York Lo: Po Chai Lemonin (普濟檸檬精) Left: “Lemon King” Chan Shiu-chuen; Right: Po Chai Lemonin ad Founded in Canton in the early 1920s by Chan Shiu-chuen (陳少泉, 1903-1968) and moved to HK in the late 1940s, Po Chai Drug Co (普濟藥行) was best known for its Lemonin – a popular pain killer medicine across China and Southeast Asia from […]
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Our article, Hall, Russell & Company, Shipbuilders, Aberdeen, Scotland, briefly mentioned a connection between the shipyard and Hong Kong. Namely, “The Hall Russell Yard was nationalised in July 1977, becoming part of British Shipbuilders Corporation, and then was dedicated to naval work. This was undertaken for British, and Hong Kong governments.” Intrigued, I asked Stephen Davies if he could offer some further […]
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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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The following article was written by Christopher Munn and published in the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography. The publisher, HK University Press, and Christopher have both given permission for this to be posted here. Christopher co-authored the article with Sooni Shroff-Gander. Thanks to SCT for proofreading the retyped article. Dent, Lancelot b. 1799 Westmoreland, England d.1853 Cheltenham, England. Merchant Dent, […]
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Hugh Farmer: “The boycott of American flour by the Chinese in 1905–6 gave a big fillip to the trade in Australian flour, and prominent amongst the firms to benefit by this were Messrs. Barretto & Co., whose business was established, in 1895, by Messrs. A. A. H. Botelho and F. D. Barretto. The headquarters are in Queen’s Buildings, and as merchants, […]
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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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Some brief notes on the Swire Waste Services Ltd. Swire BFI Waste Services Ltd was apparently formed in 1987 as a 50:50 joint venture with Browning Ferris Industries. I am assuming, until corrected that BFI refers to Browning- Ferris Industries a North American waste management company that was disbanded in 1999. In 1993 Swire BFI won a 50-year landfill management contract in […]
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HF: The venerable firm of Arnholds, Karberg Company was founded in 1866 and I believe has had a continuous presence in Hong Kong, barring when it was liquidated during World War One, currently as Arnhold which deals in building materials and engineering equipment distribution. The early days of the company were written about by the equally venerated Hong Kong historian Carl Smith […]
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I can’t remember where I found this ad for an intriguingly named company. I have marked it as belonging to the telecommunications/general categorIES but possibly you can elaborate on what the company made in Kwai Chung. Wirecut and Electro Discharge Machining?
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The Signal Tower in the Signal Hill Garden at Blackhead Point was built in 1907 by the Hong Kong Observatory to house a time-ball apparatus that was previously located in the nearby Round House of the Former Marine Police Headquarters. [Nick Kitto points out: the time-ball is still visible at the Marine Police Headquarters in TST. HF:Blackhead Point (黑頭山, lit. […]
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