Stephen Davies: Further information about the Sainam and her sister ship the Nanning. I now know that the owner, Sai Hing Steam Ship Co., was originally a Chinese firm offering Canton to Macao river ferry services, formed as a syndicate to buy four ex-Swire ships (see SCMP, 9th November 1917, p.11) – the ships were the Nanning, Sainam, San Ui and Lin […]
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York Lo: Camera Men: Shum Ming-hin and Yuen Kang-chuen The history of photography in Hong Kong would not be complete without the profiles of two prominent figures in the camera business – Shum Ming-hin, whose A. Sek & Co was a leading distributor of photographic equipment in HK from the 1920s to the 1960s and his son in law Yuen […]
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Tymon Mellor: With the growing population in both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon there was a growing demand for drinking water, the existing supplies, primarily the Tai Tam reservoirs and Kowloon Reservoir were insufficient to meet such needs. With the failure of the spring rains, water famine became a common occurrence, and a quick fix was required. Water Shortages Following […]
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IDJ has sent a series of articles about managers at Taikoo Dockyard: The first manager, appointed in 1907, was Philip Forster Nicholson, who was born at West Bolden near Sunderland in 1872, his father being a North East Coast shipowner. In 1898 he joined R.& W. Hawthorne Leslie & Co., Ltd, and in 1902 was appointed their Shipyard Manager at […]
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Malcolm Morris added this comment to Q+A 27 Village Vehicles: There was another type of Village Vehicle in use in the New Territories a few decades ago. Lorry buses. These were privately owned and provided transport for villages in areas not served by the major bus companies. IDJ has sent this photo from the very early 1970s. Malcolm attached a […]
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York Lo: The Kwan family and Yue Ying Can Manufacturing and Asia Can Co Left: Yue Ying and Asia Can co-founder Y.P. Kwan (WKYP, 1963-4-3); Right: profile of Yue Ying Can Manufacturing in 1934 (HK Chinese Factories Survey, 1934) Earlier on the website we covered the Shang family of China Can Company. Another key player and pioneer in the HK […]
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Michele Cottage has kindly sent the photograph below and the following information: The photo below is of Mr and Mrs T S Wong Managing Director of Amoy Canning Hong Kong and Singapore. My grandfather is standing between them. Believed to be taken late in the 1930s or early 1940s in Hong Kong York Lo adds: Very precious picture! Wong (1912-1978) […]
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IDJ: The majority of engineering projects of all types generally evolve from an idea, to a sketch and move through stages to become physical models that can be discussed, commented on and hopefully approved. These can stretch from major civil engineering projects such as the airport and its infrastructure all the way through to designs for small manufactured consumer goods. The […]
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York Lo: Kowloon Confectionery & Bakery Co (九龍糖果公司) “Eat More Bread” ad for Kowloon Confectionery in 1941 (A Century of Commerce) The Kowloon Confectionery & Bakery Co was one of leading confectionery firms and bakeries in Hong Kong from the 1920s to the 1960s but has since faded into history. Sam Shong-won (岑崇運, 1895-1969), the founder of Kowloon Confectionery, went […]
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Tymon Mellor: Following the Second World War, burial of the dead was a significant issue within the Territory as the graveyards were filling up. In the early 1940’s the Government proposed developing a new public cemetery at Wo Hop Shek, north of Tai Po served by a spur line from the Kowloon Canton Railway. The local community had reservations about […]
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