More on Continental Rubber Manufactory (大陸樹膠廠) Left: Pang Kam-wing as vice chairman of the HK Rubber Manufacturers Association (WKYP, 1959-2-11) Right: Continental Rubber booth at the HK Products Expo in 1949 (HK Memory) Earlier in the website a short article on Continental Rubber Manufactory (大陸樹膠廠) was posted. This article will provide more information about the firm, which was […]

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Central Market, second generation, 1895 photographs

Articles, General, Industrial Buildings + Demolitions

Paul Onslow has kindly sent these images of the Central Market taken by an unknown photographer in 1895. The market opened in that year so presumably they were taken immediately after its completion. The Market was demolished in 1937. Construction of the current market began in 1938 and was completed in 1939 opening on 1st May. This closed in 2003 […]

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