HF: Peter Cundall has been researching British Army Aid Group (BAAG) reports from World War Two and compiling a list of ships which were noted as being in Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation. Peter has been carrying out this research for many months and below you will find his finished lists linked in both PDF and Excel format. I […]
» Read more
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 […]
» Read more
HF: I was told many years ago that Hong Kong had the most ferry routes of any city in the world. And that Sydney was second and Seattle third. If that was true back in the 1980s it may not be so in 2014. During this period I have seen several routes vanish, including Jordan Road to Central, a wonderful […]
» Read more
HF: Our article, Beer in Hong Kong – Part Three – The Oriental Brewery 1908-1912, includes “It was announced early in March 1913 that the [Imperial] brewery had been purchased:-by Mr Arratoon V Apcar of Messers Arratoon V Apcar and Co, Hongkong … on behalf of a syndicate of which Mr Apcar is a member…” I had not heard of this company before. HK […]
» Read more
Elizabeth Ride has sent BAAG Report KWIZ #80, dated 5th January 1945, and noted earlier: After KWIZ #4, the Naval section is not included in the AWM papers, and does not appear again until KWIZ #66, and then in a slightly different format. HF: I am afraid because of time constraints I am no longer able to summarize and list […]
» Read more
HF: Holt’s Wharf and the Godown were set up in 1910 and jointly owned by the Swire Group and Blue Funnel Line. Together they formed a railway and freight hub in Tsim Sha Tsui. See the article, Holts’s Wharf and Godown, linked below. Here is Alfred Holt’s obituary posted on the excellent Grace’s Guides website and originally published by The Institution […]
» Read more
James Chan: In 1863 Thomas Sutherland became the first chairman of the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock. He was 29. The following has been extracted from the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography. Both the author Robert Nield and HK University Press have given permission for extracts to be used in this article. Robert Nield: “Thomas Sutherland was the founder of one […]
» Read more
Stephen Davies: In the early 1850s in Sai Wan there was a boiler shop run by James Logan and William Swan, and a foundry run by William Dunphy at 58 Praya. Nearby at 63 Praya Harper & Co sold shipbuilding equipment (basically the bits and pieces of patent slips). In 1855 either someone bought out Logan, Swan and Dunphy, or maybe […]
» Read more
HF: Please note the first pages of this report are missing. Elizabeth Ride has sent BAAG Report KWIZ #78, date unknown, and noted earlier: After KWIZ #4, the Naval section is not included in the AWM papers, and does not appear again until KWIZ #66, and then in a slightly different format. HF: I am afraid because of time constraints […]
» Read more
Nikki Veriga: This photo is of my grandparents – James (Newcastle on Tyne) and Elizabeth Thirlwell (nee Wilkinson) and their children. Grandad was a Master Mariner and captained the tug “Tai Koo” on her final voyage. [The Tai Koo struck a mine and sank in the Red Sea with the loss of 26 of the 63 people on board on 12th September […]
» Read more