The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) headquarters building, in Central, Hong Kong, took seven years to complete from concept to construction and has become not only the icon for the region’s largest bank but the city of Hong Kong itself. It’s the fourth HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong.(1) The new building was designed by the British architect Norman Foster and […]
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York Lo: Far East Flour Mills (遠東麵粉廠) Far East Flour Mill when it was first completed in 1967 (WKYP, 1967-7-11) Earlier on the website I covered three flour mills which emerged in HK in the 1950s and 1960s – namely Hong Kong, Kowloon and HK Food Products. The last one to cover is Far East Flour Mills, which was opened […]
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HF: IDJ has sent the following newspaper report. I have been unable to find any photographs of the ”coolie settlement” scheme buildings and if anyone finds any would be grateful to be sent them. Thanks to SCT for proofreading the retyped copy of the newspaper article below. Special To The ”Hongkong Daily Press” THE HONGKONG AND KOWLOON WHARF AND GODOWN […]
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Nicholas Kitto has sent in a PDF file of the book: Corporate Behaviour and Political Risk: Dutch Companies in China 1903-1941 by Frans-Paul van der Putten. This was freely downloadable from the Leiden University website. Unfortunately the images are absent. HF: The book covers in some detail a variety of Dutch concerns in China. Namely:- Chapter 2 Banking: Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (NHM) […]
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York Lo: Famous HK Tailors (Part Two) – the British (Sayle, William Powell, Diss Bros, James. T. Shaw and Mackintosh’s) and the Indians (Tajmahal’s, Mohan’s, Harilela’s, J. Kima, Raja and Sam’s) The second groups of tailors to be covered in this series about prominent HK tailors are the British and the Indians. THE BRITISH Although currently there are no major […]
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“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 steam pumps and engineers’ requisites. In 1900 Mr. Bailey was joined in partnership by Mr. E. O. Murphy, and the present works [1905] at Kowloon Bay were established…”(1) Chinese Navy Gunboat Kien Yu Forced […]
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HF: I took these photos of the HK- China Concrete Company Yau Tong batching plant on 25th September 2014. It’s stretching things to say this was a visit as I didn’t actually go inside the plant or speak to anyone there. Still if you haven’t seen one of the locations where HK’s beloved concrete is mixed you might be interested […]
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York Lo: United Rubber Works (聯合膠廠) United Rubber Works ad in 1949 (HK Scouting Gazette, 1949) United Rubber Works was one of the five biggest rubber product manufacturers in HK in the late 1940s with ties to several figures discussed earlier in different articles. Formed in 1946 (although the firm was not incorporated until March 1947) with HK$1 million in […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent this BAAG report. This suggests that during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, Taikoo Sugar Refinery became Hong Kong Sugar Refinery. Kweilin Weekly Intelligence Summary #66, 15.9.1944. HF: During WW2 Taikoo Sugar Refinery was badly damaged. In 1947/48, it was decided to rehabilitate the plant. HK Memory Project This article was first posted on 1st January […]
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Ben Line Agencies (previously Ben Line Steamers) is a Singapore-based shipping agency, operating across Asia. As of 2013, the company had over 110 offices and 2000 employees. Ben Line Agencies operates four specific areas: Port Agency, Liner Agency, Offshore Support and Project Logistics services. The company in its previous form was founded in Scotland in 1825 under the name of Ben Line. […]
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