Tymon – Page 6 – The Industrial History of Hong Kong Group

The Hong Kong Excavation, Pile Driving and Construction Company Ltd and the Charles L Shank photograph album

April 7, 2024 Tymon Construction, Hong Kong Companies, Non-Hong Kong Companies, People, Utilities

Tymon Mellor: The question was, “Who is Charles L Shank and what was his connection to the Shek Lai Pui Reservoir?”. A rather open question, but one that has led to an interesting journey. The questioner had acquired a large format book with 122 professional photographs of pre-war Hong Kong construction sites. Sample photographs provided documented the construction of the […]

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The Mines of Lam Tsuen – corruption, conviction and jail sentence

March 25, 2024 Tymon Articles, Mines, Quarries + Dredging

Tymon Mellor: Mining is always a high risk enterprise, but in the case of the Lam Tsuen lead mines, it was compounded by remote terrain, objecting villagers and corrupt officials. This is the story of the lead mines on the Lam Tsuen river at Ng Tung Chai, near Tai Po. After the Second World War, interest in mining picked up […]

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Mapping Hong Kong Part 4 – 1866 Map of San On District

March 18, 2024 Tymon Articles

Tymon Mellor: The new colony of Hong Kong was built on a Christian background with arrival of the western military and merchants. The territory became a base for missionaries who provided schooling, hospitals and religious services and the opportunity to spread the word into China. One of these missionaries was a young Italian priest, Simeone Volonteri who from 1862 would […]

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Mapping Of Hong Kong Part 3 – 1845 The Collinson Map

March 8, 2024 Tymon General

Tymon Mellor: On the 24th May, 1843 Lieutenant Thomas Bernard Collinson, RE boarded the Mount Stewart Elphinstone[1] with a detachment of sappers and miners, two civilian clerks of works and three works foremen, who were bound for the new colony of Hong Kong. Collinson had been appointed by the Board of Ordnance to produce a detailed map of the new […]

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Hong Kong Water Supply – Mint Dam and Other Early Structures

February 28, 2024 Tymon Articles, Industrial Districts + Locations, Utilities

Tymon Mellor: In the 1870’s as Hong Kong, or more precisely the city of Victoria, expanded, it was a continual challenge to supply water to the growing population and new industries. Whilst the western portion of the city could utilise the new water supply from the new Pok Fu Lam reservoir, everything east of the “Clock Tower” in Pedder Street […]

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Mapping Of Hong Kong Part 2 – 1841 The Belcher Map

February 23, 2024 Tymon Articles

A map of a city Description automatically generated

Tymon Mellor: The first survey of Hong Kong was undertaken by Captain Edward Belcher from his naval ship HMS Sulphur in 1841, with the chart published in 1843. The chart provided the first survey of Hong Kong Island, surrounding waters, Kowloon coastline, and adjacent islands. It provided topographic information and over time, was revised to reflect the growth of the […]

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Mapping Hong Kong Part 1 – Where Are We?

February 19, 2024 Tymon General

Tymon Mellor: Every day we use maps, be it in our head or on our mobile phone, they guide us and lead us through our modern complex environments. Maps show us the relationships between elements, but for this article I will focus on maps that depict geography, or to be correct, cartography and the cartographers responsible for their production. In […]

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Hong Kong Water Supply – The Tai Tam Tuk Scheme First Section

January 28, 2024 Tymon Utilities

Tymon Mellor: With the memory of severe water shortages fresh in the minds of the Hong Kong residents and with the political will to address, once and for all the limited water supply to the city of Victoria, in 1902 the Public Works Department embarked on the Tai Tam Tuk Scheme. Unlike all the previous reservoir schemes, this proposal included […]

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Why “Lead Mine” Pass – Location

January 25, 2024 Tymon Mines, Quarries + Dredging

Tymon Mellor: Below is the possible location of the old lead mine, close to Lead Mine Pass. From the 1963 ortho photo, there are abandoned buildings clearly visible on the main path (circled in red) opposite the possible mine site. The suggested mine site can be seen (highlighted in red) to be terraced, indicating some sort of man made activity […]

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West Rail – Part 10 Operations: The Ghost Train

January 16, 2024 Tymon Transport

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Tymon Mellor: Following five years of construction, the West Rail Line opened for revenue services on the 20th December 2003 at 2pm. The KCRC was expecting around 200,000 passenger trips a day to use the new service, with the line providing a fast direct link between Kowloon and the north-west New Territories. But once the initial euphoria subsided there was […]

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