1889 Tai Tam Reservoir & Conduit (Tytam)

Year:  1889 

Type: Woodblock

Colour: Uncoloured

Engraved Area: 10 x 7.5  inches  /25.4 x 19.1 cm

Item info: 

1/2 page engraving from the ILN 1889

The Water Supply of Hong Kong

Reservoir and dam at Tytam / View of the Condiut-road from the man of war anchorage.

From the Original Text:  

The city of Victoria, Hong Kong, a great commercial port and naval and military station of the British Empire is situated on the south side of a magnificent harbour in that island, separated by a narrow strait from the mainland coast of China, and nearly opposite the Canton River.  The island is mountainous, affording not much land fro profitable cultivation.  the city, partly built on the step and rock slopes of the northern hills, is pleasant in aspect, with good streets and fine public edifices, avenues of banyan trees and fair public gardens. Its climate hot and moist, except in winter, is not considered salubirous. The population exceeds 40,000 of whom about 3,000 are Europeans not including the garrison.  They will derive much benefit from the new waterworks, situated at Tytam, in the centre of the small island, and completed this year having been begun in 1883.  At Tytam in a narrow valley amid the mountains, a maximum depth of 105ft, containing 300 million gallons of pure still water, has been formed by constructing a dam of solid masonry, as shown in our illustration.  It is connected with the town by an aqueduct, with a tunnel, 7300ft long, beneath the mountain: the Condiut road, from the mouth of this tunnel to the city, is 3 1/2 miles long, a view of this road, from the anchorage for ships of war in the harbour is also presented.  At the end of the Condiut road, are 6 filter beds for the water brought through the tunnel, and a service tank which holds a weeks supply of water for the townspeople. The engineer of these works is Mr. James Orange, whose designs were prepared in 1883 under the supervision of Mr. J.M.Price, then surveyor general of the Colony of Hong Kong.  Our illustrations are from sketches by Mr. R.Barff of Hong Kong.