York LO: Lee Kung Man (利工民): maker of the Golden Deer (金鹿) and Cicada (秋蟬) singlets and hosiery While many of the prewar singlet manufacturers in Hong Kong such as Chow Ngai Hing, Ngai Sang, Chuen Sun and Lee Yu Hing have long faded into history, Lee Kung Man Knitting Factory and its popular Golden Deer and Cicada brands (with […]
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Hugh Farmer: I have been unable online to find any images of the reservoir’s dams or of any other man made structures at the location and would be grateful to be sent any a reader might find. Lau Shui Heung reservoir, built in 1968 as part of the Plover Cove Reservoir engineering programme, is a reservoir located within the boundary […]
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Tymon Mellor: Construction of the Kowloon Canton Railway included the excavation of the Beacon Hill tunnel through the Kowloon hills. At the time, the tunnel at 7,212ft or 2,198m was the longest tunnel in China and the fifth longest tunnel outside Europe. The southern and northern portals were remote from existing villages and sickness among the workers was common. To […]
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Stephen Davies: An interesting question to which I don’t know the answer, is what the provenance is of the gasometer that still stands (and I believe is in use for stand-by storage) back from the Tin Wan Praya waterfront just outside the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter West entrance (on the north shore). I’m fairly sure it’s been there as long as I […]
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HF: I am afraid I do not know the source of the following timeline. I would be grateful if someone comes across the origin and notifies me. Further information about or images of any of the subjects or companies mentioned would also be very helpful. I have added supplementary information and sources on a number of subjects where I am […]
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HF: Shatin Airfield was a small military airfield which had a single concrete runway. It was built in 1949 for use by the British RAF and demolished in the early 1970s as the Shek Kong Airfield was consolidated, and was later re-developed as part of the New Town project for Shatin. The 28th May 1954 edition of Flight magazine contains […]
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York Lo: May Sun Shoes Manufactory (美新鞋廠) Ad for May Sun Shoe in 1938(Source: 新型畫報 – 民國廿七年（1938）創刊特大號) May Sun Shoes Manufactory was founded in the 1930s by Yip Chi-shing (葉智成) with its factory located at 18B Aberdeen Street in Central. From the 1938 ad above, its phone number was the auspicious and easy to remember 28662 and its leather shoes […]
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York LO: Blood Protection Co (保血有限公司) and Fish brand mosquito incense Left: old package of Blood Protection Co’s Fish mosquito destroyer featuring the portrait of its founder H.L. Sum (right) and his brother/son. Right: Blood Protection Co’s ad from the early 1960s – the tagline reads what’s the point of having money when you cannot protect your blood. The warm […]
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HF: I have occasionally changed the original script of the following passage in order to aid clarity. ”Pokfulam Village, built over 200 years ago, is one of the oldest living villages in Hong Kong. The earliest written record is found in San On Gazetteer (1819 version). It is believed that the village was founded by some Hakka Chinese (the Chan, […]
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York Lo: HK Cutlery Manufacturers from the 1960s and 1970s – Chuang’s, Trinity, Foo Kwong, HK Tableware and Good Friend In the 1960s, the cutlery industry emerged in Hong Kong thanks to the UK government’s policy of Commonwealth preference which favored imports from HK over Japan. The industry grew very rapidly in the early 1960s, with total exports grew from […]
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