Welcome to GwuloHere you'll find over 50,000 pages about old Hong Kong to explore, including over 30,000 photos. The content is added by a friendly community of people who enjoy sharing what we know about Hong Kong's history, and you are very welcome to join us. Kind regards, David P.S. To receive more old Hong Kong photos and stories, please sign up for our free weekly newsletter. |
I bought this photo as a cheap & cheerful view of the old City Hall, but once it arrived and I could look at it with a magnifying glass, it’s the fountain that’s the centre of attention.
For more on that, and several other stories about this scene, please see the video below. (Or click here to watch it on Youtube).
More information about the topics in the video:
What's new and updated on the Gwulo website:
General
How several thousand old gramophone needles kept the City Hall opening date on schedule (scroll down to the bottom of that page for the needles story)
Percy Chittenden thought he'd lost his wartime diary during the fighting in Hong Kong in 1941, but after surviving the years as a POW he was surprised to find his diary waiting for him when he arrived back in the UK, sent to him by a Mrs B Reed. Percy's nephew got in touch with Mrs Reed's daughter to pass on the family's thanks.
All five volumes of Gwulo's books are back in stock at Amazon UK (this is an affiliate link - it doesn't affect the price you pay but Gwulo earns a small commission from Amazon if you buy via this link)
There is an ongoing discussion about the early buildings along Broadwood Road - see them on a map, or on a list. In a related thread, the hunt for information about 24 Broadwood Road continues.
Stuart Braga has posted a biography of Anthony Manuel BRAGA (aka Tony) [1907-1994]
Eurasian_david introduces the big family that is the issue of Omar Abdool (Razak) Madar (22nd Jul 1871-14th Dec 1923) b. Hong Kong. d. Hong Kong, and his wife Sarah Shirazee (6th Jan 1874-12th Jun 1947) b. Hong Kong d. Shanghai.
Thank you to Bookazine for interviewing me about Gwulo, my books, and the recent award
The first horse carriages and the first motor cars in Hong Kong
HCIIL has posted several stereoviews of Hong Kong from the 1920s, e.g.:
blueheron has posted a selection of photos of Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club boats and events in the 1970s. Here's an example:
Readers are looking for any information about ...
Looking for Renee Ballerand
Looking for Arthur Lo, from Hong Kong - he worked in the Peking Restaurant in Wendover, UK, in the late eighties
Organisations & People
Here's a lovely surprise to start my year - I've been awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2025 New Year's Honours List, 'For services to Heritage Preservation in Hong Kong':
I first heard about it in early December, when I received an email saying I'd receive good news if I called a certain Hong Kong mobile number. It looked to have come from the British Consulate in Hong Kong, but I just thought 'The spammers are getting really sophisticated these days', and deleted it! The next day I was contacted with similar messages via Facebook and Gwulo.com, and luckily I did call, and it was good news!
The UK Government website gives this explanation of the BEM:
British Empire Medal (BEM)
Achievement or contribution of a very “hands-on” service to the community in a local geographical area.This might take the form of sustained commitment in support of very local charitable and/or voluntary activity; or innovative work that has delivered real impact but that is relatively short (three to four years) in duration.
Presentations of BEMs are made locally.
Thank you to all the contributors who have given their time and research to Gwulo. This award recognises all our work that has gone into building Gwulo into the resource that it has become.
Wishing you all the best for the new year ahead,
David
P.S. I was asked who nominated me for this. I don't know, but a very big thank you to them. (I like to think the nomination happened after King Charles was reminiscing about visiting Hong Kong, and found us after googling for family photos ...)
Merry Christmas to Gwulo's readers ...
(Here are more photos of Christmas celebrations in Hong Kong over the years.)
Now on to what's new and updated on the Gwulo website - Gwulo's contributors have been busy!
General
Gwulo helps Michele learn more about her late grandfather's pharmacy, 中大
In the recent video about elephants being unloaded I said they were in Hong Kong with a circus. Moddsey has found another possible explanation, that the elephants were just being shipped through Hong Kong and changing ships here.
The 1943 Preliminary British Repatriation List is a document prepared by the Japanese, listing people to be repatriated from Stanley Camp and why they were chosen. The repatriation never went ahead.
THE HONG-KONG FUNICULAR RAILWAY - an 1887 article about the Peak Tram.
HCIIL has uploaded several stereoview cards. There's an example below and you can see many more here.
Alan has been identifying signatures from the Day Joyce sheet which Ms Day Joyce embroidered during internment in wartime Hong Kong. There's an example below, and you can see the others here.
Organisations & People
Take a trip around the harbour via this set of colour slides from 1970. It’ll be two more years before the first cross-harbour tunnel opens, so we’ll be travelling by sampan and ferry.
(Please click here to watch the video on Youtube if it isn't shown above.)
Here are links if you'd like more information about the topics in this video: