York Lo: The Three Kings of Biscuits – M.Y. San, M.P. San and Pacific In the history of the biscuit and confectionery industry in Hong Kong, M.Y. San, M.P. San and Pacific Biscuit & Confectionery were three prominent firms which shared a common root – they were all started by members of a Filipino Chinese family hailed from Zhongshan (formerly […]
» Read more
Homi Villa, a distinctive white building, was built by Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee, 律敦治, as a convenient place from which to oversee the construction of the Hong Kong Brewers and Distillers Ltd Brewery at nearby Sham Tseng. It’s located on an attractive promontory at 401 Castle Peak Road overlooking the Ma Wan Channel. It was subsequently purchased by the Hong Kong Government […]
» Read more
James Hayes has kindly given permission for several of his articles published by the Royal Asiatic Society (HK Branch) to be posted on our website. Here he writes about Charcoal Burning in Hong Kong which was included by the RASHKB in its Journal Volume 11, 1971. James mentions several locations where charcoal was produced, namely:- Kwun Tong Lamma Island Tong […]
» Read more
HF: If you are unfamiliar with public light buses in Hong Kong the following is a brief introduction to this form of public transport. Thanks to SCT for proofreading the retyped version below. PUBLIC LIGHT BUSES The gau yan van refers to the nine-seater former “New Territories taxi” which served the urban area in Kowloon and also the New Territories. […]
» Read more
HF: The New York Times of 9th July 1984 contained an article about a very ordinary, common, multi-occupant, multi-storey factory building in Aberdeen. The E.On. It is that very standard, simple, cheap design and construction and multiple tenants that makes it, and others like it worth recording. The industrial part of Aberdeen of which the E. On is at the […]
» Read more
Elizabeth Ride has sent a British Army Aid Group (BAAG) report from 1st March 1945, An Outline of Conditions in Occupied Hong Kong which was compiled in early 1945 for use by the Civil Affairs Committee which was to take on the rehabilitation of HK after the planned allied invasion. HF: The report is lengthy so I am going to divide it […]
» Read more
York Lo: Foo Hang, Tai Hang, Lee Heng and B. Green– Four Leaders of the HK Diamonds Industry Left: Lo Fong Siu-po of Foo Hang (right) receiving a souvenir for her generous donations to establish the Lo Ka-chow Memorial Opthalmic from Sir Oswald Cheung while Max Ma of Lee Heng (center) as chairman of Tung Wah looked on. (WKYP, 1983-3-4) […]
» Read more
York Lo: In the 1950s and 1960s, Cosmos Aerated Water (大同汽水廠) was a major soft drinks manufacturer in Hong Kong. The Wong family, which founded and managed Cosmos in HK, was also the founder and owner of Cosmos Bottling, which was the first and second largest soft drink manufacturer in the Philippines. The Cosmos story began in 1918 when Wong […]
» Read more
Simon left a comment about Image 9 below which I have added to the script about Image 9 on 30th May 2022. HF: Geoff Douglass, the creator and administrator of the Photos of Taikoo and Kowloon Dock Families Facebook site, contacted me in May 2016. Geoff very kindly offered to be of any help to our group after I suggested we would […]
» Read more
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 […]
» Read more