Tymon Mellor: In the early days of flying, there were no paved runways, just large flat areas allowing take-off and landing to suit the prevailing wind conditions. Initially there was little interest from the Hong Kong Government to identify a suitable site within the territory for an aerodrome as flying was seen as a niche interest with little practical use. […]
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Tymon Mellor: Between 1923 and 1933, four Canadian geologists mapped and documented the territory’s geology. This resulted in the first geological map being published in 1936, along with a memoir published much later in 1952. In the post war environment, the high population growth and economic development required new and extensive infrastructure, in turn requiring a better understanding of the […]
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Tymon Mellor: In the summer of 1920, the Governor of Hong Kong decided that a geological survey should be undertaken of the territory to establish the economic resources of the Colony. The exercise was planned to be completed within 12 months. However, finding suitable personnel and a series of unfortunate events delayed the survey. It was not until 1936 that […]
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Tymon Mellor: Hong Kong was built from stone and bricks, all held together with a cement mortar. All these materials were locally made using the natural resources Hong Kong could provide. The New Territories are rich in clay, which over the years has been used for pottery and brick manufacturing. The use of air dried bricks for house building was common, and fired bricks have […]
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Tymon Mellor: Following the Second World War, burial of the dead was a significant issue within the Territory as the graveyards were filling up. In the early 1940’s the Government proposed developing a new public cemetery at Wo Hop Shek, north of Tai Po served by a spur line from the Kowloon Canton Railway. The local community had reservations about […]
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Tymon Mellor: On the 28th March, 1886, the first of many blasts was initiated at the Mui Wo silver mine. The owner, Mr Ho A Mei (see Part One of this article linked below) wanted to extract the galena ore to aid in the mineral processing of the richer ore from a Mainland mine of his. The mineral processing facility […]
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Introduction Tymon Mellor: With the completion and publication of the GSGS 3868 1:20,000 map of Hong Kong in 1928, the territory had a comprehensive map of the colony. As with any map, it was out of date the day it was published, and work commenced immediately on preparing new additions. However, wider problems were identified that raised doubt over the […]
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Tymon Mellor: In 1928 the Geographical Section General Staff (GSGS), a department in the British War Office, published a new map of Hong Kong reference GSGS 3868. The map contained 24 sheets at a scale of 1:20,000 and set a new standard for mapping. It had been produced from aerial photographs and unusually for the time, adopted the metric measurement […]
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Tymon Mellor: As a key trading port for Southern China, Hong Kong harbour has always been full of boats stocking up for the next long journey. One question has always puzzled me, where did they get their fresh water? A look at the original maps of Kowloon provides an answer. The first map of Kowloon and the New Territories was […]
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Tymon Mellor: Under a clear blue sky on the 3rd November, 1924 HMS Pegasus, an aircraft carrier, steamed into Victoria Harbour. On board were nine seaplanes fitted with state-of-the-art camera equipment for aerial photography, along with a band of enthusiastic pilots. Large scale aerial photography was in its infancy and this was one of the most ambitious applications of aerial […]
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