HF: On the evening of 30th July 1969 the vessel San Juan arrived at Ocean Terminal. It departed 15 hours later having loaded 150 containers. This marked the first scheduled container service between Hong Kong and the US. The San Juan was operated by Sea-Land and the new container service was a by-product of the company’s contract with the US […]
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Eleanor Wong has written A History of the Wong Family Textile Business, a detailed account of her family’s business history in Shanghai, then in Hong Kong and finally Indonesia. She was assisted in this project by her editor, Carey Vail. Part One: Life in Shanghai is a history of the Wong family’s interests in the textile industry in the city from 1911, […]
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HF: At Yan O Wan (also Yam), the bay just west of Sunny Bay MTR station on the north Lantau coast, you can still see large vertical tree trunks embedded in the sea floor. If you are in Hong Kong have a look next time you are on your way to the airport, Tung Chung or Disneyland by road or […]
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Elizabeth Ride: The following reports concern Kai Tak aerodrome in BAAG Intelligence Summaries. I do not guarantee that I have been able to find every single mention, and I advise anyone interested to have a look at the collected Intelligence reports in the Hong Kong Heritage Project (see below). I have added some bombing reports to this article. I would […]
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IDJ: In the postwar years mid-stream ship cargo-handling was normal in Hong Kong but the territory was also aware of the great revolution being generated by the world movement towards unitization of cargoes. Godown and shipping companies were routinely recommending to shippers that cargo packages should be less than two-tons in weight (2,032 kilos) and less than forty cubic feet (1,133 […]
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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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Jens Øster-Mortensen, a Danish journalist, recently left a comment attached to our article, Bullivant & Co, Millwall, London, supplier of Taikoo Sugar Refinery’s aerial ropeway cables. Jens said he had found an object, I presume a marine winch, next to Ballen harbour on the Danish island of Samso which had on it Bullivant No. 2 – Mark Lane 72, London. He thinks […]
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HF with thanks to Tymon Mellor: The two images below are titled: Mac beside cannon, from old Chinese fort (Kowloon Walled City), Hong Kong, c1910-1913 and, Cannon from old Chinese fort (Kowloon Walled City), Hong Kong, c1910-1913 See: City Of Darkness Revisited Ian Lambot’s new and expanded edition of the well-known book about Kowloon Walled City This article was first […]
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I would like to thank David Bellis for reminding me about the book: “City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City” Girard G. and Lambot I. Watermark ,1993 The following article draws heavily on this book which may still be available in bookshops and is certainly to be found in HK Public Libraries (915.25 GIR). The book contains an undated […]
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If you arrived in Hong Kong after 1994 you will not have seen the Kowloon Walled City. And even if you have lived here all your life or came to Hong Kong before the mid 1990s you may not have been inside this fascinating and densely populated area. It became an enclave after the New Territories was leased to Britain […]
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