History of Mapping Hong Kong Part 7 – 1904 The Maps of King and Newland

 

Tymon Mellor: With the expansion of the colony of Hong Kong into the New Territories, an Indian survey team was mobilised in 1899 under the leadership of George Passman Tate. Its task was to prepare a topographical map and cadastral map, of the New Territories to identifying land lots of the area. By 1901, the main survey was complete and Tate returned to India leaving his assistant William John Newland to complete the assignment.

Cadastral Survey

The cadastral survey required the surveyors to map every land lot while demarcators, representing the Land Court, identified ownership. Work commenced immediately on the cadastral survey, with the initial focus on New Kowloon, the lands directly to the north of Boundary Street. The production of the cadastral survey had three elements:

• establish a local survey network, known as the traverse survey using a theodolite (a five inch of the Everest type) to establishing angles and a surveyor chain to determine length (a chain is a series of metal links, typically 7.9 inches long forming a chain 66 foot long);
• undertake a detailed survey of the area using the plane-table survey method;
• working with the villagers undertaking ‘demarcation’ for the land into lots related to ownership^[1].

Surveyor’s Chain

The territory was divided up into 477 Demarcation Districts or DD, typically representing a valley or local area. The area was then surveyed and the information documented on single or multiple sheets known as the Demarcation District Field Sheet.

The field sheets used ‘Whatmans Paper’, a high-quality drawing paper with one-inch grids and a distinctive watermark. The paper was 28 inches by 20 inches, produced for the plane table surveying process ^[2] and each sheet was signed by W N Newland on completion. At the original scale of 1:3,960 this sheet could cover an area of land approximately 2.6km by 1.8km. However, a typical hillside field say 5m wide would only be 1mm wide on the plan, thus a larger scale of 1:1,980 was required for much of the territory.

Example Survey Sheet (DD130)

For the traverse survey, three groups of surveys each with 2 coolies or assistants were sent out to establish a local survey network for each of the DD field sheets. They would set survey stations at prominent locations commanding a clear view of the area to be surveyed. The stations were marked with wooden pegs and the surveyor established the relative coordinates to each other. The traverse surveys were linked together and with the territory wide survey wherever possible, and with the survey stations at Kowloon City, White Head, Sha Tau Kok, Tung Chung and Lantau to confirm distances.

To minimise the risk of distance measuring errors, two chains were adopted of different lengths. One was the standard length of 100 links or 22 yards, the other was missing seven links. Thus for each measurement, the two lengths were compared by means of a conversion table and if there was a discrepancy, the distances were immediately remeasured^[3].

Tate noted^[4] that local Chinese surveyors adopted a different approach for measuring distance, as they utilised a two-legged instrument set at 1 ‘Sh-eh’ or bù. This was 5.2ft or 1.6m and described as a Chinese pace. The instrument was operated by holding the handle (a) and placing one of the metal clad feet at the start (b), lowering the second foot into the ground then by twisting the wrist and lifting the first leg to swing the unit forward. By counting the number of swings, distances could be quickly measured.

Tates’s Sketch of the Chinese Measuring Device (1901)

With the local survey station established around an area, the detailed surveyors would then plot the survey detail onto the field sheet. Each survey team consisted of a surveyor, one Indian and three Chinese assistants. In total, 16 survey teams were mobilised for the work.

The surveyor would setup the plane-table at each survey station, orientating the table to the north. Using an alidade, a simple sighting tool, they plotted the field observations onto the paper. The survey would sight several features and draw a line on the paper from the survey station in the direction of each feature. If the distance from the survey station to the feature could be measured with a surveyor’s chain, then the feature could be located and plotted. Where the feature was further away, by setting up the plane-table on subsequent survey stations, it was possible to sight the feature and locate it where the two sightlines cross.

Plane-Table and Sight Alidade (1908)

Work on the traverse survey commenced in late November 1899 followed by the detailed survey in December 1899. By June 1900, the end of the first survey season, over 35,257 acres of land had been documented comprising some 226,588 fields^[5].

Field Survey Plotting Use Plane-Table

During the summer months of July to November, no field work was undertaken other than a survey of Kowloon City and its surroundings at a scale of 64 inches to a mile. The remaining surveyors were employed to ink up the maps they had drawn and to estimate the areas of survey, while the survey assistants were returned to India.

In November 1900 with the start of the new survey season, the survey headquarters was moved to Tai Po. Following a review of the previous season’s work and the knowledge that the survey was now into the hilly valleys, the Government decided to increase the scale to 32 inches to the mile or 1:1,980.

Work progressed over the next few seasons, with the cadastral survey being completed in early May 1903. This included the re-survey of New Kowloon, Sha Tau Kok and the cultivated land south of Boundary Street to the larger scale of 1:1,980.

Example of the Traverse Survey and Sighting Lines (DD401 scale 1:1980)

During the period of survey, over 8,000 stations had been established and over 1,000 miles of distance measured with chains. It was discovered that the village children would remove the survey pegs as the wood had value. These were replaced with clay cylinders, sunk into the ground. A total of 556 maps were produced, 40,738 acres of land surveyed and 328,639 holdings of land identified.

Cadastral Survey Data (1904)

Staffing

The intention was to use skilled surveyors and assistants from India, supplemented with unskilled Chinese coolies for chaining and carrying the instruments. It was noted within the first few months of the survey that the local residents took little notice of the survey operation. This was assumed to be due to the presence of Chinese workers.

As part of the Oral History of Chinese Communities^[6], David Faure of Chinese University interviewed Mr Ya Tam Sang, an old villager from Pak Tam Chung who remembered the British acquisition of the NT. He recounted the Indian surveyors coming to measure the land and “knocked circular tiles into the ground for demarcation”. The Indian surveyor camped next to the school and he was amongst a group of school boys who sneaked into their tent and stole a copper saucepan!

Survey teams were brought in under a contract to the Government and would arrive from India at the start of the season and return at the end of the season but there were many problems with this approach. As recorded in November 1900:

“The staff was increased by 6 Surveyors from India, but these new arrivals were not successes; four of them were old men, well over 50, and quite unfit for hard work. We were further handicapped as one Inspector died, 2 Surveyors had to be invalided and one dismissed for incompetence.”

Contract for 48 Indian Surveyors (1901)

The following November 1901, 28 surveyors were recruited along with 48 assistants and 55 Chinese coolies. For the triangulation and topographic survey, a single Indian surveyor supported by 6 Indian assistants and 6 locals undertook the work.

During the survey, the health of the team was poor with men constantly being sent to hospital. In total, one inspector, one surveyor and five coolies died while six surveyors and 9 Indian coolies were invalided back home. Of those, four of the surveyors died during the journey^[7].

The cost for the survey of the New Territories was running at around $35,000 a year. After a review it was found that the original estimate of $17,180 was based on survey work undertaken in Burma with a 30% markup. It was noted that the Burmese countryside was nothing like Hong Kong. Progress was also slowed by the need for the field teams to assist with demarcation and support work with the Land Court requiring additional resources.

Newland, undertook a detailed cost estimate, taking account of the initial work, the estimate was $178,331 against a revised budget of $213,000^[8].

Newland Cost Estimate to Complete the Survey (1901)

King Map – 1904

In the spring of 1902 after reviewing the quality of the Tate one-inch map, the military authorities decided to produce their own map. It would be restricted for military purpose and would only cover the central portion of the New Territories^[9].

The King Map 1904/1924 Showing the Trig and RA Datum (Red) Positions

Major H K King of the Royal Engineers undertook the detailed topographical survey of Kowloon and the lands to just north of Tai Po at a scale of eight-inches to the mile or 1 to 7,920. The survey was undertaken during 1902 and 1903 by a team of surveyors called Paras Ram, Kudratali and Dalbir Rai, and was recorded on 27 sheets. The original survey sheets can be found in The National Archive.

Original Hand Drawn & Printed King Map (1904)

The surveyors used the stations established by Tate^[10], along with their own, giving a total of 134 trig stations along with benchmarks on many of the main roads. The final map had 21 sheets and was published by the Ordinance Survey in 1904 for “War Department purposes only”.

Trig Station and RA Datum

In addition to the traditional trig stations, the map includes stations annotated with ‘R. A. Datum’ all located just off shore. The map does not explain the purpose, but with most of the marks located close to a military battery (guns) it is assumed that this stood for Royal Artillery Datum and reflected the extent of a firing line.

RA Datum and Possible Firing Angles

The map was updated and reprinted in 1924.

Newland Map

The one-inch map prepared by Tate attracted much criticism, including from Tate, and it was described as “more topographical sketch giving the positions of villages, hills, and streams.”^[11] Following Tate’s departure in 1901, Newland committed to compiling a new map of the New Territories from all the available information. This included the topographic survey undertaken by Tate and the details from the cadastral survey along with information on the islands taken from the Admiralty charts^[12]. The map would be prepared at a scale of 2 inches to the mile, providing more space for all the detail.

By in September 1903, the cadastral survey was complete and Newland commenced work on the new 2-inch map. The coast line on the west was taken from the Tate map while the coast line on the east was taken from Admiralty charts. Newland had access to the recently completed King survey and used that for the central portion. The remainder was sketched in based on Tate’s survey and information from the cadastral survey.

Newland Map Indicating Data from the King Survey (1904)

With the completion of the map in early 1904 Newland recommended “I have prepared an Index map on the 2-inch scale showing all the traverse stations laid down. I should suggest that steps be taken to preserve some of these stations, otherwise the existing traverse data will prove useless should occasion arise for extending the surveys”^[13]. The stations were not protected and the information was lost.

On completion of the assignment, Newland returned to India with high praise for his work. His career progressed and by 1913 he was in charge of the Bombay Town Survey^[14]. It would seem that he eventually returned to Britian as John W Newland is recorded as getting married in 1930 in Portsmouth. However, there is no registered death for him, so he and his wife may have returned to India.

The Newland map was published by the Ordinance Survey in 1904 and copies were received in Hong Kong the following year. The PWD recorded that the map had “proved most useful”^[15] but there were critics. In an article published in 1932, L Gibbs noted that “But in the jumble of hills and valleys (pays accidente is the very expressive French term), which makes up the greater part of the Territory the work was difficult and the map produced was in places so inaccurate that when the Geological Survey was undertaken a few years ago, the Canadian geologists in charge of that work were often unable to fit the geological features onto the topographical map.”^[16] Other examples of poor work included the island of Chek Lap Kok, now the location of the international airport, “As an instance of this inaccuracy, it may be mentioned that the island of Chu lu kok (Chik lap kok) north of Lantao, is shown by the contours as 1,000 feet high. It should be 500 feet.” He was more complimentary about the King map, but noted “It is a curious anomaly that Hongkong Island the most important part of the colony should be the worst mapped.”

Newland Map with Trig Stations Highlighted (1904)

Legacy

As the first westerners to survey the New Territories, the staff got the opportunity to name some of the key features, thus one of the major rivers flowing north was called the River Indus (Ng Tung River) and a mountain on the north shore of Plover Cover was named Mount Newland. One of the high peaks to the north of Kowloon was named Tate’s Cairn along with Tate’s Ridge and Tate’s Pass. No doubt this was a key location for establishing the survey between Kowloon and New Territories. The tunnel to the New Territories, opening in 1991 was named Tate’s Cairn after the hillside that it passed under.

The first world war interrupted any further serious mapping work, but with all the continuing urban development and new methods of surveying developed by the military, Hong Kong was about to get a map that would establish the standard to this day. The map produced by Lieutenant H Wace RE and known as GSGS 3868.

 

Note: all maps are available for viewing at www.hkmaps.hk

Sources

1. New Territories Demarcation Land Survey, Edmond Cheung, https://hklandsurveyor.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/%e6%96%b0%e7%95%8c%e4%b8%88%e9%87%8f%e7%b4%84%e4%bb%bd%e5%9c%9f%e5%9c%b0%e6%b8%ac%e9%87%8f/ ↑
2. Explanatory Notes on Demarcation District Sheets (DD Sheets), Edmond Cheung, https://hklandsurveyor.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/explanatory-notes-on-demarcation-district-sheets-dd-sheets/ ↑
3. A General Report on the Survey of the New Territory From November 1899 to April 1904, W J Newland, 11 May 1904 ↑
4. Memorandum on the survey of the “New Territory” or hinterland of Hongkong, 1899-1901; also observations, Tate, G. P, 1904 http://wdago.com/s/6760556e ↑
5. A General Report on the Survey of the New Territory From November 1899 to April 1904, W J Newland, 11 May 1904 ↑
6. Doing Oral History in Chinese Communities, 12-13 November 2004, David Faure, Professor of History, Department of History, Chinese University of Hong Kong ↑
7. A General Report on the Survey of the New Territory From November 1899 to April 1904, W J Newland, 11 May 1904 ↑
8. Government House to Chamberlain, 18^th June 1903, CO129/311 page 371 ↑
9. Government House to Chamberlain, 10^th September, 1902, CO129/312 page 410 ↑
10. Letter C W Davy to H StJ L Winterbotham, 26^th Sept 1922 ↑
11. Survey New Territory, Osbert Chadwick, 26^th April 1902, CO129/311 page 372↑
12. Government House to Chamberlain, 10^th September, 1902, CO129/312 page 410 ↑
13. A General Report on the Survey of the New Territory From November 1899 to April 1904, W J Newland, 11 May 1904 ↑
14. Appendix to the Report of the Commissioners, Volume XV: minutes of evidence relating to the Survey of India Department, taken at Delhi and Calcutta, with appendices, 1913, https://archive.org/embed/dli.ministry.09727 ↑
15. Report of the Director of Public Works, For the Year 1905. ↑
16. Maps of Hong Kong, L Gibbs, Hong Kong Naturalist, May 1932 ↑

This article was first posted on 15th July 2024.

Related Indhhk articles:

1. Mapping Hong Kong Part 1 – Where Are We?
2. Mapping of Hong Kong Part 2 – 1841 The Belcher Map
3. Mapping of Hong Kong Part 3 – 1845 The Collinson Map
4. Mapping Hong Kong Part 4 – 1866 Map of San On District
5. History of Mapping Hong Kong Part 5 – Mapping Kowloon
6. History of Mapping Hong Kong Part 6 – 1901 The Tate Map