David Williams has been in touch: I am a writer interested in building stone. I have been researching the Parrott Building in San Francisco. Built in 1852, it was one of the first stone buildings in the city. I know that the builders of the building were Chinese and have read that the stone came from Hong Kong. One source says that the […]
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Rico Lee + HF: HK: (1) Vianini Lavori SpA is an Italian company with a history of involvement in large construction projects including several in Hong Kong. It is a subsidiary of Caltagirone and I think has operated since 1890, though I unsure which of these companies commenced operations in that year. HF: (2) The above photo shows the dolo-shaped […]
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HF: This map is from an Urban Council book published in 1991. It shows what a large number of mines and quarries there have been in Hong Kong. Many of these may well have been small operations but it forces me to revise my previous estimation of around 25 commercial mines. Please excuse the highlighting which was done many years […]
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HF: If you have ever walked the Wilson Trail going up from Tai Po to Cloudy Hill you will have gone past a hundred metre long rectangular factory located at 155, Tai Po Tau village, Tai Po. I went there on 24th February 2015. As I entered the building Thomas Lam approached me and politely asked me to leave. However, he […]
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HF: This picture shows the trademarks of Chuen Sun Knitting Factory, including Three Fives Brand, Seven Sevens Brand, under which knitted shirts, vests, shirts and sportswear were manufactured. The factory was first established by Chan Mo-chau and partners at O’Bailey Street in Macau. In 1934 the company set up a factory at 98-200 of Tung Choi Street of Mong Kok. In […]
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HF: This British Army Aid Group report of 1944, mentions a “rumour” of a mine on or near Castle Peak. Tsing Shan is the name of the well-known monastery located at the eastern foot of the mountain. I have not come across a mine in this area. However the map below shows four abandoned mines (green squares) and four Former […]
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HF: New information in red I am assuming, until corrected, that there was only one To Kwa Wan quarry. The quarry dates back to pre-colonial times. Patrick Hase, in his Indhhk article, Quarrying and transportation of stone in Hong Kong, 1841, says, “The most prestigious stone in Canton and the Pearl River Delta area for such quality buildings was Hong Kong granite, which […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent a WW2 British Army Aid Group (BAAG) report about the collection of copper by the Japanese during the occupation of Hong Kong. Part 1 states that those offering copper goods can do so “without anything in return or they can exchange…for rice, sugar, oil and firewood.” Part 2 states that 7,000 catties of copper had “been […]
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York Lo has sent the following information about William MacGregor Smith. He was the Smith in Wahee, Smith & Co which in turn became The China Sugar Refinery. Smith is buried in HK cemetery – the tombstone states he was 76 (and was erected in 1907) and was from Scotland. On page 50 of Carl Smith’s book Chinese Christians there is […]
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