“Macau Aerial Transport (MAT) was the first commercial airline company to be established in Macau or Hong Kong. [Founded by Charles de Ricou he] found it wise to set up MAT as a British company but public opinion in Macau was generally against having yet another ‘foreign’ enterprise in their midst. The Government of Macau, however, sensing the obvious merits […]
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IDJ/Hugh Farmer: The Peak Tram was opened for public service on 28 May 1888. Initially a static steam engine was used to power the haulage cable. [can anyone tell us who manufactured the original engine and any other details about the Tram’s early mechanical operation?] In 1926 an electric motor replaced the original engine. This was manufactured along with other […]
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Tymon Mellor: With the memory of severe water shortages fresh in the minds of the Hong Kong residents and with the political will to address, once and for all the limited water supply to the city of Victoria, in 1902 the Public Works Department embarked on the Tai Tam Tuk Scheme. Unlike all the previous reservoir schemes, this proposal included […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent this brief extract from BAAG Intelligence Summaries written during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, World War Two. Three wooden vessels were reported to be under construction and nearing completion in mid-1944 at the Ngautaukok Shipyard, located South of the Fukui Shipyard. Only small wooden ships are built here, and work was reported in July 1944 […]
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Tymon Mellor: Below is the possible location of the old lead mine, close to Lead Mine Pass. From the 1963 ortho photo, there are abandoned buildings clearly visible on the main path (circled in red) opposite the possible mine site. The suggested mine site can be seen (highlighted in red) to be terraced, indicating some sort of man made activity […]
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IDJ: To obtain an electricity supply in Hong Kong customers have to sign up with either China Light & Power Co Ltd or the Hong Kong Electric Co Ltd. However, in the years before 1984 the residents of Cheung Chau Island were supplied from their own independent power station operated by the Cheung Chau Electric Company Co Ltd which had […]
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York Lo: Ting Fung Iron Works (鼎豐鐵工廠) Ting Fung owner Fu Chuen-sang (centre) with his assistant Fung Man-biu (left) and head of sales Shen Sin-lai (right) heading over to West Africa. Shen Source: Wah Kiu Yat Po 1965-8-9 Founded in 1948, Ting Fung Iron Works was one of the leading enamelware manufacturers in Hong Kong. Like most of his peers, […]
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HF: Magazine Island (火藥洲; Fo Yeuk Chau), originally known as One Tree Island (一木島) is located off the southwest coast of Hong Kong Island, and off the northwestern tip of Ap Lei Chau. Administratively, it is part of Southern District. The former Magazine Building on Magazine Island is now a Grade Three Historic Building. It was built by the British Dynamite Company, which later […]
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Tymon Mellor: Following five years of construction, the West Rail Line opened for revenue services on the 20th December 2003 at 2pm. The KCRC was expecting around 200,000 passenger trips a day to use the new service, with the line providing a fast direct link between Kowloon and the north-west New Territories. But once the initial euphoria subsided there was […]
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HF: Enoch Wang recently emailed me with the following information and images for which I thank him very much. Enoch Wang: I am a local aviation enthusiast and recently I had the luxury of having a half a day to spare in Christchurch, which I spent visiting the former Cathay Pacific/MATCO Catalina VR-HDH located at the Air Force Museum of […]
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