This hour-long talk takes you on a trip around old Hong Kong, using photos from the early- to mid-1900s. Instead of a static Powerpoint presentation, I use high-resolution scans of the photos so we can zoom in on their hidden details. With each photo I'll tell stories of the people, places and events that it shows.
For this third talk I've chosen photos that are connected with the harbour, and grouped them according to the people they show:
- Tourists
- Fishermen and boat people
- Traders
- The Royal Navy
- People having fun (Dragon boaters, sailors and swimmers)
Here are the photos I use in this talk. You can click any photo to see a more detailed copy of the image, and read its story.
Tourists
We start off at the western entrance to the harbour
before anchoring off Central, where we look at how the view has changed over the years.
1906
1922
1935
1955
1969
2012
[not yet online]
Fishermen and boat people
Aberdeen
Shau Kei Wan
Yau Ma Tei
Tai O
Cheung Chau
Traders
The busy harbourfront off Central
A ship's crew
The men who loaded and unloaded the boats
Mechanisation at the Kowloon Wharf
The Royal Navy
The Naval Yard, with the Navy's ships in harbour
HMS Tamar in the new dockyard
Technological advances. First steam,
then submarines
A naval wedding
There was also the need to defend against attacks from foreign navies, so large gun emplacements were built to protect the entrances to the harbour.
Mount Davis
Stonecutters Island
Lei Yue Mun
The Navy's presence also meant work for dockyards and painters.
Dry dock at the Naval Dockyard
HMS Hawkins in the dry dock at Hung Hom
Taikoo dry dock
The side-party was a welcome sight in Hong Kong, freeing sailors from painting work.
People having fun
Dragon boat racing
If you enjoyed sailing, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club had a clubhouse at North Point (we'll zoom in to see it!)
After reclamation took away their access to the harbour, the Club moved to Kellett Island
Then another round of reclamation linked the island to the shore
If you don't enjoy sailing, you could join a launch party
Or even build your own!
[not yet online]
[not yet online]
Swimming at Repulse Bay
The easiest way to enjoy the harbour was to jump in for a swim.
Farewell
Ticker-tape departure from the Kowloon Wharves
Q&A
The presentation takes around 50 minutes. After that I'm happy to answer any questions from the audience.