Mike T: According to “The Fall of Hong Kong: Britain, China and the Japanese Occupation” by Philip Snow, South China Iron Works was owned by the Chinese Nationalist government (ie. Sun Yat-sen’s anti-communist Kuomintang) as of the 1940s. [This information provided by Mike was originally a comment he made below our article, The South China Iron Works – post WW2 producer of […]
» Read more
York Lo: The Van Family from Cambodia and the Bonsun Group of companies (萬象) Bonsun Industrial Building in Tsuen Wan, next to Wong’s Factory Building Earlier on the website, I touched on the sale of the Wong’s Factory Building at 368-370 Sha Tsui Road in Tsuen Wan, which was developed by the Wong family of Sweetmart Garment (see article). Right […]
» Read more
Hugh Farmer with thanks to IDJ for the report and photos. The following report from 1964 outlines the development of Kwun Tong from 1953 highlighting land reclamation which took place between 1954 and 1957. A total of 140 acres (about 60 hectares) of new land was created along the shoreline. As the map shows much of this was designated for […]
» Read more
Don Holmgren left the following query on 14th December 2017. ”What was the final disposition of the two Hall-Scott Motor coaches – the Taipo Belle and the Canton Belle, did they possibly survive the ravages of World War Two?” Martin Baumann left the following comment on the 6th March 2025. ”Tai Po Belle was found damaged by British forces in […]
» Read more
HF: Alfred Holt and Company, trading as Blue Funnel Line, was a UK shipping company that was founded in 1866 and operated merchant ships for 122 years. It was one of the UK’s larger shipowning and operating companies, and as such had a significant role in the country’s overseas trade and in the First and Second World Wars. Foundation and […]
» Read more
HF: Nam Jam Factory, a manufacturer of torches (not boiled fruit and sugar) was set up in Hong Kong in 1928 and subsequently opened a branch factory in Canton. First some background information about pre-WW2 industries extracted from the HK Memory Project – The Origins of the Hong Kong metal industry. “The metal industry of Hong Kong started budding in […]
» Read more
The following article has been extracted from the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography. The publisher HK University Press, has given permission for it to be posted here. The article about Sir John Douglas Clague was written by Jason Wordie and first published in the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography, edited by May Holdsworth and Christopher Munn. The publisher, HK University Press, has […]
» Read more
York Lo: Bernard Van Zuiden (萬瑞庭, 1899-1979) – Dutch Trader and Philanthropist in Hong Kong Bernard van Zuiden (right) welcoming his visiting elder sister at a cocktail reception in HK in 1959 (WKYP, 1959-12-10) Life and Career of Bernard Van Zuiden Born in Enschede in eastern Netherlands, Van Zuiden studied textile and commerce in his hometown in the 1910s. He […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: This article has been extracted from The Kowloon Canton Railway (British Section) Part 4 – The Early Years (1910 to 1940). Major Railway Incidents Each year there were a number of incidents on the railway. Typically there would be a few derailments resulting in some damage, but no major injuries. There were also regular fatalities, normally three or four […]
» Read more
Hugh Farmer: These pages from a HK government publication of December 1959 describe changes in the the manufacture of umbrellas in Hong Kong. Pre WW2 almost all parts were imported, by the time of this report however, at least some were being produced here. The second page shows the value of exported umbrellas to many countries worldwide. It’s interesting for at least […]
» Read more