Bishop Hill century-old underground reservoir in Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon – campaign to stop it being demolished

HF: I was contacted late on 28th December 2020 by Julian who sent the following message:

Today a news article popped up that a beautiful service reservoir probably 100 years old in the centre of Kowloon is being demolished without consultation, grading or discussion. It happens that the structure is underground on a hill. Local residents soon discovered that the structure was in arches supported by hundreds of granite pillars. It is an unusual piece of industrial heritage in Hong Kong witnessing early waterworks in Hong Kong.

The SCMP have contacted me to see if I can provide any further information about this extraordinary structure. I can’t but I believe Tymon Mellor, our go to contributor regarding Hong Kong reservoirs and water supply, might be able to. Tymon says he will put an article together in the next couple if days which I will then post separately. In the meantime you might like to look at two articles Tymon has written about water supply in Kowloon which, I believe includes some information about the Bishop Hill service reservoir. They are linked below.

See:

1. Demolition of century-old underground reservoir suspended by Hong Kong authorities after they bow to public calls for it to be preserved SCMP 28th December 2020
2. Century-old Roman-style underground cistern uncovered on Bishop Hill in Shek Kip Mei Dim Sum Daily
3. Daily Vlog film on Face book
4. Group of Hong Kong heritage enthusiasts urges authorities to declare century-old Bishop Hill reservoir a monument SCMP 28th February 2021

Related Indhhk articles:

This article was first posted on 29th December 2020.

Related Indhhk articles:

1. Hong Kong Water Supply – Kowloon Reservoir
2. Hong Kong Water Supply – Kowloon Peninsula