How did Hong Kong's Walla Wallas get their name?
What's a Walla Walla?
Walla Walla was the local name for a small motorboat that was available to hire, a water taxi. A common use for them was to cross the harbour between TST and Central late at night, after the Star Ferry had stopped running, but they ran in daytime too and could take you to other points around the harbour.
Where does the name come from?
The usual explanation is that 'walla walla' is the sound the boat's engine made as it chugged around the harbour. But according to the late Betty Clemo, the boats were named after the city of Walla Walla in Washington State, USA.
In an RTHK interview recorded in 1970, Betty explained:
Very few people in Hong Kong know this. Years and years ago, about 55 years ago, [an American] friend of my father's called Mr Lee Nagel, came to Hong Kong. [...] He had a great idea to build motor boats to go to Kowloon - there was very little conveyance to Kowloon in those days. [...] Eventually he built six little motor boats. We went to the christening and launching, but what to call them? My father said why don't you call them your hometown's name? [Nagel] said, 'Well I come from Walla Walla, USA, let's call them Walla Walla. So they were named Walla Walla One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six, and that's what it started off from. And today everyone refers to them as a Walla Walla, even the Chinese do.
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Update on the "Gwulo's Farewell" talk Yesterday evening we passed 50% seats booked, so the theatres are filling up! Here are the links again:
(The venue for 22 May is the smaller of the two and is already 90% full, so best book soon if you're planning to go to that talk.) |
When were the first Walla Wallas built?
Betty remembered Lee Nagel arriving 'about 55 years ago', or in about 1915, so he'd have started his motor boat business some time after that.
A search for Walla in the old newspapers finds the first mention in July 1920. The report is of a court case involving non-payment for work done, but we also get a glimpse of Mr Nagel and his Walla Walla No. 1:
Lee Orlando Nagel, salesman employed by J. T. Shaw, Tailor, said that about the beginning of 1919 he bought a motor boat called the Tsun Wan, now Walla Walla No. 1. It was simply a wreck, needing a lot of repairs. He entered into a contract therefore with Leung Shing. The amount of the contract was $700. The boat was purchased in Causeway Bay and was left there for repair.
So it looks as though Walla Walla No. 1 was first in service sometime around 1919-20.
When did Walla Wallas disappear from the harbour?
I'm not exactly sure, though 1972 is an important year in the story of their decline. That's when the Cross Harbour Tunnel opened, and Walla Wallas suddenly faced competition from regular taxis for those late-night journeys across the harbour.
Another competitor for late-night traffic arrived in 1980, when the MTR's new tunnel beneath the harbour opened for business.
When I first arrived in Hong Kong in 1989, the guidebook I'd bought suggested Walla Wallas were still popular:
Walla-Wallas:
After the MTR closes at 1 a.m. and the Star Ferry at 11:30, you can still ride across the harbour in a small motorboat called a walla-walla (supposedly named for the hometown-Walla-Wall [sic], Washington, USA-of this craft's original owner. You can also take a taxi or bus through the cross-harbour tunnel, but if you are staying in Tsimshatsui and end up in Central-or vice versa - -the direct cross-harbour water route by Star Ferry, MTR or walla-walla is the fastest and cheapest means of transportation. On Hong Kong Island, walla-wallas are located at Queen's Pier to the East of the Star Ferry concourse (to the right as you face the harbour, in front of City Hall) while in Kowloon, they are located at Kowloon Public Pier, (to the left of the Star Ferry as you face the water, opposite the Ocean Terminal). The cost is HK$4.50 per person or HK$45 for an entire boat if you are impatient.
So after a late night out in Central when I needed to get home to TST from Central, I asked local friends about catching a Walla Walla. No-one knew what I was talking about!
I never did get to ride in a Walla Walla. Instead if we needed to cross the harbour late at night, the choice was either a taxi or a white-knuckle ride in a red minibus.
Do readers know if there was ever a clear end to the Walla Wallas' service, e.g. because of some change in licensing? Or did they just become uneconomic to run, and gradually fade away?
And if you have any memories of the Walla Wallas you can share, please leave a comment below or upload a photo.
Further reading:
- More photos of Walla Wallas
- Listen to the full interview with Fred & Betty Clemo, talking about their memories of Hong Kong from the 1900s through to 1970
- Frederick Charles CLEMO [1897-1975], Elizabeth Whittaker CLEMO (née TOLLAN, aka Betty) [????-????], and Lee Orlando NAGEL [????-????]
- The City of Walla Walla in Washington State
Trivia:
- Adam West, the actor who portrayed Batman in the 1960s, was born in Walla Walla, USA
