IDJ has sent the PF Leeds 1984 extract below concerning Trams in Kowloon. HF Presumably “the company” means Hong Kong Tramways. (Note: In 1902 Hong Kong Tramway Electric Company Limited was founded. In the same year the company changed its name to Electric Traction Company of Hong Kong Limited. And in 1910 the name changed again to The Hong Kong […]
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York Lo: Bakilly – the forgotten maker of perfumes, hair cream, toothpaste and other personal care products HF: York added four images to his original article in March 2019. These are indicated by an asterisk in the captions. Founded in the 1910s, Bakilly (百家利) was a major local personal care product brand in Hong Kong for over half a century […]
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York Lo: From American tourist to HK garment industry pioneer – the story of June Carroll and Carroll Manufacturing Article in the Chinese press about June Carroll’s from American tourist to HK industrialist in 1963 with picture of her and her workers at her factory (WKYP, 1963-8-29) In the 1950s and 1960s, many American entrepreneurs played critical roles in the […]
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HF: This brief history of the Needle Hill Tungsten Mine does not attempt to cover the geology or mineralogy of the mine, nor details of the mine workings. For a much fuller account, which includes this information plus maps, photographs, plans, location of mine entrances and further references, see The Geological Society of Hong Kong Newsletter Vol 9 No 3 […]
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York Lo: Joy Fat Construction (再發建築) – Factory Building Pioneer Left: Ad for Joy Fat Mansion in 1958 (WKYP, 1958-9-19); Right: entrance of Joy Fat Mansion today In the 1950s, Joy Fat Construction was a leading property developer and allegedly was the pioneer in developing high-rise industrial buildings with elevators that are sold/leased to multiple factories. Prior to that, most factories […]
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HF and IDJ: The latter says this extract comes from a booklet titled ‘History of RAF Kai Tak’ produced by RAF Kai Tak in the 1970s. So much for the Kai Tak Bund area being the high class residential area the original promoters (Kai & Tak) hoped for! If you come across information about other lard factories in Hong Kong please send it in. In […]
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Hugh Farmer with thanks to IDJ and Stephen Davies. Some initial notes on EO Murphy founder with WS Bailey of WS Bailey & Co or Bailey’s Shipyard. born ? died 1911 W.S. Bailey & Co This well-known firm of engineers and shipbuilders was founded in 1897 by Mr. W.S. Bailey, who began business as a consulting engineer and importer of […]
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York Lo: The tale of two knitting factories with the same Chinese name (建成織造廠) Earlier on the website I wrote an article about two famous companies in the HK garment industry which shared the “Smart Shirts” name although one is the name of its famous product while the other is the firm’s name. As it turns out, two famous HK […]
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HF: Lai Afong 赖阿芳 aka Lai Ah Fong, Huafang, Fang Lai, Lihua Fang, Li Fang, A’Fong Lai, 赖華芳, 黎華芳, 芳華 c.1839 – 1890 was a Chinese photographer who established Afong Studio, one of the early photographic studios in Hong Kong. His studio was active from 1859 to around the 1940s. The business was probably taken over by his son in the 1890s. Subject matters […]
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Douglas Lapraik arrived in Hong Kong in 1842 in apparently somewhat straitened circumstances from Macau. Things changed for the colourful Mr Lapraik. In 1863, together with Thomas Sutherland and Jardine, Matheson & Co,. he co-founded the Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Company (Kowloon Docks) which at its peak was the largest shipyard in Asia. The following article has been extracted from […]
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