Jane Taylor: My grandfather, Robert Taylor, appears to have started out in Macau in 1912 and moved to Hong Kong around 18 months later. He served as manager of the Green Island Cement Company, I think from the late 1920s, until his retirement in 1949. Recently discovered family photographs show the manager’s house clearly, and also its pre- and post-war […]
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Charles Gordon Stewart Mackie was a Scottish businessman in Hong Kong and member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council of Hong Kong. He was born on 9th January 1880 and died on 17th March 1966. C. Gordon Mackie [by which name he seems to have been more commonly known] was associated with China and Hong Kong and head of […]
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York Lo: Island Paint, Kin Kwok Lacquer and HK Paint Products – the three Forgotten Players of the HK Paint Industry A few articles in this group have touched on the HK paint industry, especially China Paint, Camel Paint and Swire Duro which are still active. This article will shed more light on three prominent players which has since faded […]
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HF: Tymon Mellor wrote the article, Shatin – first powered flight in Hong Kong 1911, linked below, about the first powered flight which took place at Shatin on 18th March 1911. Charles “Chic’ Eather’s website mentions Charles Van den Born and this momentous event. Charles Van den Born, the Henry Farman Company’s test pilot and instructor, had arrived on the steamer Donai. […]
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York Lo: Corney & Co – Glass Merchant and Mirror Manufacturer Established in 1902 (although not formally incorporated til 1921), R. Corney & Co Ltd (明新有限公司) was a leading glass merchant and mirror manufacturer in Hong Kong which produced glassware, mirrors, light fixtures and other glass-related products. Despite its long history, limited information is available about the firm. A R.Corney […]
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HF: One of several ginger factories in Hong Hong in the early part of the 20th Century. This ginger factory was located at 8 Sai On Lane, West Point, which is in Sai Ying Pun. Click the photo and article to magnify. Mr Yip Yung Soon needs his own article. This article was first posted on 17th December 2013. Related […]
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York Lo: Hop Sing Lung Oyster Sauce (合勝隆) When it comes to oyster sauce, most consumers automatically think of Lee Kum Kee (李錦記) given its dominant market share and in fact Lee Kum Kee’s founder Lee Kum-sheung is often credited as the one who “accidentally” invented oyster sauce in 1888 in Nansui (南水), Zhuhai when he left his oyster soup simmering […]
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Our article, Charles Weiss, Hong Kong chronometer and watchmaker, c1844-1856, ends: Charles left Hong Kong permanently in 1856 and transferred his business to Henry Vaucher, formerly of Canton (Friend of China 2 June 1856). Thanks to Richard McGeough for re-typing the extract from Carl Smith’s RASHKB article linked below. The article continues: Henry Vaucher was either French or Swiss, he had been […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent a British Army Aid Group (BAAG) report from 1st March 1945, An Outline of Conditions in Occupied Hong Kong which was compiled in early 1945 for use by the Civil Affairs Committee which was to take on the rehabilitation of HK after the planned allied invasion. HF: The report is lengthy so I am going to divide it […]
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HF: The Garden Company Limited (嘉頓有限公司) is a bakery and confectionery manufacturer in Hong Kong. The company was founded in 1926 by cousins Tse Fong Cheung and Wah O Wong in Kowloon with a single bakery. The name “Garden” was established when the cousins passed their time during night breaks in the Hong Kong Botanical Garden in Central, where they discussed their plan to open a bakery […]
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