Hugh Farmer: These pages from a HK government publication of December 1959 describe changes in the the manufacture of umbrellas in Hong Kong. Pre WW2 almost all parts were imported, by the time of this report however, at least some were being produced here. The second page shows the value of exported umbrellas to many countries worldwide. It’s interesting for at least […]
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Rob Weir: The following information comes from War Office (WO) and Foreign Office (FO) documents held at The National Archives at Kew, London, UK. These notes were basically made “in passing” as a diversion to my main interests and so are fairly rough. I’ve put them in ascending date order from the first reference I found until the last. This doesn’t mean there […]
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HF: China Sugar Refinery Co. Ltd. was established by Messrs. Jardine & Co., Ltd in 1878. The factory was built at East Point, Causeway Bay, where the factory had close proximity to the harbour for loading cargoes of raw sugar cane and packed products. The sugar cane was imported from Java, the Philippines, the Straits Settlements and various Chinese ports. […]
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HF: I took these photographs of the quarry at Lei Yue Mun on the 11th November 2014. The map shows that it is actually just east of Ma Pui Tsuen though this is an extension of the well-known Lei Yue Mun and I’ll stick with the latter until we have an “official ” name. I am especially interested in the […]
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HF: Taikoo Sugar Refinery started producing refined sugar in Hong Kong in 1884 and did not cease operation till 1972. During this period of almost a century, it produced some of the world’s highest quality refined sugar, widely consumed in many parts of Asia, Australia and North America. Its history illustrates important aspects of Hong Kong’s industrial development. John Samuel […]
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Biography Of Alfred Herbert Rennie b. 17th November 1857 Ontario, Canada. d. 14th April 1908 Hong Kong. Here I am primarily concerned with the time Rennie spent in Hong Kong when he established the Kongkong Milling Company. For more information about the man a very useful source is: ‘The Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography’ listed below. For further information about […]
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HF: Language and Sound Films in the Cantonese language have been made in Hong Kong since the beginning. In the 1950s, it also became a centre of Mandarin language film making after the Communist takeover in mainland China and the entertainment industry shifted from Shanghai to Hong Kong. From the 1960s to mid 1970s Mandarin film productions became dominant especially […]
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Sky Shuttle Helicopters Limited ( 空中快線直升機公司) is a helicopter service operator based in Macau. Formerly known as Helicopters Hong Kong Limited and before that as East Asia Helicopters, it operates helicopter routes between Macau, Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Sky Shuttle employs over 250 people. East Asia Airlines Limited was established in July 1988 and Macau-Hong Kong services commenced in November 1990 by using two Bell 222 helicopters with six […]
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HF: The Kadoorie brothers, Sir Horace (right) and Lord Lawrence (left), sowed the seeds of the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) when they founded the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association (KAAA) in 1951. In 1941 there were 1.25 million people living in Hong Kong. By the end of the Japanese occupation in 1945 the population had shrunk to about 600,000. […]
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HF: The Hong Kong film industry – the star system According to Paul McDonald, a star system emerged in Hollywood as talent scouts, coaches and publicists were involved with finding performers and making them into stars. In the vertically integrated Hollywood film industry of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s these responsibilities were all undertaken by the studios themselves. The studios […]
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