HF: John Laird Wright worked for MacDonald and Company’s shipyard in Hong Kong from 1907 to 1908. He then worked for Green Island Cement Company in Macau which he left in 1910. This obituary comes from an Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Obituary in 1934: John Laird Wright was for seventeen years a member of the Anglo- Persian Oil Company’s staff in various […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent these British Army Aid Group (BAAG) reports mentioning the South China Iron Works during the Japanese Occupation, WW2. South China Iron Works Ltd., founded in 1938 [incorporated 19th December 1938], lost much of its machinery during the Japanese occupation…but by 1949 had resumed production of diesel engines, including ‘specially designed’ three wheeled vehicles ‘especially designed for […]
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Hugh Farmer: Holts Wharf (藍煙囪貨倉碼頭) was a godown terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. In 1905 a decision was made to purchase land in Kowloon for the construction of wharves and warehouses so that dedicated and independent facilities were available for the Blue Funnel fleet, part of Alfred Holt & Company. The wharf opened in 1910 and was jointly owned by […]
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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.(1) Taikoo Sugar […]
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HF: W C Gomersall was born in London, UK in 1895 and died in Hong Kong in 1960. In 1928 he founded China Engineers Ltd in Shanghai. Post WW2 Gomersall and the company moved to Hong Kong. This obituary is extracted from the journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers a British professional organisation. This article was first posted on 23rd July […]
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Linda Kernan: The history of the soybean and its byproducts stretches back more than 3,000 years in China. The humble soybean was known as the “Cow of China” because it was the main source of protein for the Chinese people. It took a local man, however, to spot the potential of the little bean and transform it into the most […]
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HF: I have been unable to find an image of the SS Sai On either before or after the fire detailed below, and would be very grateful if someone could send me one. The image below was sent by IDJ and shows the resurrected Sai On in its new guise as the Tak Shing. A few decades later, Hong Kong […]
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York Lo’s recent article, J.H. Vaughan – An American Shipbuilder in Hong Kong, mentions that the yard built the replica of the USS San Pablo for the well known film The Sand Pebbles. The article has prompted IDJ to send the following: The Sand Pebbles – Production Notes THE BACKGROUND When the late Richard McKenna’s first and only novel, “The Sand Pebbles,” […]
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HF: The SCMP of 17th December 2015 contained an article about the closure of the Hap Wa dai pai dong on the Fu Shin public housing estate (富善邨) which was built on reclaimed land in Tai Po in 1985. If you are unfamiliar with the term dai pai dong it is a type of open-air food stall once very popular in Hong […]
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New Information HF: The Hong Kong Printing Press seems to have operated from 1888 to 1980 according to the website linked below dedicated to the company. The site appears to have been researched by descendants of family members who were involved in the company for several generations. I would like to hear from anyone contributing to the website linked below. […]
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