From the Archive

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

The Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Co., Ltd

Amelia Allsop: The Hong Kong Heritage Project (HKHP) Archive was established with the mission to collect, interpret and make accessible the historic records of the Kadoorie family and their business and charitable endeavours. The HKHP Archive has been accessible to the public since 2009 and holds an extensive collection of historic records and photographs. Amongst this collection are papers relating to […]

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Hong Kong Enamelware Factory (香港搪瓷廠)

Hong Kong Enamelware Factory Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Hong Kong Enamelware Factory (香港搪瓷廠) 1953 ad for Hong Kong Enamelware Factory Hong Kong Enamelware Factory was one of the leading enamelware manufacturers in HK in the 1950s with its factory located at 608 Castle Peak Road in Kowloon and its office in Edinburgh House in Central.The firm was known for its Diamond brand of enamelware products. Incorporated in […]

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The South China Iron Works during World War Two

Elizabeth Ride has sent these British Army Aid Group (BAAG) reports mentioning the South China Iron Works during the Japanese Occupation, WW2. South China Iron Works Ltd., founded in 1938 [incorporated 19th December 1938], lost much of its machinery during the Japanese occupation…but by 1949 had resumed production of diesel engines, including ‘specially designed’ three wheeled vehicles ‘especially designed for […]

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Charles Gordon Stewart Mackie – Scottish businessman in Hong Kong, head of several companies

Charles Gordon Stewart Mackie Partial Image Wikimedia Commons

Charles Gordon Stewart Mackie was a Scottish businessman in Hong Kong and member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council of Hong Kong. He was born on 9th January 1880 and died on 17th March 1966. C. Gordon Mackie [by which name he seems to have been more commonly known] was associated with China and Hong Kong and head of […]

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Hemp – crop and craft, 1970 RASHKB article highlighting its disappearance in Hong Kong

James Hayes has kindly given permission for his short article about the production and use of hemp in Hong Kong to be posted on our website, though much of it is taken up with a description of this practice in China. The article was first published in the Royal Asiatic Society (HK Branch) Journal Vol 10, 1970. For further information about […]

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Sugar Street 糖街, Causeway Bay – origins of the name – silver into sugar or vice versa!

HF: In his book, The Atlas: Archaeology of an Imaginary City, a mixture of fact and fiction about Hong Kong in the past and future, Dung Kai Cheung, Louis, writes about Sugar Street (糖街) in Causeway Bay. Dung recounts the local legend that the Hong Kong Mint, based there from 1866 to 1868, failed because, in spite of melted silver being […]

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First HK-designed Electric Bus – SCMP article

James Chan: The SCMP of 26th October 2015 contained an article which began: Hong Kong’s first locally designed electric bus will roll out onto the city’s roads next month in a test run its creators hope will boost the local electric vehicle industry. The 12.5-tonne single deck electric bus, designed by the Hong Kong Productivity Council and Hong Kong Automotive Parts […]

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Wi-Fi ‘Guard’ device to protect incense trees – SCMP article

HF: Today’s SCMP has an article about the latest effort to protect the endangered incense tree in Hong Kong. Namely, a ‘tree guard’ system that monitors realtime data about trees to stop them from being illegally felled or stolen. The system has been developed at Chinese University. Prof Chiu Siu Wai, of the University’s School of Life Sciences, says it […]

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Recently Published

Lei Yue Mun – Four Quarries

HF: Source no 86 http://www.aab.gov.hk/form/new_items_history.pdf [Bonnie Manson: Four years ago I made a journey to visit the grave of Ko Ming Fan who ran the Flat Hill Quarry.] Old Quarry Site Structures Lei Yue Mun, Kwun Tong, Kowloon Hong Kong has been well favoured with its building stones. The high quality, fine-grained granite was commonly used in construction by the time […]

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