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… Another restaurant that has withstood the ravages of the notoriously cutthroat Hong Kong dining industry is Forum, still one of the city’s best-known restaurants. […]
» Read more
York Lo: Y.C. Liang and HK Macao Hydrofoil Left: a scene from the 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun in front of the HK Macau Hydrofoil ticketing booth; Right: a HKMH ticket from 1983 In the history of transportation between Hong Kong and Macau, the legendary Yuen-Cheong Liang CBE (梁潤昌, but better known as Liang Cheong […]
» Read more
HF: 1962 saw the release of the first officially designed envelopes for first day covers, marked with ”Official First Day Cover”, for the 100th anniversary of the first postage stamp of Hong Kong. Prior to 1962 there were no official designs other than the postmarked date, and envelopes were designed instead by hobbyists such as the Hong Kong Philatelic Society […]
» Read more
“Getz Bros. & Co.- America’s largest non-commodity international marketing and services company – traces its beginnings to 1860 and a place called Lower Lake, California, a frontier area one hundred miles north of San Francisco. Joseph Getz, a Prussian immigrant, opened a general store there that served farmers in the area, selling dry goods and groceries. By the early 1880s […]
» Read more
York Lo: Shum Choy-wah (岑載華) – HK Industrial Leader from the 1940s to the 1960s Left: Portrait of Shum Choy-wah wearing his medal of honor (Kung Sheung Daily News, 1969-12-26); Right: Shum Choy-wah and fellow CMA leaders posing with the Governor at the Amoy Canning booth at the 7th Chinese Products Expo in 1949. From left to right: Wong Tok-sau, Governor […]
» Read more
HF: Desalination (or “Desalting” as it appeared to be called at that time) was a source of water in Hong Kong between 1975 and 1981. A large desalination plant was commissioned at Lok On Pai, near Tuen Mun, in 1975, but was decommissioned in 1981 because its operation was more expensive than importing water from Dongjiang in China. A Water Supplies […]
» Read more
York Lo: Founding Fathers of the HK Fur Industry: Stephen Fong of Siberian Fur and Michael Sun of Hong Kong Fur For a city with a sub-tropical climate, Hong Kong seems an unlikely place to emerge as the world’s biggest exporter of fine fur garments and accessories with export sales of over HK$2.5 billion and local sales of HK$125 mil […]
» Read more
HF: Thanks to SCT for proofreading the following retyped article. Post-war 1945-1997 Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, and postal service under the British resumed on 25 August, initially for free. No stamps were available, so octagonal hand stamps inscribed with Hong Kong 1945 postage paid were later used in lieu of stamps. In early September, the government rediscovered the […]
» Read more
“Kenneth Alfred Wolfe Barry (c1879-1936) Second son of John Wolfe Barry Partner in business with his father, along with A.G. Lyster, Past President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and G. E. W Crutwell, M. Inst. C.E. J. S. 1936 Obituary: Kenneth Alfred Wolfe Barry , O.B.E., was the senior partner in the firm of Sir John Wolfe Barry and Partners. […]
» Read more
York Lo: “The Prince of Garments”: Wong Mee of Sweetmart and Carlo Wong’s Factory Building in Tsuen Wan; Right: HK garment pioneer Wong Mee In October 2017, the 23 story Wong’s Factory Building (王子工業大廈) at 368-370 Sha Tsui Road in Tsuen Wan was sold for HK$1.23 billion. (Building was valued by HSBC at $80-90 million in 2005 according to court […]
» Read more