James Hayes has kindly given permission for several of his articles published by the Royal Asiatic Society (HK Branch) to be posted on our website. Here he writes about Charcoal Burning in Hong Kong which was included by the RASHKB in its Journal Volume 11, 1971. James mentions several locations where charcoal was produced, namely:- Kwun Tong Lamma Island Tong […]
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HF: It was never mined here. So this article is an initial attempt to put together what little we have about importing coal and how it was used in Hong Kong: transport, manufacturing, utilities, shipping, domestically…can you add to this article? I have also included charcoal and for general interest information about and images of China and Taiwan/Formosa on these […]
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IDJ sent the English version of what the piece calls Rat Boxes. Mak Ho Yin has kindly translated it. 「香港電燈公司和煤氣公司與老鼠箱關係密切，因為老鼠箱是掛在電燈柱上的。由於華人極為抗拒（滅鼠人員）進入私人住宅，政府於是鼓勵華人在殺死家中的老鼠後，將鼠屍放在就近的老鼠箱內，由衛生部門職員每日收集清理。老鼠箱掛在電燈柱一景，還衍生了一句香港獨有的俗語「電燈柱掛老鼠箱」，以形容夫妻二人中丈夫瘦削兼且二人身高矮懸殊。」 Ho Yin continues: This paragraph raised my curiosity on the topic of rat bins so apart from translating it I also did a quick check about its history. I have no memory of seeing them hanging at lamp-posts, and I […]
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The Gutta Percha Company by Bill Burns The following paragraphs are extracted from Bill’s article, with his permission, which can be found on his large and absorbing website. The article can be read in full via the link below, along with an extract from the book “London by day and night:or, Men and things in the great metropolis” by David W. Bartlett, […]
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Tymon Mellor: With the completion of the Shing Mun Reservoir in 1937 and the new cross harbour pipe line in 1939, Hong Kong should have had an ample water supply, but low rainfall in 1938 and an influx of refugees from Southern China put a strain on supply. Things would only get worse. With war raging in Mainland China, the […]
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IDJ has kindly sent the following article extracted from the Hong Kong Sunday Herald of 31st July 1949. This adds a new aspect to the history of water supply in Hong Kong on the website which has been to date mainly articles about reservoirs, see below. Thanks to SCT for proofreading the retyped article. Modern Filter Beds Under Construction Modern […]
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Tymon Mellor: The Shing Mun Valley Scheme was implemented in two stages. The First Section established a new water supply and distribution system including the first cross harbour pipeline. The Second Section provided for the construction of the Jubilee Reservoir with a capacity greater than the total existing storage and possibly “the highest in the British Empire” [i] along with […]
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IDJ has sent this article about the Hongkong Electric Company, Ltd which was published in 1908. It outlines the formation of the company in 1889 and the opening of Hong Kong’s first power station in Star Street, Wanchai in 1890. This generating station closed in 1920 and was demolished in 1922. Source: Twentieth century impressions of Hong-kong, Shanghai and other […]
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Tymon Mellor: The question was, “Who is Charles L Shank and what was his connection to the Shek Lai Pui Reservoir?”. A rather open question, but one that has led to an interesting journey. The questioner had acquired a large format book with 122 professional photographs of pre-war Hong Kong construction sites. Sample photographs provided documented the construction of the […]
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Tymon Mellor: We take for granted that when we turn a tap on clean water will flow. However, for the majority of Hong Kong’s colonial history, there were water shortages and supply restrictions. This was not a result of poor policy decisions but of changing circumstances, financial limitations and geographical constraints, and unlike other major conurbations, Hong Kong has no […]
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