Hong Kong Water Supply – Shek Lei Pui and Kowloon Byewash Reservoir

Kowloon Bywash

Tymon Mellor: With the growing population in both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon there was a growing demand for drinking water, the existing supplies, primarily the Tai Tam reservoirs and Kowloon Reservoir were insufficient to meet such needs. With the failure of the spring rains, water famine became a common occurrence, and a quick fix was required. Water Shortages Following […]

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Water supply for boats, Lai Chi Kok, early 20th century

Tymon Mellor: As a key trading port for Southern China, Hong Kong harbour has always been full of boats stocking up for the next long journey. One question has always puzzled me, where did they get their fresh water? A look at the original maps of Kowloon provides an answer. The first map of Kowloon and the New Territories was […]

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High Island Reservoir

James Chan, Rico Lee and Elizabeth Ride: High Island Reservoir is the largest in Hong Kong by volume, [273 (3) /281 (1) (4) million cubic metres]. Plover Cove Reservoir has a larger area. Government Department: Water Supplies Consultants: The reservoir was designed by Binnie & Partners as a part of the High Island Water Scheme  which included pipeworks and other supporting infrastructure […]

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Lok On Pai ‘desalting’ plant – site visit photographs including a great surprise!

Hugh Farmer: Following our recent articles about the Lok On Pai ‘desalting’ plant I visited the site on 4th December 2014 to see what remains. We know from recent aerial photographs and maps that the main building exists extending west to east, with one main arm at right angles to this running south towards the sea. Here’s what the site […]

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Preece, Cardew and Rider – Consulting Engineers for Hok Un power station

Preece, Cardew and Rider were the consulting engineers for a proposed extension of Hok Un power station, Hung Hom in the 1930s. “In 1934 a committee consisting of directors and senior staff was formed to deal with the extensions proposed. It met regularly for the next several years and made many important decisions based quite often on the advice of […]

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John MacNeile Price, Surveyor General of Hong Kong, the Tai Tam reservoirs

James Chan: While walking around the Tai Tam reservoirs on 11th January 2018 I came across a sign on the Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail, see below, which began: “Before the 1860s, Hong Kong relied on primitive sources such as wells and streams for its water supply. Although the Pok Fu Lam Reservoir, the first rainwater facility, was enlarged in […]

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Hong Kong Water Supply – Irrigation Reservoirs

Kwu Tung

Tymon Mellor: Farming in Hong Kong has always been a challenging vocation; small field sizes, labour intensive, often rugged terrain and unpredictable weather. In good times two crops of rice could be grown a year but with erratic rainfall and the expansion of the reservoir catchwaters system, the agricultural community were under pressure. They wanted infrastructure investment to support farming […]

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The Norman Electric Light Company – 1886 Hong Kong swindle?

James Chan: This advert from the Hongkong Government Gazette of 9th January 1886 caught my eye. Further investigation brought up the announcement shown below the advert, published in Australia and New Zealand, warning readers that Norman Electric was an “unmitigated fraud and swindle” and exposing one Emil Bassett of New York who was operating under the alias Marsh Bassett. I […]

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