Hugh Farmer: Holts Wharf (藍煙囪貨倉碼頭) was a godown terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. In 1905 a decision was made to purchase land in Kowloon for the construction of wharves and warehouses so that dedicated and independent facilities were available for the Blue Funnel fleet, part of Alfred Holt & Company. The wharf opened in 1910 and was jointly owned by […]
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Tymon Mellor: For many people, construction of a railway is all about digging holes and pouring concrete as their focus is on the infrastructure and they forget about the railway elements of the project. Much of West Rail’s success was recognizing the need to develop the railway systems proposals in conjunction with the civil works, and then providing a coordinated […]
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HF: Taikoo Sugar Refinery started producing refined sugar in Hong Kong in 1884 and did not cease operation till 1972. During this period of almost a century, it produced some of the world’s highest quality refined sugar widely consumed in many parts of Asia, Australia and North America. Its history illustrates important aspects of Hong Kong’s industrial development.(1) Taikoo Sugar […]
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“Cookson and Co of Milburn House, Newcastle-on-Tyne 1827 Cookson and Co established soda works at South Shields; Thomas Doubleday gave them the plans of his chamber, furnaces, etc, when they established the works[1] 1852 Messrs J Cookson were lead merchants at Upper Thames Street, London, with manufacturing works at Newcastle[2]. 1855 William Isaac Cookson and Co, were paint and colour […]
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York Lo: Cheung Ka Chai Medicinal Wine (張家濟酒廠) Left: Cheung Ka Chai ad in Singapore in 1947 (南洋商报, 12 February 1947, Page 3); Right: Cheung Ka Chai’s Three Goats trademark filed in 1935 (HK Government Report) Cheung Ka Chai is one of the firms not covered in the earlier article about the Chinese distilleries in HK and specialized in medicinal […]
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HF: W C Gomersall was born in London, UK in 1895 and died in Hong Kong in 1960. In 1928 he founded China Engineers Ltd in Shanghai. Post WW2 Gomersall and the company moved to Hong Kong. This obituary is extracted from the journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers a British professional organisation. This article was first posted on 23rd July […]
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York Lo: J. Ullmann (烏利文) – Swiss Watchmaker and Jeweler in HK and China Pictures of the interior and exterior of J. Ullmann’sTientsin store in the 1900s. (Directory and Chronicle of China, 1905) Founded in HK in the 19th century by a Swiss native of the same name, J. Ullmann & Co was a leading watchmaker not just in Hong […]
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A short 1984, Hong Kong Government Publication about Hong Kong’s Country Parks contains information to add to that which we have in already posted articles about the pearl industry in Hong Kong. I would imagine that there must an academic article on this subject hiding away but I have not been able to find one yet. Naturally, I would be […]
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Tymon Mellor: Following a ground breaking ceremony held in October, 1998 construction of West Rail gathered pace. The southern section of the line was in tunnel, while from the northern tunnel portal in Kam Tin, the route passed through the at grade depot before adopting an elevated arrangement, approximately 13.4 km, between Kam Tin and Tuen Mun. Construction of the […]
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Linda Kernan: The history of the soybean and its byproducts stretches back more than 3,000 years in China. The humble soybean was known as the “Cow of China” because it was the main source of protein for the Chinese people. It took a local man, however, to spot the potential of the little bean and transform it into the most […]
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