Tymon Mellor: At the turn of the 19th century, railways and steam ships were changing the world and demanding new infrastructure to support them. With the construction of the Kowloon-Canton Railway – British Section in full swing, attention turned to the location of the terminus station in Kowloon. There were many competing requirements for the location; resulting in the site […]
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Tymon Mellor: On the 20th October, 1905 the Governor, Sir Matthew Nathan wrote to the Colonial Office in London confirming that the route to be adopted for the Kowloon Canton Railway (British Section) would follow the eastern alignment via Shatin, rather than the western alignment via Tuen Mun, and which would have eight stations within the Territory. Now all they […]
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Before the British took over the New Territories in July, 1898 there were no roads but an extensive network of footpaths paths or Chinese Roads across the territory. These paths provided connections between the villages and to the sea shore for marine transport. The first topographical map of the New Territories, published in 1904 describes the paths as “Chinese roads about 4′-0″ […]
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Tymon Mellor: At the end of the nineteenth century, the great world powers were all trying to expand their spheres of influence within China. The approach of the British was to use Hong Kong as a marine trading hub, enhanced with the provision of a railway network thus extending the Colony’s commercial reach into the Chinese hinterland and connecting with […]
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Tymon Mellor: The development of the Hong Kong road network over the years has allowed the territory to expand and develop into this sophisticated city. At the end of the nineteenth century, roads were limited to the major urban areas of Hong Kong Island and southern Kowloon. In 1898, with the extension of Hong Kong into the New Territories, the […]
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Tymon Mellor: In the late 1960’s the HK Government commissioned a comprehensive geological survey of Hong Kong, to establish and document the territories geology. The Geological Survey of Hong Kong, was undertaken between 1967-1969, and published in 1971. The report was prepared by the Overseas Division of the Institute of Geological Science, working for the Ministry of Overseas Development (London) […]
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Tymon Mellor: The development of the Hong Kong road network has allowed the territory to expand and develop into the sophisticated city it now is. From the arrival of the British in Hong Kong in 1841, construction of new roads commenced almost immediately and continues to this day. The first road to be built was Queens Road, starting in May, […]
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With the ceding of Kowloon to the British in 1860, under the Convention of Peaking, development of the barren headland begin. What had been an area for boat building and small villages became a city with roads and services. Naming of the roads was a problem. The initial development on Kowloon was a military camp and by 1864 this became […]
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Fanling was once the home of Hong Kong’s second race course, Kwanti just off the Sha Tau Kok Road. The site was managed by the Fanling Hunt and Race Club on grounds leased by the Jockey Club for grazing. An inaugural steeple chase meeting was held on the 30 October, 1926 and the course and adjacent stables operated until the […]
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Following the signing of the agreement with China on the 9th June, 1898 to extend the Colony of Hong Kong, a survey was undertaken of the “mainland and islands adjacent to Hongkong” that had been leased to Great Britain. Over the summer of 1898, Mr Stewart Lockhart, assisted by the naval authorities with H.M.S. Plover led a Commission to survey […]
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