York Lo: The Tales of the Two Smart Shirts – Standard Shirts Dyeing, Weaving & Finishing Mills and Smart Shirts Manufacturers Ltd In the history of the garment industry in Hong Kong after WWII, there are two “Smart Shirts” and both had ties to Shanghai. The first “Smart Shirt” (司麥脫) is a popular shirt brand made by Standard Shirts Dyeing, Weaving […]
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Tymon Mellor: On the 28th March, 1886, the first of many blasts was initiated at the Mui Wo silver mine. The owner, Mr Ho A Mei (see Part One of this article linked below) wanted to extract the galena ore to aid in the mineral processing of the richer ore from a Mainland mine of his. The mineral processing facility […]
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The only information we have about the South China Toys Factory can be seen in York Lo’s article, Wong Pui-kow (黃佩球): the HK Toy Industry and Chinese Products Store Pioneer, linked below. HF:Is this same company as the South China Toys & Metal Ware Factory? (seen in HK History Museum Library). Can anyone provide further information about and/or images of […]
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York Lo: Hua Nan Motors – HK distributor of DeSoto, Peugeot and Renault automobiles from the 1940s to 1960s From the 1940s to the 1960s, Hua Nan Motors Federal Co Inc (華南汽車公司) was a major car dealership in Hong Kong which served as exclusive distributor of American automobile brand DeSoto and French car brands Peugeot and Renault. In the 1950s, the […]
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Stephen Davies: These are the eleven lighthouses (excluding beacons and buoys) that the records show were operated by the Harbour Master before 1941. Note: The locations of Ma Wan (Kap Shui Mun) and Tungkwu/Lung Kwu Chau lighthouses are not yet shown on the map. Gap Rock lighthouse was in Chinese waters but under the aegis of, and paid for by, […]
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Introduction Tymon Mellor: Following the liberation of Hong Kong from the Japanese in 1945 the KCRC was operated by British Military Administration before its return to civilian control. Within a few months the line was operational and regular services re-commenced. As Hong Kong grew, so did the railway patronage, pushing the railway to the limits of the capacity of the […]
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Jennifer Lang: I just returned from a visit to Shanghai and a look at the many wonderful Bund buildings from the 20th century. Here is more detail on the Asiatic building. It was designed by the architectural firm of Moorhead & Halse and built in 1916. The records I accessed show that it was originally called the McBain Building and […]
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HF: A little more information on a subject we only have three articles about, all posted below. I have retyped the original printed piece to aid clarity and searches. Thanks to SCT for proof reading the retyped version. Urban and residential areas on Hong Kong Island were opened up along the slopes of Victoria Peak, and with only a few […]
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HF: This newly posted article begins what I hope will become an expanding resource of employees of the well known Hong Kong company, Dairy Farm. Dairy Farm was set up in 1886 by Sir Patrick Manson, a Scottish surgeon, and five well known Hong Kong businessmen. They initially aimed to improve the health of Hong Kong people by providing them with non-contaminated cows’ […]
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York Lo: Unsung Kingmakers – the low-key Song Brothers who conquered the Shanghai Bund and Victoria Harbor and backed the development of several key industries in post-War Hong Kong V.J. Song (left) and V.K. Song in Hong Kong in the 1950s (Wendy Song) Before the emergence of Chinese tycoons such as Li Ka-shing and Sir Y.K. Pao in the 1970s, […]
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