HF: In Hong Kong, qipao is more commonly known as Cheongsam, which carries a distinct Hong Kong flavour. With its well defined lines and myriad designs the cheongsam combines light and soft fabric with a tight fitting cut to show off the beauty of the female silhouette and highlight a woman’s graceful manner and elegant charm. It was in the […]
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Elizabeth Ride has kindly sent the sketch map and key from a February 1945 BAAG report shown below. Stephen Davies: This was also known at the Boat Pool. gwulo has a map shown in the its link below which shows the Camber as the small basin to the right, ie east, of the main basin. Hugh Farmer: Some mystery surrounds […]
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IDJ: The book Hong Kong Bank-The building of Norman Foster’s masterpiece by Stephanie Williams-1989 is the book to have for the whole process-concept to completion. HF: I cannot find an online version of this so for the time being we will have to make do with the following images IDJ has kindly sent.(1) The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) […]
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Tymon Mellor: In 1955 mineral prices were on the rise and there was a large influx of new population into Hong Kong, mineral extraction and mine development was a growth industry. Sensational mining stories and corruption were not uncommon. In April, 1955 an amateur geologist, Corporal William Bruce Harries, of the Royal Army Educational Corps discovered a deposit of Beryl […]
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York Lo: Eastern Arts Lantern (東藝宮燈) Eastern Arts booth at the 1971 HK Products Expo. Source: HK Memory In the 1950s and 60s, HK industrialists leveraged the flexibility of plastic as a material and developed a wide variety of products ranging from toys, flowers, Christmas trees, buckets, plates to shoes and sandals and exported them all over the world. One […]
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Rico Lee + HF: HK: (1) Vianini Lavori SpA is an Italian company with a history of involvement in large construction projects including several in Hong Kong. It is a subsidiary of Caltagirone and I think has operated since 1890, though I unsure which of these companies commenced operations in that year. HF: (2) The above photo shows the dolo-shaped […]
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Mike T: There’s a lengthy, quite detailed article for Chinese-language readers at the link below. (I can’t read it myself, so have to infer from a poor-quality Google translation.) The author seems to have gotten a tour of the factory in 2011, and provides photos inside and out. I found it quite interesting that their production was once significant enough to […]
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James Chan: I found this reference to Chu Lu Kok Island Granite Quarry while looking for something else. The documents here come from the Public Works Department, 1906. The documents say the island was “on the north of Lantao Island” though the Particulars of the Lot say “north of Chu Lu Kuk. A mistake? I can’t find where this island […]
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Tymon Mellor: With the completion of Tai Tam (Upper) reservoir in 1888, the city of Victoria now had a secure water supply. The “big reservoir at Taitam” would have sufficient capacity to support the population of 146,000; but now it was time to improve the supply networks[i]. However, with a growing population, unreliable rainfall and the introduction of residential water […]
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“Kenneth Alfred Wolfe Barry (c1879-1936) Second son of John Wolfe Barry Partner in business with his father, along with A.G. Lyster, Past President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and G. E. W Crutwell, M. Inst. C.E. J. S. 1936 Obituary: Kenneth Alfred Wolfe Barry , O.B.E., was the senior partner in the firm of Sir John Wolfe Barry and Partners. […]
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