(1) “When Taikoo Sugar Refinery [began] operations… a number of expatriates had been Germans as indeed had the general manager and former chief chemist, Dr Ferdinand Korn. The refinery’s owners, however were ‘inclined not to go in for too many Germans if we can secure really reliable Britishers’. Not that such ‘Britishers’ were without fault: ‘I am satisfied’, remarked one […]
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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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This article was written by Christopher Munn, and first published in the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography, edited by May Holdsworth and Christopher. The publisher, HK University Press, and author have kindly granted permission for it to be posted here. Thanks also to Christopher for sending the first image of the E-Sing bakery. The second image was included in the original […]
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York Lo: Rosalind Henwood of Flying Cargo – Pioneer of the Air Freight Industry in Hong Kong According to HKTDC, there were 1314 air cargo forwarders in HK employing 17287 that handled 4.5 million tons of air freight in 2016 and the HK International Airport also ranked first in the world in terms of international air cargo throughput last year. […]
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York Lo: Ting Fung Iron Works (鼎豐鐵工廠) Ting Fung owner Fu Chuen-sang (centre) with his assistant Fung Man-biu (left) and head of sales Shen Sin-lai (right) heading over to West Africa. Shen Source: Wah Kiu Yat Po 1965-8-9 Founded in 1948, Ting Fung Iron Works was one of the leading enamelware manufacturers in Hong Kong. Like most of his peers, […]
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York Lo: Fung Tang: The Firm, the Family, the Transpacific Metals Trade and Tin Refinery For almost three quarters of a century from the 1870s to the 1940s, HK-based Fung Tang (馮登記, Fung Tang Kee in Chinese) was a powerhouse in the transpacific metals trade with branches in Shanghai and three cities in Yunnan, affiliates in the US and Japan and […]
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The Hongkong Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (HKECC) was founded in Hong Kong in 1922. Clement Cheung, Manager – Archives and Records at the HK Heritage Project has given permission for the following information to be posted here: During its early years, the company was a civil contractor undertaking building, foundation and government works projects. In 1923, HKECC acquired the sole […]
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Galena ore, the main source of lead was first discovered at Lin Ma Hang in around 1914. As described in Part 1, a number of attempts were made to commercially exploit the lead ore, but they all failed. That was until Mr Morrison Brown Yung took an interest in the site and introduced modern mining methods to extract the lead […]
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York Lo: The Tam Brothers behind Wai Yee Co, King’s Shirts and Yau Sun Shoes From the 1920s to 1970s, the families of two brothers – Tam Lap-chiu and Tam Lap-kee – were active in both the manufacturing and retail of garments and shoes. Old timers might recall their retail outlets on Des Voeux Road Central in Sheung Wan. Tam […]
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York Lo: Best in the Globe – Koon Chuen Kow Knitting Factory (冠全球織造廠) Left: Koon Chuen Kow’s Kinson brand (1939 HK Government Report); Right: Koon Chuen Kow’s Flying Globe brand (1941 HK Govt Report) Koon Chuen Kow Knitting Factory (which stands for “best in the globe”) is probably the oldest knitwear firm in Hong Kong, still in business after close […]
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