Tom Bethea: My cousin Dick Holt and I spent a week aboard schooner Westward in early December 1963, moored off American Marine Ltd, in Junk Bay, Hang Hau. We then removed to Kowloon Docks for several weeks in dry dock for hull re-painting and re-rigging above deck, and finally tied up at HK Royal Yacht Club for the Christmas-New Years […]
» Read more
HF: I have slightly adapted the wording in the following script. Before British rule most locals used to rely on water from streams and wells nearby. With drastic increase in population especially in the City of Victoria a stable water supply became a pressing problem in the colony. But the colonial government was reluctant to claim responsibility for water supply. […]
» Read more
The Light Rail, also known as the Light Rail Transit (LRT), officially the North-West Railway, is a light rail system in Hong Kong, serving the northwestern New Territories, within Tuen Mun district and Yuen Long District. The system operates over 1,435mm (4 ft 8+1/2 in) standard gauge track, using 750 V DC overhead power supply. It was once one of […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: On the 12 October 1938, two divisions of Japanese troops landed in Bias Bay (Daya Bay), not to attack Hong Kong, but heading for Canton (Guangzhou). The event was witnessed by a reporter from the China Mail who was being flown in a Hornet Moth belonging to the Far East Flying Training School at Kai Tak. Canton quickly […]
» Read more
With the completion of the Kai Tak reclamation in 1930, it was now time to turn the new platform into an aerodrome. This would require the establishment of a government department to manage the aerodrome, provision of facilities to support commercial operations, and the establishment of a flying school. Airmail and Commercial Service As a government funded operation, the new […]
» Read more
Tymon Mellor: Spurred by the looming civil war in China, the partially complete Kai Tak reclamation became a temporary RAF facility in 1927. Both the British and Hong Kong governments wanted to construct a dedicated aerodrome but limited financial resources tempered their enthusiasm. While discussions on funding continued, solutions to completing the reclamation and the design of the proposed aerodrome […]
» Read more
IDJ has sent the following newspaper article… The article contains a couple of grammatical mistakes and slight oddness of word choice which I have included in the retyped version below. HF: I have retyped the original newspaper article to improve clarity and to aid searches. Thanks to SCT for proofreading the retyped article. The drive to Castle Peak has always […]
» Read more
York Lo: Shanghainese Builders in HK (Part Six) – Ahong and Chinney Ahong and Chinney are two Shanghainese builders in Hong Kong who trace their roots back to pre-War Shanghai and are controlled by two families which share the same last name – Wong. Ahong followed the interesting path of moving first from Shanghai to British Malaya in the 1930s […]
» Read more
Many thanks to IDJ for sending in the following newspaper article. HF: I have retyped the original article to aid clarity and searches on the website. Thanks to SCT for proof reading the retyped copy of the original article. THE CULMINATION OF A GRAND ENGINEERING FEAT THE BEACON HILL TUNNEL REPATRIATED CHINESE MINERS ENTER MALARIAL DISTRICT BRITISH PLUCK TRIUMPHS (By […]
» Read more
Graham Wood has kindly sent the following newspaper article. HF: I have retyped the article… The Wing, which comprised 90 per cent of “Shield” Force, was at sea bound for Okinawa and ultimately the Japanese mainland, with airfield construction as its primary objective on the invasion route to Tokyo, when news was suddenly received of the Japanese surrender. At the […]
» Read more