Elizabeth Ride has sent British Army Aid Group (BAAG) records of shipping movements in Hong Kong in 1944-45 during the Japanese occupation in World War Two. These provide information not only about the ships themselves but what cargo was being brought into and out of Hong Kong during the latter stages of WW2 and of godowns, docks etc that were […]
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HF: Our article, Dredging Marine Sand – Container Terminal 6, 1987, says that the dredging for that particular project was done by the Dutch company Hollandsche Aanneming Maatschappij, better known as HAM. HAM turns up again in the report Review of Dredging Practice in the Netherlands written by ST Gilbert and PWT To and published by the Geotechnical Engineering Office, Civil Engineering Department, Hong […]
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HF: The 1909 Directory & Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China…etc, lists AE Griffin as a “Temporary Civil Engineering and Constructional Staff member at the Taikoo Dockyard & Engineering Comapny of Hongkong Ltd.” Griffin is the first listed of 26 such staff and therefore was probably the most senior. Indeed the paragraph before the concluding one in the following paper […]
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Stephen Davies says the basic story of ICSN is best located in the book, Beancaker to boxboat. Jardine operated ships using the Jardine Matheson house flag from pretty early on – the earliest I think I have dated seems to be from the late 1820s. From that date ships came and went, but nothing that really feels like a JM shipping line […]
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Nikki Veriga sent us information about her grandfather James Thirlwell who was a Master Mariner and captained the tug “Tai Koo” on her final voyage. There were actually three Tai Koo Shipyard tugs and the one Nikki’s grandfather was captain of was number 2. Many thanks to IDJ for sending the image of a belching Tai Koo Tug 2 shown above. […]
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Robin Selby has sent several extracts from the book, The Log of the Cutty Sark, mentioning his great-uncle Thomas Selby. The latter’s life on board the famous clipper has no direct connection with industry in Hong Kong. However, I think the following is of general historic interest and besides Thomas worked for two companies with a direct link to Hong Kong, […]
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Stephen Davies has been researching the period in the early 1900s during which Thomas Selby was master of several ships of the Indo-China Steam Navigation Company. He believes Selby worked for ICSNC from early 1901 through to sometime in 1906. The Tungshing (a.k.a. Tung Shing and Tongshing) is the vessel that is mostly clearly attached to Thomas Selby’s name. He seems to […]
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HF: These paintings and photos of Hong Kong soon after the end of the War are from the Imperial War Museum’s, (IWM) UK extensive collection of Hong Kong. I have selected them because they show some aspect of the industrial history of HK at this time. Either through the Naval Dockyard, Shipping wrecks in the Harbour (with close connections to […]
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Thomas Sposato has sent an article about American Marine boatyard in Junk Bay which was published in Motor Boating magazine in September 1970. This is linked below. It contains a lot of information about the yard. I do not think this magazine is still being published but would like to be corrected if it is. All photographs are courtesy of […]
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HF: The SS Alaska was a 4,012 ton, 8 speed, side-wheel steamship launched on 27th November 27th 1867 for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. She saw service between New York and Aspinwall, now known as Colón, Panama, and was later used on the San Francisco to Panama City and San Francisco to Hong Kong routes until 1879. During the night of Tuesday 22 September […]
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