Tymon Mellor: In the early days of the Colony, convicted criminals were subjected to a harsh regime of beatings and manual labour. In particular, convict teams were used to construct the new roads required for the expanding economy. The first Chief Magistrate for the territory, Captain William Caine, an army officer familiar with military discipline, was appointed on the 30 […]
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York Lo: Union Ceramic Industries and Heart Brand Enamelware Left: Union Ceramic Industries’ ad from 1949 (China Mail 1949-5-26); Right: Union Ceramics’s factory (Source: Ta Kung Pao, 1956-1-1) During the heyday of the HK enamelware industry between the 1940s and 1960s, Union Ceramic Industries (一心搪瓷, hereafter referred to as UCI), the maker of Heart Brand enamelware, had the distinction of being […]
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James Chan: Whampoa is the second in a four tug series constructed by Cheoy Lee Shipyards for Hong Kong United Dockyards (HUD). The first was Taikoo which was also named after the two shipyards Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock (founded 1863) and Taikoo Dockyard (1902) which merged to form HUD. The Whampoa is a RAmparts 3000 Class Terminal Support Tug specifically designed […]
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York Lo: From 1903 to 1983, kaolin clay was mined in a quarry in Cha Kwo Ling, a village near Kwun Tong facing the harbor. The 19 acre mine was operated by Hong Kong Clays and Kaolin Company (香港磁泥有限公司)… …In post War Hong Kong, George McBain operated out of the South China Morning Post Building in Central and the primary operation […]
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IDJ has sent the following book extract about Italian Francesco de Pinedo and his 55,000 kms 1925 flight. This included landing close to the Asiatic Petroleum wharf at Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong. Source: Wings Over Hong Kong, Odyssey Guides, Crecy Publishing Ltd, 1998 See: Information about the book Wings Over Hong Kong This article was first posted on 11th February 2015. Related […]
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York Lo: Lo’s Mee Kwong and Join-In Shirt Left: the name Lo’s Mee Kwong lives on in the LMK Development Estate in Kwai Chung; Centre: an advertisement from the early 1980s promoting the “colorful world” of Join-In Shirt; Right: Early 1980s picture of Join-In Estate (now Prosperity Centre) in Kwai Chung. From the late 1970s to early 1980s, Join-In Shirt (鍾意恤) […]
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Tymon Mellor: With the threat of a war, it was recognised that Hong Kong would be susceptible to air raids. The British Colony was a key logistics hub for Asia and the deep-water port made it ideal for marine traffic. The territory was initially subject to Japanese raids in 1941 then American lead bombing from 1942 until the conclusion of […]
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Edward Schneider: The Orient Tobacco Manufactory works was on a site in Kowloon bordered by Nathan Road, Dundas Street, Soy Street and Kwong Wa Street. It had a total surface area of 307,095 sq.ft. (approximately 3 hectares) and was registered as Lot numbers 1421 and 2629. It was acquired as a grant on 1 January 1908 for $86,124.40. The buildings cost $278,485.45. […]
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Carles Brasó Broggi writer of our article, Shanghai Spinners: Pioneers of Hong Kong’s industrialization, 1947-1955, linked below, has sent the following introductory information about Texas Cotton Mills Ltd. If you can provide further information about, or images of, this company, we would be delighted to hear from you. With the establishment of Texas Cotton Mills Ltd. in June 1959 the […]
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IDJ has sent the following newspaper article about what he calls “Hong Kong’s Klondike”. If you are not familiar with this: The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899. The image below comes from Tymon Mellor’s article, Lin Fa Shan Mine, linked below, and bears a passing resemblance, except for the […]
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