IDJ has supplied the following article from a volume of “Wonders of World Engineering” edited by Clarence Winchester published in a 1938 or 39 edition. This goes into considerable detail about water supply problems in Hong Kong at that time especially on Hong Kong island, the resultant surveys undertaken to find a suitable location for a large reservoir. The selection of the […]
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CM Fung: Dan Waters’ recollections: Dan Waters said “he remembers that when he arrived in HK in the 1950s it was possible to be taken up Sunset Peak (Tai Tung Shan) on Lantau island in a sedan chair. $30 to the top; or $15 half way up which Dan seems to remember was quite common.” Fung Chi Ming’s feedback: I […]
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A little more information on the history of taxis in Hong Kong to add to our other articles, on the subject, linked below. Many thanks to SCT for proofreading the retyped version. Taxis cars can be further classified into those that charged according to the meters and cars for hire which did not charge by mileage. 1922 From the 17th […]
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York Lo: Samuel Gee Yen (嚴欣淇) and East Sun Textile(怡生紗廠) Left: Bio and picture of Samuel Gee Yen in 1948. Source: 實業界名人錄(1948); Right: picture of Samuel Yen before boarding CAT plane to Taiwan to visit his relatives in 1959 (WKYP, 1959-8-24) Founded in April 1949 by Samuel Gee Yen (aka Shing-Gee Yen 嚴申耆,1906-1984), East Sun Textile was one of the […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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