From the Archive

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

Red Capitalist: the life and ventures of K.C. Wong (王寬誠,1907-1986)

Red Capitalist K.C.Wong Detail Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Red Capitalist: the life and ventures of K.C. Wong (王寬誠,1907-1986) Left: Portrait of K.C. Wong from the 1950s; Right: K.C. Wong meeting with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s When it comes to Hongkong’s “Red Capitalists”, Henry Fok (whose biographical entry I wrote for the Dictionary of HK Biography) is probably the first name that came […]

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Jebshun Shipping (捷順船務)

Jebshun Shipping Detail Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Jebshun Shipping (捷順船務) Left: Lam Choon-cheong (A Collection of epitaphs of Chinese elites in HK); Middle: advertising calendar of Jebshun from the 1950s (eBay Singapore); Right: Victoria Drummond, the first woman marine engineer in Britain, who worked for Jebshun from 1959 to 1962. In the article about the Kowloon Flour Mills, it was mentioned that Andrew Lam Kam-kwan […]

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J. Ullmann (烏利文) – Swiss Watchmaker and Jeweler in HK and China

J Ullman Watchmaker Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: J. Ullmann (烏利文) – Swiss Watchmaker and Jeweler in HK and China Pictures of the interior and exterior of J. Ullmann’sTientsin store in the 1900s. (Directory and Chronicle of China, 1905) Founded in HK in the 19th century by a Swiss native of the same name, J. Ullmann & Co was a leading watchmaker not just in Hong […]

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South China Iron Works built rally vehicle and details about the company, 1950 newspaper article

South China Iron Works Built Detail Vehicle Image HK Sunday Herald 06 08 1950 From IDJ

IDJ has sent this newspaper article about a vehicle built by the South China Iron Works for a rally held in Hong Kong in 1950. We have quite a lot of information regarding this company, all linked below. IDJ notes, “Unfortunately, the micro-film image of the vehicle that heads the article is too obscured to make much out of it. […]

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BAAG Naval Section Intelligence Summary, mid-March 1943, ship repair, maintenance and movements

BAAG Report WIS #23 A1 Detail

Elizabeth Ride has sent the Naval section of a British Army Aid Group (BAAG) Waichow Intelligence Summary (WIS No.23) dated 14th March 1943. This covers shipping movements in and out of Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation in World War Two during the middle of March 1943. These reports also describes time spent by vessels undergoing repairs and maintenance in a […]

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Recently Published

Q+A58 Information needed about a Leading Hong Kong Dressmaker, Lily Nègre, 1920s

Lily Negre Image B Of Lily Only

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 […]

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Industrial Districts – North District

The 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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