Swire’s story begins with a young man setting off to seek his fortune as a result of family bankruptcy. While this is not a classic rags-to-riches tale, resilience in the face of adversity was a characteristic that was to stand the firm he founded in good stead on more than one occasion over the following 200 years. The founder of […]
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IDJ/Hugh Farmer: The Peak Tram was opened for public service on 28 May 1888. Initially a static steam engine was used to power the haulage cable. [can anyone tell us who manufactured the original engine and any other details about the Tram’s early mechanical operation?] In 1926 an electric motor replaced the original engine. This was manufactured along with other […]
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York Lo: China International Motors (鎧興汽車) – Distributor of Bedford, Vauxhall and Buick automobiles Left: China International Motors ad from the 1950s; Right: Vauxhall ad in the HK Police Magazine in 1956 The American auto giant General Motors (GM) once had a significant presence in the HK automobile market from the late 1940s to the 1960s with its Chevrolet and […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent a number of British Army Aid Group (BAAG) reports regarding Japanese efforts to collect metals, vehicles, machinery, coins etc for export, mainly to Japan, during their occupation of Hong Kong (WW2). Elizabeth has re-typed several of these reports and has kindly added references to assist searching where this has not been done. This was a considerable effort […]
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HF: Our recent article about Arnhold Aviation, a subsidiary of Hong Kong based Arnhold Holdings Ltd which is the corporate descendant of Arnhold, Karberg & Co., a company founded in 1857, says that Arnhold Aviation represented four aircraft manufacturers in China. Three of these I am at least familiar with but the fourth Blackburn I had never heard of. I thought […]
» Read moresee other Waterfront article Hong Kong-based WaterfrontAir, which originally planned to operate a seaplane service between the city and Macau, will launch seaplane flights from Shenzhen to Macau and Guangzhou in the fourth quarter of this year. WaterfrontAir and Shenzhen Airport Ferry Terminal Services Company, a subsidiary of the Shenzhen Airport Company, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding to provide […]
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The Government Flying Service (GFS) is a department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with an establishment of 273 civil service posts responsible for flight operations, maintenance and administration. The GFS began operating on 1st April 1993 immediately after the disbandment of its predecessor, the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force. It is one of the disciplined […]
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HF: Malcolm Morris and I took the bus to Shek O for lunch yesterday. Malcolm hadn’t been for many years and as we set off from Shau Kei Wan I mentioned the extraordinary Shek O bus terminus which he didn’t know about and which has both delighted and puzzled me since I first saw it in 1989. The former because […]
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Contributors: JB Julia Bradshaw PC Philip Cracknell HF Hugh Farmer FCM Fung Chi Ming KCM: Kwong Chi Man IDJ TM: Tymon Mellor CM Craig Mitchell ER Elizabeth Ride Lawrence Tsui YHT Yiu Hon Tse, Joseph Ambulances During the Japanese occupation, most of the ambulances were appropriated and taken to Japan. “Canvas cars” were once again relied upon. In 1944, [The] […]
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HF: We recently posted the article, Q+A 45 Proposed fixed crossing to Lantau Island, late 1970s. In this I wrote: The Tsing Ma bridge and its neighbour the Kap Shui Mun bridge both opened in 1997 but I have not come across any proposed bridge to Lantau prior to the opening of the new airport. Any information regarding government or private […]
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