Jane Taylor: My grandfather, Robert Taylor, appears to have started out in Macau in 1912 and moved to Hong Kong around 18 months later. He served as manager of the Green Island Cement Company, I think from the late 1920s, until his retirement in 1949. Recently discovered family photographs show the manager’s house clearly, and also its pre- and post-war […]
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Duro Paint Company was established in 1937. 1948 Orient Paint merges with the Duro Paint Manufacturing Co. in Hong Kong.(1) During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong Duro Paint remained in operation. (As did China Paint and The National Lacquer and Paint Products Co Ltd.) After the WWII, China Paint, NLPP, Duro Paint and Island Paint quickly resumed productions. In 1946, […]
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York Lo: Great China Match Co. (大中國火柴廠) Great China Match Factory in Peng Chau in 1956 (Land Use Survey, HKU Libraries collection) Founded in 1939, the Great China Match Factory on Peng Chau was once the largest match manufacturer in Hong Kong, with over 1000 workers at its peak in the late 1940s and its “Kowloon” and other brands of […]
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Hugh Farmer: The SCMP of 10th Feb 2014 contained a letter from Tony Price complaining about the enclosure surrounding the Fu Tei Wan Lime Kiln. This, the kiln, was originally on Chek Lap Kok island but was relocated to its present location beside Tung Chung Battery and close to the old pier. Mr Price commends The Antiquities and Monuments Office […]
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James Chan: R.E. Dietz Company Limited was founded by Mr. Robert Edwin Dietz in New York, USA in 1840 and began manufacturing kerosene lanterns, which are commonly known as hurricane lanterns… …In order to reduce production cost and increase market share, Dietz relocated its production facilities from New York, U.S.A. to Hong Kong in 1956 and subsequently from Hong Kong […]
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Chan Chi Kee Cutlery has been in business since the 1920s, currently at 316-318 Shanghai Street, specializing in hand-pounded woks and its famous cutlery. ‘Alongside Wo Shing Goldsmith are a few other long-term shopkeepers, who have seen the rise and fall of Hong Kong’s manufacturing industry – selling kitchen tools, especially stainless steel products. Chan Chi Kee Cutlery, for example, […]
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James Chan: I was out walking during Christmas time around the Aberdeen reservoirs on Hong Kong island. I saw an AFC Department sign which said, “Aberdeen Lower reservoir was built in 1890 by Tai Shing Paper Mill. It was taken over and reconstructed by the government because of the Aberdeen Valley Water Scheme. It was re-opened in 1932.” I had […]
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HF: I am afraid I don’t know the source of the following timeline. I would be grateful if someone comes across the origin and notifies me. Further information about or images of any of the subjects or companies mentioned would also be very helpful. I have added supplementary information and sources on a number of subjects where I am able […]
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STRIKERS GET THREE MONTHS IN PRISON “Sixty-four men and women strikers of the Hong Kong Match Factory were sentenced to three months hard labour at Central yesterday. The strikers on Friday had refused to sign a bond of $50 to be of good behaviour for two years following a disturbance they created in the Factory’s offices in the Bank of […]
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York Lo: The Faded Glory of Bang Bang Fashions (繽繽) Left: Print ad of Bang Bang; Jimmy Yip at the Bang Bang factory as featured in the 1977 New York Times article. In the mid-late 1970s, Hong Kong became the largest garment exporter in the world and one of the brightest stars in the HK garment industry at the time […]
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