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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Tom Bethea: My cousin Dick Holt and I spent a week aboard schooner Westward in early December 1963, moored off American Marine Ltd, in Junk Bay, Hang Hau. We then removed to Kowloon Docks for several weeks in dry dock for hull re-painting and re-rigging above deck, and finally tied up at HK Royal Yacht Club for the Christmas-New Years […]
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York Lo: Conic – HK Electronics Giant of the late 1970s, early 1980s Picture of Conic board in 1976, left to right: Simon Tam Hon-kong, Tam Chung-sing, Alex Au, Lam Chung-kiu and Yim Shun (absent – Chan Chun-cheung). The quote is somewhat ironic considering the aggressive expansion at the time which ultimately led to the demise of the group within […]
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HF: I have slightly adapted the wording in the following script. Before British rule most locals used to rely on water from streams and wells nearby. With drastic increase in population especially in the City of Victoria a stable water supply became a pressing problem in the colony. But the colonial government was reluctant to claim responsibility for water supply. […]
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“This firm was founded in 1902 by Mr. E. C. Wilks, as a marine engineers’ and surveyors’ bureau. Mr. Wilks was joined in 1903 by Mr. W. C. Jack, formerly Ingenieur en Chef of the Tonkin River Mail Service, and late assistant manager at the Kowloon establishment of the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company. During the five years of […]
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HF: Martyn Cornell, an enthusiastic writer about, and consumer of beer, wrote an excellent history of brewing in Hong Kong which appeared in the article, Roll out the barrel, SCMP 25th August 2013. Martyn tells me this was a short extract from his much longer Brewery History Society article, A Short History of Beer in Hong Kong, which was published […]
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Cecilia Young: My brothers and I are trying to gather information about my father’s company Yuen Hing Hong & Co. Ltd which he and my mother, Annie Lam Young, established in Hong Kong in the late 1940s. York Lo has sent information about Annie Lam Young from her biography in the HK Album 1967 which has been adapted for inclusion here: She […]
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York Lo: Notable Players in the HK Wig Industry in the 1960s and 70s In the 1960s, the US wig market exploded and grew from less than US$10 million a year in 1960 to US$1 bllion within a decade, with over 40% of American women owning more than one wig and importing over 1 million wigs from Asia on a […]
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Tymon Mellor: West Brother Island is located between Tuen Mun and Lantau Island. It is 4km away from the northern coast of Lantau Island. The island, along with East Brother Island and Reef Island, are known as The Brothers. The West Brother Island Graphite Mine operated from 1952 to 1971 with most of its production exported to the United Kingdom […]
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James Chan: There seem to have been several Hong Kong companies with very similar names. More information needed on all three… HF: Information needed indeed. If you can provide any information about or of images of these companies please send it in. a) There was a South China Dyeing and Weaving Works Ltd which appears to have been incorporated on […]
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