Born in 1918, Lo Koon-chiu first learned the art of traditional Chinese painting in his high school days and later graduated from the Guangzhou Municipal School of Fine Arts in 1938 with a major in Western painting. After moving to Hong Kong in 1947 Lo founded the full colour children’s comic book Children’s Paradise in 1953 in the capacity […]
» Read more
HF and Thomas Ngan: According to the linked 1987 report below Nui Po Shan (Turret Hill) Quarry was originally used as a borrow area in the mid 1960s [another source suggests the quarry began in “mid-1960”] and 70s. A borrow pit is a term used to describe an area where material has been dug for use at another location in […]
» Read more
HF with thanks to IDJ for the two adverts. The cable used in the Aerial Ropeway constructed to link Takoo Sugar Refinery and its Sanitarium was made by Bullivant & Co. which began as a UK company. William Munton Bullivant was an early innovator in the stranded wire cordage field, invented in the mid-19th century by German mining engineers in the […]
» Read more
HF: Jan Hendrik Marsman, was born in 1892 in the Netherlands and died in 1956, I think in the Philippines. He was known as Hank to his friends. He started his working life as an engineer and later developed extensive business interests in the Philippines. Marsman is of interest to us because he became involved, through his company Marsman Hong […]
» Read more
IDJ writes – This excerpt comes from a very useful book published by the Hong Kong government’s Department of Commerce and Industry dated 1955. It is a typical 180 page government handout to prospective overseas buyers outlining where Hong Kong is in the world and what the colony can sell or make for you. Essentially a commercial buyer’s guide […]
» Read more
Kader Industrial Company Limited was founded by Mr. Ting Hsiung-chao in 1948. He had previously established the Wei Ming Flashlight and Battery Works and the Pau Chiu Light Bulb Factory, both successful businesses in Shanghai before 1949. Mr. H.C. Ting believed that success is built upon diligence and a dictum that nothing short of perfection was acceptable. Being an unusual […]
» Read more
Hugh Farmer: Following our recent articles about the Lok On Pai ‘desalting’ plant I visited the site on 4th December 2014 to see what remains. We know from recent aerial photographs and maps that the main building exists extending west to east, with one main arm at right angles to this running south towards the sea. Here’s what the site […]
» Read more
Preece, Cardew and Rider were the consulting engineers for a proposed extension of Hok Un power station, Hung Hom in the 1930s. “In 1934 a committee consisting of directors and senior staff was formed to deal with the extensions proposed. It met regularly for the next several years and made many important decisions based quite often on the advice of […]
» Read more
The following article about Augustine Heard and Company was written by Gillian Bickley, Peter E Hamilton and George Cautherley and first published in the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography, edited by May Holdsworth and Christopher Munn. The publisher, HK University Press, has kindly granted permission for it to be posted here, but retains copyright over this material from 2012. This article incorporates one […]
» Read more
IDJ and HF: The origin of Schmidt & Co., (Hong Kong) Limited can be dated back to 110 years ago when Paul Schmidt founded the Schmidt Group of Companies in Tokyo under the name of Schmidt Shoten in 1896. The Group opened its first office in Beijing, China in 1911. In the following years, additional branches were established in major […]
» Read more