At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, 106 years ago today, the British ocean liner Titanic sank into the North Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada. The massive ship, which carried 2,200 passengers and crew, had struck an iceberg two and half hours before. “Eight Chinese men were among the 2,200 people on board the RMS Titanic. Six […]
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York Lo: Finland, London and Swiss – 3 Ice Cream Brands from the 1960s Aside from Dairy Farm, On Lok Yuen and Yan Chim Kee which have been covered in earlier articles, three other HK ice cream makers from the 1960s were Finland Ice Cream, London Ice Cream and Swiss Ice Cream – all with European sounding names but 100% Chinese […]
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Hugh Farmer: I was recently contacted by Samantha Martin, granddaughter of the subject of this article Frank Gardner. Samantha said there were errors in the original article, shown below which was originally posted in November 2014. I am happy to correct those mistakes she notes and thought it best to start with her recent email and highlight the changes Samantha […]
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Hugh Farmer: When I first came to Lamma Island in the early 1990s a powerful odour greeted the visitor as you entered Yung Shue Wan. The smell was instantly recognisable and initially overwhelmingly unpleasant. The manufacturing of shrimp paste. I got used to the odour. Then I began to actually like it. And now I miss it, it’s still made on […]
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York Lo: Kwong Hing Tai (廣興泰) and Kwong Loong Tai (廣隆泰) Left: Advertisement of Kwong Hing Tai in 1941(陳大同編：《百年商業》，香港光明文化事業公司，1941) Right: Kwong Loong Tai Building in Cheung Sha Wan In June 2017, the 11 story Kwong Loong Tai Building at 1016-1018 Tai Nam Street in Cheung Sha Wan was put in the market with estimated value of over HK$1.2 billion thanks […]
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Tymon Mellor: In the early 1930s, a small mining operation was underway near Lok Ma Chau for wolframe, antimony, silver, gold and tin. The mine was unsuccessful in the commercial exploitation of minerals and the owners consequently lost their investments. The location of the mine has never been identified but the parties involved are well documented. This article describes the […]
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York Lo: Chung Kai Knitting (中溪織造廠) – maker of Eagle Pagoda singlets Ad of Chung Kai Knitting in 1955. Source: IDJ Chung Kai Knitting Factory, best known for its Eagle Pagoda (鷹塔牌) singlets, was a major player in the HK garment industry from the 1930s to 1960s before shifting its focus and production to Malaysia. Its founder Lun Chak-sum (倫澤森, […]
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Contributors: JB Julia Bradshaw PC Philip Cracknell HF Hugh Farmer FCM Fung Chi Ming KCM: Kwong Chi Man IDJ TM: Tymon Mellor CM Craig Mitchell ER Elizabeth Ride Lawrence Tsui YHT Yiu Hon Tse, Joseph Ambulances During the Japanese occupation, most of the ambulances were appropriated and taken to Japan. “Canvas cars” were once again relied upon. In 1944, [The] […]
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IDJ says the Kaiser Cement plant at Tuen Mun was supposed to be integrated with the CLP Power Station next door to utilise its large quantities of waste ash and dust from burning coal. Kaiser had large compressors/blowers on their site to move the waste products to their site and silos. We have many articles about Green Island Cement Company and […]
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From Tai Ping Koon, which opened in 1860 and served Sun Yat-sen, to Gaylord Indian Restaurant, open since 1972, to the award-winning abalone served in Forum since 1977, these restaurants have stood the test of time. In a city where restaurants come and go with dizzying speed, those which have stood the test of time are few and far between. […]
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