HF: The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, as it was known then, was founded by Thomas Sutherland, a young Scotsman, who worked in Hong Kong for a large shipping firm. Local and foreign trade in Hong Kong and at ports in China and Japan had increased rapidly in previous years, and Sutherland recognised that businesses needed better local banking […]
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York Lo: Hing Wah Paste Manufacturing Co (興華製麵) Ad for Hing Wah Paste Mfg in 1921 with pictures of its premises and picture of its chief manager Siu Nai-lun (Official Guide for Shippers & Travellers to the Principal Ports of the World, 1921) Earlier on the website, we covered three noodle manufacturers – Winner, the maker of the popular Doll […]
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Andrew Wood: People in Mui Wo will tell you that Silver Mine Bay, next to the town, is named after a silver mine or mines that closed a century or more ago. They will probably direct you a kilometre or so inland to the Silvermine Cave, on the side of Silvermine Hill, next to the Silvermine Bay Waterfall Garden, on the […]
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Tymon Mellor: Since the early days of the British colony, residential and commercial development have driven much of the economy. The initial land sales provided sites for merchants to build godowns to store their wares, generating revenue for the new administration and providing confidence in the stability in the colony. Construction of elegant buildings and urban infrastructure created the first […]
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York Lo: “The Poetic Industrialist”: Yan Man-leung (甄文亮1898-1983) of Camelpaint and United Weaving Factory (民衆布廠) Article about Yan Man-leung the “Poetic Industrialist” in 1955 (Ta Kung Pao, 1955-12-11) In the 1950s and 1960s, Yan Man-leung was a prominent industrialist in HK who earned the nickname of “Poetic Industrialist” for his love of composing Chinese poetry and his role as the founder […]
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HF: Choi Fook Kee, the workshop which makes Chinese musical instruments and run by Master Choi Cheung Shou was at first in the Western District prior to World War 11. It has relocated several times before settling down at the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei. There are two studio units combined as a larger one. Customers […]
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By Fung Chi Ming The tricycle or ‘cycle rickshaw’, as some people now call it, combines the characteristics of bicycle and rickshaw. Tricycles could be found in Asia and around the world, but they differed significantly in design and appearance. In Malacca and Singapore, it was a carriage with a passenger seat on the left side of the rider. In […]
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Stephen Davies and Hugh Farmer have collaborated in researching the life of George U Sands (1824-1881). In particular his time as the captain of a steamship in China and his later involvement in three Hong Kong companies. Stephen’s contributions are indicated, all others are from HF. Any information about Mr Sands during his time in both China and Hong Kong and […]
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Tymon Mellor: If Government documents are to be believed, the inspiration for the Plover Cove Scheme came from the Director of Water Supplies, Mr T O Morgan while swimming in the sea at Plover Cove[i]. His idea was to convert the sea inlet into a fresh water reservoir by damming the inlet, pumping out the sea water and impounding fresh […]
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York Lo: Yu Yat Kee Watch Co (余日記) Yu Yat Kee Watch’s main store on Johnston Road in Wanchai in 1960 (Paul Almasy, Artnet) Yu Yat Kee Watch Co was one of the leading watch retailers in HK from the 1920s through the 1970s alongside firms, such as Lam Yuen Fong and Budson, which were covered in earlier articles, with […]
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