York Lo: Famous HK Tailors (Part One): the Cantonese – Tak Cheong, A Man Hing Cheong, Yee On Tai, Tailor Cheung, and Others Earlier in the group, a SCMP article was posted about the rise and fall of the tailor industry in Hong Kong but the article primarily told the story of Sam’s Tailor. The following series of articles […]
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Our article, G Falconer & Company, Watchmakers & Jewellers, mentions that Falconer were the HK agent for Ross Optical Ltd, Clapham, London. The following information and images about Ross come from the excellent Grace’s Guide website, linked below. Ross of Optical Works, 3 North Side, Clapham Common, London, SW4 (1922) Ditto Address. Telephone: Battersea 3876-7. Cables: “Rossicaste, Phone, London”. (1929) […]
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Tymon Mellor: In the early days of flying, there were no paved runways, just large flat areas allowing take-off and landing to suit the prevailing wind conditions. Initially there was little interest from the Hong Kong Government to identify a suitable site within the territory for an aerodrome as flying was seen as a niche interest with little practical use. […]
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York Lo: H P Wu’s full name was Hsin Ping Wu (吳新炳). Born in 1894 and native of Kiangyin in Kiangsu province, he went to Tsinghua and studied in the US as a Boxer Indemnity Scholar, receiving his BS in electrical engineering from Cornell in 1921 and training at General Electric in the US. From 1927 to 1937, he was […]
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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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HF: Of primary interest to us I think, is Dairy Farm’s production rather than its retailing outlets. As far as I know it is no longer involved in the former which included dairy products and ice. The company has had a long and reasonably complicated history both in Hong Kong and elsewhere involving acquiring other firms and being bought itself. […]
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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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