Hugh Farmer with thanks to IDJ for the report and photos. The following report from 1964 outlines the development of Kwun Tong from 1953 highlighting land reclamation which took place between 1954 and 1957. A total of 140 acres (about 60 hectares) of new land was created along the shoreline. As the map shows much of this was designated for […]
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The following article has been extracted from the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography. The publisher HK University Press, has given permission for it to be posted here. The article about Sir John Douglas Clague was written by Jason Wordie and first published in the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography, edited by May Holdsworth and Christopher Munn. The publisher, HK University Press, has […]
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Tymon Mellor: This article has been extracted from The Kowloon Canton Railway (British Section) Part 4 – The Early Years (1910 to 1940). Major Railway Incidents Each year there were a number of incidents on the railway. Typically there would be a few derailments resulting in some damage, but no major injuries. There were also regular fatalities, normally three or four […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent this photo of Cheung Chau in 1936 showing street lighting, which she thinks may be gas. And a row of barrels in the background on the seawall. Elizabeth wonders if the barrels were being imported or exported from the island. Can you confirm it is indeed gas street lighting and suggest what lovely delights are hidden […]
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From Tai Ping Koon, which opened in 1860 and served Sun Yat-sen, to Gaylord Indian Restaurant, open since 1972, to the award-winning abalone served in Forum since 1977, these restaurants have stood the test of time. In a city where restaurants come and go with dizzying speed, those which have stood the test of time are few and far between. […]
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IDJ has sent the following newspaper article which was published in the Hong Kong Sunday Herald in a 1930s long series entitled Hong Kong Personalities. Hong Kong Personalities LT.COL. M.H. Logan This is the sixty-fourth of the exclusive series of sketches of leading Colony residents by Mr. A.S. Konya, the talented Hungarian artist. Our Personality this week is Lieut.-Colonel Malcolm […]
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“Only one person has ever been given a jail sentence – and that was suspended – since incarceration was included in the industrial safety law in 1989, even though hundreds of workers have been killed while transforming Hong Kong into a modern city. The confirmation by the Labour Department prompted calls from labour activists for Hong Kong to learn from […]
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IDJ has sent this 1997 article published on behalf of the HK Academy of Engineering Sciences and HK Institution of Engineers. “In 1989 Hong Kong Electric pioneered the introduction of mechanised tunnelling to Hong Kong, accepting the only bid that proposed the use of a tunnel boring machine for the construction of a 5.7 kilometre, 5 metre diameter cable tunnel […]
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IDJ: The book Hong Kong Bank-The building of Norman Foster’s masterpiece by Stephanie Williams-1989 is the book to have for the whole process-concept to completion. HF: I cannot find an online version of this so for the time being we will have to make do with the following images IDJ has kindly sent.(1) The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) […]
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‘Leung Kit-lam’s eponymous steelware store is…probably the last of its kind in Hong Kong. For decades, he has operated the business alone. Tucked away in an alley, with a barely visible storefront, Leung works seven days a week making strainers, rat traps and crab pots. “Some neighbouring hotels have bought a few of my rat traps,” he says. The years […]
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