“If you missed the last Star Ferry at 1:30am, [back in the 1960s] you could hire a walla-walla (jip6 laa1 jip6 laa1 嘩啦嘩啦), a kind of small motorised water taxi that plied the waters between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. “The name came from the sound of the boats when they were cruising,” says retired journalist Li Ping-sum,who grew up in Yau Ma Tei. […]
» Read more
York Lo: Star Power: E. Penn Industrial Manufactory (興華實業) and “Butterfly” (胡蝶牌) Vacuum Flasks and Torch Cases Left: the wedding of Eugene Penn and Butterfly Wu in Shanghai in 1935. The maid of honor was Koo Lan-kung (顾兰君) and bridesmaid Yuan Mei-yun (袁美雲); flower girls were Wu Yun-yun and Lo Siu-tik, and ringbearer Lai Hang (黎铿, son of Lai Man-wai, […]
» Read more
Elizabeth Ride has sent BAAG Report KWIZ #67 , dated 22nd September 1944, and noted earlier: After KWIZ #4, the Naval section is not included in the AWM papers, and does not appear again until KWIZ #66, and then in a slightly different format. HF: I am afraid because of time constraints I am no longer able to summarize and […]
» Read more
York Lo: Yat Hing & Co (日興建築) – Contractors from the 1920s to 1960s Ad for Yat Hing & Co from HKBCA yearbook Founded in 1923, Yat Hing & Co was a leading contractor in HK from the 1920s to 1960s authorized to work for the Admiralty, Army & Royal Air Force and also engaged all types of civil engineering […]
» Read more
Elizabeth Ride has sent BAAG reports included in the article World War Two – 1945 BAAG report on Dockyards in occupied Hong Kong. These included this extract regarding the Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock company, also and commonly known as the Kowloon Dock. It illustrates the extensive damage caused to the docks by allied bombing towards the end of WW2. IDJ […]
» Read more
IDJ: The felling of the concrete chimneys at the decommissioned Tsing Yi Power Station On 15 November 1998 the five chimneys were demolished at the same time by controlled explosives weakening the structures so they fell safely to the ground in a prearranged pattern. These images were taken from a video of the event. See: The Demolition of Tsing Yi […]
» Read more
Earlier on the website, we profiled the major taxicab companies in HK from the 1920s to the 1960s. The late 1960s saw the dissolution of the large taxicab companies and the emergence of driver-owned taxis driven by regulatory changes and the proliferation of transportation vehicles such as minibuses and unlicensed cabs (also known as “white plate cars”) to meet the […]
» Read more
York Lo: From Sony to American Standard: the story of Chung Yuen Electrical and Acme Sanitary Ware Left: Chiu Oi-wah delivering speech as vice chairman of Radio Association of HK in 1959 (Ta Kung Pao, 1959-7-12); Right: The opening reception of Fook Yuen’s new offices in Central in 1975. Left to right: Peter Chiu, Chiu Oi-wah, Shigeo Maruyama (MD of […]
» Read more
York Lo: Yan Kow (甄球) and Hip Hing Construction (協興建築) Left: Yan Kow (right) and Cheng Yu-tung (centre) and David Sin (left) at Hip Hing’s 10th anniversary celebration in 1971 (WKYP, 1971-5-3); Right: ad for Hip Hing and its 3 construction affiliates in the 1970s In the 1960s and 1970s, Yan Kow was a major figure in the construction industry […]
» Read more
Hugh Farmer: We currently have over 1,600 articles posted on the website. I wonder if you could spare a little time to help the site develop. Maybe an hour or two each month? The life blood of the Group and the website is articles, either about a new subject or adding additional information to one already posted. Articles do not […]
» Read more