The SCMP of 18th April 2013 contained an article of interest. It reported that a Director of Audit’s report had found that sixteen public heritage sites either were not being maintained or had not been used for periods of up to twenty years. The audit considered it unsatisfactory that ten government-graded buildings had been left unattended. One of the sites […]
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At the end of September 2015, Julian Kwong joined a group visiting the Dairy Farm estate at Pokfulam. He took several photos of structures at the farm and has provided a brief description of what each image shows. This map shows the farm, its buildings and other structures. (1) Thanks to Paul Onslow for providing it. See Paul’s article, The Dairy Farm […]
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Tymon Mellor: As a key trading port for Southern China, Hong Kong harbour has always been full of boats stocking up for the next long journey. One question has always puzzled me, where did they get their fresh water? A look at the original maps of Kowloon provides an answer. The first map of Kowloon and the New Territories was […]
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Tymon Mellor: Farming in Hong Kong has always been a challenging vocation; small field sizes, labour intensive, often rugged terrain and unpredictable weather. In good times two crops of rice could be grown a year but with erratic rainfall and the expansion of the reservoir catchwaters system, the agricultural community were under pressure. They wanted infrastructure investment to support farming […]
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HF: The SCMP of 26th July 2015 carried a report about the death of Ho Hung Yee who ran an umbrella stand on at the top end of Peel Street for decades. The article begins…”A fixture of the Central street scene dubbed the “Umbrella Man” for the decades he spent helping Hongkongers stay dry has died at the age of […]
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Tymon Mellor: In the 1870’s as Hong Kong, or more precisely the city of Victoria, expanded, it was a continual challenge to supply water to the growing population and new industries. Whilst the western portion of the city could utilise the new water supply from the new Pok Fu Lam reservoir, everything east of the “Clock Tower” in Pedder Street […]
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Colin Davidson: The Fresh Water Fish Farming Industry of the New Territories It is thought that fish farming in the New Territories evolved from rice paddy, where shrimp were farmed at the water gateways to the paddy. Gradually the shrimp and fish farming developed, whilst the growing of rice declined. As a result over time, rice paddy was replaced by […]
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James Chan: Town Island (伙頭墳洲 Fo Tau Fan Chau), also known as Dawn Island is an island located south of the former High Island in Sai Kung District. A drug rehabilitation centre was established on the island in 1976 which is run by Operation Dawn. “Located off Sai Kung and without connection to the power grid, the Island used to rely […]
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James Chan: I found this Royal Asiatic Society (HK Branch) ‘Notes and Queries’ article while looking through old volumes of the HKBRAS’ Journals. I thought it would be a useful addition to what we have on rope-making in Hong Kong. I regret that I was unable to find the illustrations that accompanied the article. If you can please contact the […]
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IDJ: An Aeroplane Called Wanda For most people entering the main terminal at Hong Kong International Airport from taxis and buses, getting to the Check-In areas is their main priority. They do not see or ignore the vintage bi-plane hanging from the terminal’s ceiling even though it positioned next to well-used pedestrian ramps. Those on the ground floor are more […]
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