Kwong Chan Timber Merchants (廣棧木行)
York Lo: Kwong Chan Timber Merchants (廣棧木行)
Left: Kwong Chan founder Wong Shui-leung; Right: Ad for Kwong Chan Timber Merchants in 1967 (Pun U District Association, 1967)
Earlier in the group, we have covered several players in the timber business in HK such as Wong Tong Kee, Wing Tai Cheung and Ng Jim Kai. One of the leading players in the timber business in the 1950s through 1970s was Kwong Chan Timber Merchants.
The founder of Kwong Chan, Wong Shui-leung (黃遂良) was a native of Panyu in Guangdong province and. Little info is available about Wong’s career but a timber merchant of the same name was listed as operator of Kwong Cheung Timber Merchants (廣祥木行) in Canton in 1951.
In 1958, Kwong Chan’s office was listed as Lot No. 955 Tai Kok Tsui Road in Tai Kok Tsui and its saw mill was located at Kowloon Inland Lot 8, Cheung Sha Wan Road in Lai Chi Kok. (HKBCA yearbook)
The 1963 HK Yearbook published by Wah Kiu Yat Po still list Kwong Chan’s address as 955 Tai Kok Tsui Road but by 1967 according to the ad shown above, its office address was the 2nd floor of 134 Sai Yeung Tsoi Street in Mongkok while its saw mill was located at 34-36 Chai Wan Street in Tsuen Wan. The firm imported all kinds of timber from all over the world with electric saw that cut wood for distribution to building contractors and retail sales to individuals.
By the 1970s, Kwong Chan was led by Wong Cheuk-wing (黃卓榮), presumably the son of Wong Sui-leung, who like his father was involved with the HK Pun U District Association and served as its vice chairman.
As a firm, Kwong Chan Timber Merchants Ltd was incorporated in 1972, renamed Kwong Chan Trading Co Ltd in 1978 and dissolved in 1987.
Left: Kwong Chan Timber second generation leader Wong Cheuk-wing (HK Pun U District Association 100th Anniversary booklet, 1988); Right: wedding picture of Wong Cheuk-wing and Tsui Yuet-chau in 1954 (WKYP, 1954-1-16)
Sources (other than those cited above):
http://www.gzzxws.gov.cn/gzws/gzws/ml/51/200809/t20080912_7416_7.htm
This article was first posted on 6th August 2021.
Related Indhhk articles:
- Wong Tong Kee (黃棠記) – the Timber Merchant and the Mansion
- Wing Tai Cheung (榮泰祥木廠) – Timber Merchant and Saw Mill
- Ng Jim Kai (吳東啓） – Financier of the Chinese Revolution and Pioneer of the Garment and Shipping Industries in Hong Kong
- Richard C.K. Chan (陳卓堅): timber baron, shipping tycoon and stamp collector
- Q+A48 Wai Chap Timber Yard 1944