James Chan: In 1863 Thomas Sutherland became the first chairman of the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock. He was 29. The following has been extracted from the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography. Both the author Robert Nield and HK University Press have given permission for extracts to be used in this article. Robert Nield: “Thomas Sutherland was the founder of one […]
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James Chan: Dragages Hong Kong, is a very familiar company name on signs at major construction projects around Hong Kong. It’s parent company is Bouygues Construction The company was founded in Vietnam in 1902 as Société Française Industrielle D’Extreme-Orient. It undertook its first project, the dredging and maintenance of a 2,000 kilometre canal system in the Mekong Delta. In 1910 […]
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James Chan: Hughie D, Veteran Member of derelictplaces.co.uk has posted a piece about this company on its website. This was posted in July 2015. Hughie says: “This place is a bit of a strange one. This old silk mill is in the middle of Tsuen Wan…and must represent very valuable real estate. I remember passing this place a number of […]
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James Chan: Whampoa is the second in a four tug series constructed by Cheoy Lee Shipyards for Hong Kong United Dockyards (HUD). The first was Taikoo which was also named after the two shipyards Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock (founded 1863) and Taikoo Dockyard (1902) which merged to form HUD. The Whampoa is a RAmparts 3000 Class Terminal Support Tug specifically designed […]
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James Chan: Hong Kong United Dockyards often abbreviated to United Dockyards or HUD was formed from the merger of the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock (founded 1863) and Taikoo Dockyard (1902). The Whampoa Dock was located in Hung Hom, West Kowloon and Taikoo Dockyard in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong Island. In 1973 in part to meet the container revolution in […]
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James Chan: I found this while looking through the Public Records Office images. I don’t think we have anything about this company. A quick check finds that it was started in 1950 and is now (as HAECO) one of the world’s largest maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service providers in terms of capacity. It is owned by Swire Pacific Ltd. […]
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HF: The first mention of a bakery in a Hong Kong newspaper I can find is that of Dorabjee Nowrojee’s in Queen’s road next to P&O Steam Ship Company’s office. The advert, published in 1864, is dated 1860 so it’s rather odd that it suggests a newly opened business. James Chan: The Wanchi Steam Bakery Company and The Colonial Bread […]
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James Chan: Frank Bowden was born in Exeter, England on 30th January 1848. In the early 1870s he came to Hong Kong. By 1872, when only 24, he had made a fortune in the local stock market. It would be of interest to have further details about Bowden’s time here. In particular how he made his fortune at that time […]
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James Chan: Yau Fung Tours and Transportation Company Ltd, later trading as Hong Kong Bus was incorporated on 11th February 1977 and dissolved on 31st July 2008. “Another operator who had traditionally run an all-single-deck fleet was Yau Fung Tours which introduced six ex-Greater Manchester Fleetlines in 1987. These were followed by two ex-Stagecoach of Perth Neoplan Skyliners. A further single Fleetline […]
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James Chan: The following appears in the Hong Kong Museum of History. It would be very interesting to hear more about this traditional industry that has died out. “Traditional New Territories markets had speciality cotton padded quilt shops but many “mountain” goods” and firewood shops also had a sideline in the quilt business. Essentially a seasonal trade a quilt shop […]
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