Preserving Hong Kong’s Industrial Heritage
Rediscover stories from Hong Kong’s industrial past, published on this date in previous years.
Tymon Mellor: As you walk down the path from Lead Mine Pass to Tai Po, you will see along the route a number of concrete blocks that once formed the pipe supports from some long abandoned water supply project. The location of the pipeline is isolated and there is no obvious scheme associated with the works. However, this was part […]
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IDJ has sent an extract from a book by Martin Barnett published in 1984 about the history of tramways in Hong Kong. HF: Chevalier R Pescio was an Italian with an exotic name and an alluring proposal. Namely to build a tramway between Victoria and Aberdeen. He repeatedly tried to obtain government interest in this scheme between 1906 and 1910 […]
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York Lo: Corney & Co – Glass Merchant and Mirror Manufacturer Established in 1902 (although not formally incorporated til 1921), R. Corney & Co Ltd (明新有限公司) was a leading glass merchant and mirror manufacturer in Hong Kong which produced glassware, mirrors, light fixtures and other glass-related products. Despite its long history, limited information is available about the firm. A R.Corney […]
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IDJ has sent the following newspaper article on the reconstruction work being carried out by the Cheoy Lee Shipyard on the British river steamer, the Sai On. This was necessary as the following brief report details: “A few decades later, Hong Kong saw its most serious shipboard fire incident in the 20th century. In the evening of 4 February 1947, […]
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York Lo: Sau Tao and Chewy – Noodle Giants Aside from “Doll” noodle covered earlier in the group, two of the leading local manufacturers of instant noodles are Sun Shun Fuk, maker of “Sau Tao” brand and Chewy, which were founded in the 1960s and 1970s respectively. Sun Shun Fuk (新順福食品) and “Sau Tao” brand (壽桃牌) Left: Sun Shun Fuk […]
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Dean Foyle is very interested in how long and where Dinky Toys were manufactured in Hong Kong, when they stopped being made there and the switch to Hot Wheels die-cast car production introduced by American toy maker Mattel in 1968. For initial information regarding Dean’s queries please see our article, Dinky Toys, made in Hong Kong by Hong Kong Industrial […]
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IDJ: When Cheung Wah Shipbuilding & Engineering Company was the labour supply contractor for the construction of Castle Peak Power Station they had to bring in several hundred and later probably thousands of workers daily to what was then a remote site. Eventually the ARGOS Bus Co was created by Cheung Wah using a fleet of secondhand double-deckers from the UK […]
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Captain Charles ‘Chic’ Eather, born 1920, has had a long life. A great part of his working life was spent in aviation and much of this was connected to Cathay Pacific, Kai Tak airport and aircraft maintenance companies at the airport post WW2 and up to his retirement in 1975. His biography Syd’s Last Pirate was published as a CD-Rom. […]
» Read moreContact the company? Founded in Hong Kong in 1874, Leigh & Orange (L&O) has continued to thrive as a significant force in the markets it serves for nearly a century and a half by providing its clients with a consistent focus on quality. With an unsurpassed depth of experience in a wide variety of building types, the firm prides itself […]
» Read moreHF: Kin Hip Metal and Plastic Factory manufactured metal molds. A key customer was Gold Coin Brand vacuum flask factories. Mrs. Sun took charge of the accounts while taking care of the children at the factory. In doing so, she used an abacus to calculate costs and prepare invoices. On one occasion she undercharged $600 when calculating product prices for […]
» Read moreHF: In the middle third of the 19th century, the clippers which carried cargoes of tea from China to Britain would compete in informal races to be the first ship in London with the new crop of each season. A painting of Ariel and Taeping. Source: wikipedia Tea was introduced from China to Europe in the 17th century, but, as […]
» Read moreHF: 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 […]
» Read moreHF: Mandarin Oriental is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group, a conglomerate with strong expertise and heritage in Hong Kong and Asia, which was founded in Canton in 1832 by Scottish traders William Jardine and James Matheson.
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HF: Suzanne Clouthier has sent the following script and images highlighting Lily Nègre, who Suzanne’s grandfather described as having a reputation as a great seamstress in the Orient, possibly Hong Kong. Both Suzanne and I would welcome further information about Lily, and I would also like to learn more about others involved in the fashion industry in Hong Kong between […]
» Read moreVaudine England: Just came across this typically 1900-era directory of the empire in the east with a neat summary of the Industry. [The author here, D. Warres-Smith, probably isn’t telling you anything you don’t know but thought would pass it on just in case.] I have extracted the sections of most interest to us, namely xxxx Source: European settlements in […]
» Read moreThe main urban areas in this district are Sheung Shui and Fanling. It also includes the rural towns of Ping Che, Sha Tau Kok and Ta Kwu Ling, several villages and many islands, some inhabited including Ap Chau (Robinson Island) and Kat O Chau (Crooked Island). This article is the result of several people’s research into industrial development, manufacturing, and other related topics in […]
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