Tai Po Kau – KCR Station & Ferry Pier transport hub
Hugh Farmer: Tai Po Kau station (大埔滘車站) was a railway station on the Kowloon Canton Railway (KCR) when it opened in 1910.
It was also known as Tai Po Station.
This image shows the KCR being constucted in 1906. “Tai Po Kau (centre) and Yuen Chau Tsai (centre right). In the centre is Tai Po Kau Bay. The construction reaching out across the bay is part of the work for the building of the Kowloon-Canton Railway viaduct across the bay. Beside the bay can be seen a number of temporary matsheds housing workers busy building the railway.” (1)
KCR Construction at Tai Po Kau 1906 Courtesy: HKU Libraries
Nearby was a pier serving the north east New Territories making the combination of station and pier something of a transport hub.
Tai Po Kau Railway Station 1921 Courtesy: HKU Libraries
As roads and public transport were improved in the area and as the remote villages depopulated, the importance of the station and the pier declined quickly. The station was abandoned when the railway was electrified in the early 1980s.
This photograph from HK Government archives shows the pier as it was before extensive reclamation and the construction of the Tolo Highway. The pier still exists but in a considerably shortened form.
I took these photos of the pier on 25th November 2016:
Looking north-west with Tai Po in the background
Looking north-east with the Pat Sin Leng ridge in the background
Looking south-east with Yim Tin Tsai above the end of the pier
In 1990s, the station structure was removed and replaced with staff quarters of KCR Corporation.
This rather indistinct map from 1966 shows the ferry routes from Tai Po Kau ferry pier at that time. Or possibly a single circular route.
Report: The Port of Hong Kong pub by the Marine Department 1966.
This article was first posted on 31st July 2014.
Sources:
- KCR construction near Tai Po Kau, 1906 HK Memory Project
See:
- The Former Tai Po Kau Railway Station at Tai Po Kau, Tai Po Philip Edward Kenny has done considerable research into both the station and ferry pier as can be seen in this link to his excellent website Hong Kong (& Macau) Stuff.
- http://gwulo.com/node/11762 An aerial photo of the Tai Po area c1963 showing the ferry pier plus relevant comments from Philip Edward Kenny and others.
Related Indhhk articles: