York Lo: King of Kings (皇上皇) – Ice Cream and Dried Sausages King of Kings (biggest blue sign) next to Chung Yuen Electrical (red sign under the blue Sony sign) on Des Voeux Road Central in the 1960s. Earlier on the website we have covered several prominent ice cream manufacturers from the past such as On Lok Yuen, Finland […]
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Many thanks to IDJ for sending this article in. Thanks also to SCT for proofreading the following copy of the newspaper article. The images below did not appear in the original article. Cross-harbour report expected early 1961 By A CHINA MAIL REPORTER The report of the joint consulting engineers investigating the possibility of a harbour bridge or an alternative link […]
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IDJ: When Hong Kong was liberated in September 1945, one of the military groups diverted to assist restoring the city’s electricity, gas and water utilities and railway was the Royal Air Force’s No. 5358 Airfield Construction Wing that was part of Shield Force. This fleet of Royal Navy Cruisers and Aircraft Carriers plus their support ships were transporting 3000 airman […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent a number of British Army Aid Group (BAAG) reports regarding Japanese efforts to collect metals, vehicles, machinery, coins etc for export, mainly to Japan, during their occupation of Hong Kong (WW2). Elizabeth has re-typed several of these reports and has kindly added references to assist searching where this has not been done. This was a considerable effort […]
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York Lo: Glory Metal Works (光榮五金製品廠) Glory Metal Works was one of the leading manufacturers of pressure lanterns and kerosene lamps alongside World-Light (covered in an earlier article), Lea Hin and Union Metal Works (to be covered later). The firm traced its origin to Kwong Hing Electroplating Co (廣興電鍍), which was founded by Lee Pun-yee (李彬義, 1888-1972), a native of […]
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Thanks to IDJ for the excellent images and information. Hugh Farmer writes:- I had always imagined that the Green Island Cement Company was named after HK’s Green Island (Tsing Chau) opposite Kennedy Town. But no, the company initially started operations on the similarly named island, Ilha Verde, near Macau. The date of its establishment there is given by various sources […]
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Dodwell & Co. (天祥洋行) or Dodwell’s, was one of the leading British merchant firms, or hongs, active in Hong Kong, China and Japan during the 19th and 20th century. It was a direct rival to Jardine, Matheson & Co., Dent & Co., and Russell & Co. Swire oulived the latter two and remains a major commercial power in Hong Kong, China and […]
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York Lo: The “Five Treasures” of the HK Sauce Industry While many industries and its players in HK have come and gone, the sauce industry is one where the players have particularly strong staying power and within the sauce industry, five firms – Pun Chun, Mee Chun, Tung Chun, Koon Chun and Pat Chun- collectively known as “Five Treasures” (as […]
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In 1965 Mary Esther Parker bought a sterling silver “hops shovel” at an antique shop in Fort Walton, Florida. On the back is inscribed: Hongkong Brewers & Distillers Ltd First Lager Brew 27.6.1934 This Hop Shovel with which she put the first hops into the brew is presented with grateful thanks to Lady Southorn The front, scooping side: Mary […]
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York Lo: Pao Hsing Cotton Mill(寶星紡織廠) 7 story Pao Hsing Mill – the largest cotton mill in Kwai Chung in 1961 (HKU Libraries) While Pao Hsing Cotton Mill might not have been one of the largest and best-known cotton mills in HK, it was a notable firm in the history of HK cotton spinners for several reasons – its unusual […]
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