Tymon Mellor: Those who walk the Maclehose or Wilson Trails, or who enjoy walking in the country parks will be familiar with Lead Mine Pass; the high pass linking Kowloon with the New Territories. But why is it called Lead Mine Pass, where is the mine it is named after? Ever since the New Territories has been part of Hong […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: Implementation of the Plover Cove scheme was intended to be undertaken in a number of stages. The first stage captured available water resources in the New Territories and a new treatment plant at Shatin. The second stage would cover the construction of the main reservoir with subsequent stages capturing water resources within the Sai Kung peninsula. With the […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: As you walk down the path from Lead Mine Pass to Tai Po, you will see along the route a number of concrete blocks that once formed the pipe supports from some long abandoned water supply project. The location of the pipeline is isolated and there is no obvious scheme associated with the works. However, this was part […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: The Shing Mun Valley Scheme was implemented in two stages. The First Section established a new water supply and distribution system including the first cross harbour pipeline. The Second Section provided for the construction of the Jubilee Reservoir with a capacity greater than the total existing storage and possibly “the highest in the British Empire” [i] along with […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: The construction of Tai Lam Chung Reservoir in the 1950s was at that time, the largest and most expensive construction project yet in Hong Kong, but when a half page article[i] about the construction of the 12km of tunnels was published in 1956 the photo they used focused on the ever-running supply of water at the site. The […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: With the completion of the Shing Mun Reservoir in 1937 and the new cross harbour pipe line in 1939, Hong Kong should have had an ample water supply, but low rainfall in 1938 and an influx of refugees from Southern China put a strain on supply. Things would only get worse. With war raging in Mainland China, the […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: In the summer of 1963, with severe water restrictions of only four hours every fourth day in urban Hong Kong, the Colonial Government was searching for new water supplies that could be expeditiously developed. A number of schemes had been explored and these were presented to the Executive Council in October, 1963. In addition to the Plover Cover […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: In 1938, Hong Kong Mines Ltd, under the management of Mr Laurie Nielson, established Lin Ma Hang as a modern and efficient lead mine. However, the Pacific War and occupation of Hong Kong by the Japanese resulted in the mine falling into ruin. The processing equipment was removed and the tunnels stripped of all valuable apparatus and temporary […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: On the 29th August, 1945 a small armada of British naval vessels under Rear Admiral Harcourt arrived off Hong Kong, ready to re-establish British administration in the territory. The following day as HMS Swiftsure entered the harbour, three Japanese suicide boats left Lamma Island to attack. Anticipating the move, aircraft from HMS Indomitable were on hand to sink […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: Galena ore, the main source of lead was first discovered at Lin Ma Hang in around 1914. As described in Part 1, a number of attempts were made to commercially exploit the lead ore, but they all failed. That was until Mr Morrison Brown Yung took an interest in the site and introduced modern mining methods to extract […]
» Read more