Colonial Postboxes

Submitted by moddsey on Sun, 10/04/2009 - 15:22

Prior to the arrival of pillar letter boxes from England, wooden letter boxes were placed in suitable areas in town and suburban districts for the collection of mail by postmen. Some were also affixed to police boxes.

In 1892, it was recorded that the earliest pillar letter boxes were erected in the following localities:

Box No.     Location

1.               Kowloon, near Wharf and Godowns

2.               Magazine Gap, at the Gap

3.               Peak District, at Victoria Gap

4.               Peak District, at Mount Kellett, near 'Myrtle Bank'

5.               Peak District, Junction of Mount Gough Rd, and road to Aberdeen 

                  (West of Government Villas) 

6.               Peak District, Plantation Rd between Rural Building Lots 14 & 27

7.               Victoria, Junction of Queen's Rd East and Arsenal St

8.               Victoria, near the Harbour Master's Office

9.               Victoria, Junction of Robinson, Albany & Garden Roads

10.             Victoria, Junction of Seymour & Castle Roads

11.             Victoria, Junction of Old Bailey St and Caine Rd

12.             Victoria, Junction of Robinson and Bonham Roads

13.             Victoria, East Point, Junction of Percival St and Praya

14.             West Point. near No. 7 Police Station

My interest in old colonial postboxes stemmed from a drive I made to the New Territories in the early 1990s when I noticed an old circular George V postbox on the old Castle Peak Rd. At the time, I was not able to stop and did not have my camera with me. By the time I returned to the same spot in a few weeks time, the old postbox had been 'uprooted' and replaced with an awful modern one. Sadly, this has been a continuing trend. Here are some photos of old postboxes from the colonial era:

 

Queen Victoria, Junction of Robinson, Albany and Old Peak Roads (now housed in the GPO Postal Museum). This is the oldest surviving Jubilee postbox in Hong Kong. The location of this postbox is similar to Box No. 9 on the 1892 list.

Queen Victoria Postbox No. 21

Queen Victoria Postbox No. 21 - GPO Postal Museum

 

Queen Victoria, Tung Tau Tsuen Rd, Kowloon City, near Nga Tsin Wai Village. This was an interesting postbox as it was one of the first boxes to be erected after the acquisition of the leased area of the New Territories in 1898. (Queen Victoria passed on in 1901). This letter box has now been removed.

Queen Victoria Postbox No. 278

 

Queen Victoria, formerly located in Yau Ma Tei at the junction of Waterloo Road and Portland Street. Located in the Hong Kong Museum of History.

Queen Victoria Postbox No. 25

Queen Victoria Postbox No. 25

Queen Victoria Postbox Cipher

 

Edward VII, MacDonnell Rd. In the post-handover photo, the postman had left a parcel atop the postbox.

Edward VII Poxtbox No. 20

Edward VII Postbox No. 20

 

Edward VII, Man Mo Temple, Junction of Hollywood Rd & Ladder St See also:

http://gwulo.com/node/5383

Edward VII Postbox No. 42

Edward VII Postbox No. 42

Edward VII Postbox Cipher

 

George V, So Kwu Wan, Lamma Island. An interesting postbox amongst the gas cylinders. Post your mail in fear.

George V Postbox No. 256

 

George V, Hollywood Road, near Pound Lane. The scene today: http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/5770951411/in/photostream

George V Postbox No. 41

 

George V, Junction of Wong Nei Chung Rd & Broadwood Rd. Another interesting postbox with its own pedestal. Note the George V cipher and mismatched E II R lettering below the No. 9

George V Postbox No. 9

 

George V, May Rd near Peak Tram Station.  A 'grounded' George V'.

George V Postbox No. 58

The same postbox in 1930 and 1948.

1930s May Road

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/50773834/Time-Life-Pictures

 

George V, Kowloon Hospital. Note the air-con water duct.

George V Postbox No. 21

George V Postbox No. 21

 

George VI, Fat Kwong St. One of the hardest postboxes to locate as not many of these were erected. Note the fine 'line' between a George V and George VI.

George VI Postbox No. 36

George V Cipher on a Pillar Postbox outside Shek Wu Hui Post Office.

George V Cipher (Rare)

 

George V Postbox Cipher

George VI Postbox Cipher

George VI Postbox Cipher

 

George VI, Junction of Cumberland Rd & Rutland Quadrant, Kowloon Tong

George VI Postbox No. 13

Close to the same site today, this is the modern replacement with a certain lack of character!

Modern Postbox No.13

 

Queen Elizabeth II Collection with unusual features and different scenes.

Queen Elizabeth II Postbox (No Number)

Queen Elizabeth II Postbox No. 240

Queen Elizabeth II Postbox No. 60

Queen Elizabeth II Postbox (no number)

Prince Edward Road East, near Nga Tsin Long Road Kowloon City. I believe this postbox got damaged in the early 1990s during a jewellery heist when shots were fired in the direction of the postbox. A metallic plate was added to cover the bullet holes.

Queen Elizabeth II Postbox No. 181

Upper Peak Tram Station, Peak Rd, outside Peak Cafe (Then and Now)

Queen Elizabeth Postbox No.192

Queen Elizabeth Postbox No 192

Elizabeth II Postbox Cipher

1940s Upper Peak Tram Station. Note the postbox on the right and its similar location to Box No. 3 on the 1892 list. The original postbox with the VR cipher can seen clearly in the Harrison Forman Collection. 

1940s Upper Peak Tram Terminus

1909 Similar Scene

Peak Hotel

1892 See: http://gwulo.com/node/5136

Double Slotted Scottish Crown Postbox, Chater Rd, Pre & Post Handover Colours

Double Slotted Crown Postbox 239
Double Slotted Crown Postbox No. 239

Queen's Rd Central,  Melbourne Plaza and Former Queen's Theatre - Red taxi on postbox

Double Slotted Scottish Crown Postbox 238

Standard Lampost Letter Box formerly located at Tai Hang Village entrance, Tai Po. Now housed in the Postal Museum.

Queen Elizabeth II Postbox No. 152

On this website: http://cvphm.org.uk/ForeignBoxes.html

a seldom seen George V postbox with a unique cipher that is on loan from the Hong Kong Post to the Colne Valley Postal History Museum. The postbox used to stand outside the Shek Wu Hui Post Office.

Another favourite of mine from 1949 appears in the Magnum Collection:

http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox_VPage&VBID=2K1HZ…

Enter: Hong Kong Postbox in search

1930s Lyndhurst Terrace and Wellington St (Oval Postbox)

1920s Lyndhurst Terrace and Wellington St

1970s Same Oval Postbox as above but viewed from the junction of Wellington Street and Pottinger Street

1970s Junction of Wellington and Pottinger Streets

1930s Queen's Rd Central and Wellington St (Oval Postbox)

1930s Queen's Rd Central & Wellington St (Oval Postbox)

1930s Shaukiwan Road (Wall Postbox)

1930s Shaukiwan Road (Wall Postbox)

1919 Peace Celebrations - Queen's Road Central and Garden Road (Oval Postbox)

1919 Peace Celebrations - Junction of Queen's Road Central and Garden Road

1940s Queen's Road Central and Garden Road (Oval Postbox)

1940s Queen's Road Central and Garden Road

1930s Kowloon City

Solitary oval postbox looking across Kai Tak Airfield towards Kowloon Peak, Customs Pass and Old Clearwater Bay Rd.                     

1930s Kowloon City

Hi there,

I believe I have seen one right opposite the Cheung Chau Ferry Pier in Cheung Chau.  That was about two months ago.  It is right in front of an apparel store.  The box had been painted Green, however.

Best Regards,

T

come 1997 there was a major 'clean-up campaign' to get rid of these colonial postboxes. some however they discovered  were so deeply rooted into the pavement that it would have meant major roadworks (and extra cost) to remove them - solution?  lick of green paint!!  love it!

As you say many of the old colonial post boxes have been uprooted and replaced. You can see many of these looking unloved and forlorn in the back yard of Kwun Tong Post Office, next to Kwun Tong Magistracy.

DBHKer

Moddsey, you are king of the post box! I remember seeing something old and post-related recently in the wall of the old post office in Stanley. I can't remember if it was a post box or stamp-vending machine though.

How many of the old colonial post boxes are still standing?

here is a photo of the postbox in cheung chau central, taken in june this year

wonder how long it will stay there!?!  knowing cheung chau, probably will be one of the last ones to face the inevitable (snail pace)  removal process

The photos posted have been taken quite a while ago. And most of the postboxes that I have documented here have disappeared. Perhaps the Tourism Commission and Hong Kong Post should get together and consider re-erecting some of these postboxes in tourist spots like Heritage 1881 in TST, Stanley, Repulse Bay etc  On my recent walks, there are only a few remaining and all too soon they will be gone forever.

With reference to Stanley Post Office, I did not recall anything in particular when I saw it last. Anyways, here is a photo of a stamp vending machine. from the Postal Museum.

Old Stamp Vending Machine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 80skid's suggestion, I paid a visit to Stanley Post Office. What a pleasant surprise!

Stanley Post Office

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George VI Postbox (on display only)

George VI Postbox No. 60A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Submitted by
Susan (not verified)
on
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 10:26

I remember these postboxes. I bought a colonial postbox bank from a post office in the mid-90s and still have it. I wonder if they're sold on eBay?

This postbox was found by using the old postboxes map. It is located at Palm Springs (strangely enough it is also known as Calfornia Gardens in Cantonese), Yuen Long near the estate's commercial complex. A bit of little Britain here tucked away with red telephone booths as well!

British Red Telephone Booths
George VI Postbox No. 487

 

 

Lau Fau Shan Colonial Postbox

okay, I admit, not quite in the same league as the ones above but an interesting find nonetheless way out there in Lau Fau Shan (NW NT).

You can find it next to the entrance to the carpark just off the main town roundabout.

Thought you guys might be interested to learn there were some recent reports in the Chinese media on old postbox conservation in HK (Oriental Daily, Ming Pao 18/4/2010). Basically, HK Post was lamented for not doing enough to preserve the old boxes. 

I am the owner of the HK Old Postboxes Map and thought I should do my bit to help the cause and therefore have now updated the map. We now have recorded 58 still-in-active-service old boxes and 4 retired ones on the map (link) and there's only one known old box left uncovered (at the staff carpark of Shek Pik Prison, Lantau).  Enjoy.

Hi Lemonrunner, good job with the map, and thanks for the update on press coverage.

It's a good time to post up a couple of documents Guy Shirra has requested from HK Post.

The first is described as 'location of the old posting boxes (excl. the box no. 256 at Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island)':

SPB No. Box type Location
Hong Kong and Outlying Islands

66 Pillar / ER II Cheung Chau Ferry Pier, Cheung Chau
116 Wall / ER II Pak She New Village, Cheung Chau
124 Wall / ER II Kwok Man Road / Sun Hing Street, Cheung Chau
143 Wall / GR V Shek Pik Prison, Lantau Island
149 Wall / ER II Tai O Post Office, Lantau Island
192 Pillar / ER II Upper Peak Tram Station, The Peak
215 Pillar / ER II Mui Wo Ferry Pier, Lantau Island
227 Wall / GR V School Road, Cheung Chau
232 Pillar / ERII Stage II, Hing Wah Estate, Chai Wan
239 Oval Chater Road / Statue Square, Central
245 Wall / ER II Pokfulam Garden, Pokfulam
Kolwoon
55 Wall/ GR V Cassia Road / Magnolia Road, Yau Yuet Tsuen
90 Pillar / ER II 53 Kwun Tong Road, Kai Tak Mansion
91 Pillar / GR V 22-24 Hong Lee Road, Hong Lee Court, Crocodile Hill
125 Pillar / ER II 168-170 Shanghai Street / Saigon Street, Yau Ma Tei
131 Pillar / ER II Boundary Street / La Salle Road, Kowloon Tong
157 Wall / ER II 6 Peace Avenue / Liberty Avenue
181 Pillar / ER II 414 Prince Edward Road West / 1C Nam Kok Road, Kowloon City
195 Pillar / ER II Dunbar Road / Gullane Road
202 Pillar / ER II Ching Fai House, Tsz Ching Estate, Tsz Wan Shan Road
203 Pillar / ER II Wang Fai House, Wang Tau Hom Estate, Fu Mei Street
207 Pillar / ER II Chun Fei House, Tin Ma Court
235 Pillar / GR V 1A Hoi Phong Road, Lei Yu Mun
302 Pillar / ER II 15-16 Ho Man Tin Hill Road
393 Pillar / ER II Choi Wan Estate Mini-bus Stop
409 Pillar / ER II Cheung Wo Court, Hip Wo Street
419 Pillar / ER II Chak On Estate Bus Stop
436 Pillar / ER II Cho Kwo Ling Road o/s Fire Station
438 Wall / ER II Bescon Heights, Tai Wo Ping
New Territories
9 Wall / ER II Ha Tsuen, Ping Ha Road, Yuen Long
35 Wall / ER II Yau Tam Mei Village, Castle Road, San Wai
38 Wall / ER II On Lok Tsuen, On Kui Street / Lok Yip Road, Fanling
66 Wall / ER II Sai Kung Market / Man Yee New Village
94 Pillar / ER II Ting Kau Bus Stop at 11-1/2 M
96 Pillar / ER II Castle Peak Road, Seaview Garden, Tsing Yung Street
110 Wall / GR V Chung Chi College / Tai Po Road, Bus Stop
123 Pillar / ER II Block 1, Kwai Shing Estate
145 Pillar / ER II Near Tsing Lung Tau Village, Bus Stop, Castle Peak Road
149 Wall / ER II Nam Wai / Wo Mei, Bus Stop
154 Wall / ER II Au Tau / Yau Sin Street, Castle Peak Road
162 Pillar / ER II Fu On House,Tai Wo Hau Estate
169 Wall / ER II Ngau Tam Mei San Tsuen, Castle Peak Road, San Tin
173 Wall / ER II Deep Bay Road, Ping Ha Road, Lau Fau Shan
228 Wall / ER II Kei Ling Ha, Lo Wai
245 Wall / ER II Sheung Pak Nai, Ming Kee Store
299 Wall / ER II Sheung Chuk Yuen Tsuen, Bus Stop, San Tin
316 Wall / ER II Worldwide Garden, Hung Mui Kuk Road, Chung Pak Road
336 Wall / ER II Shaw’s Movie Town
359 Wall / ER II On Kwok Villa, Tin Ping Road
369 Wall / ER II Wah Yuen Chuen, Wah King Hill Road
370 Wall / ER II Tai Mong Tsai Bus Terminal
394 Wall / ER II Tai Chung Hau, Car Park
401 Wall / GR V Ming Shun Tsuen / Tui Min Hoi, Sai Kung
463 Wall / ER II Savanna Garden / Tai Po Kau, Tai Po Road
487 Pillar / GR VI Palm Springs, near Commercial Centre, San Tin
313 Pillar /ER II Princess Margaret Hospital
382 Pillar / ER II Ching Lai Court near Bus Stop, Lai King Hill Road

The second is a list 'of old post boxes still "in store" with HK Post'.

 

Box Type

Quantity

Pillar/ERII

3

Wall/ERII

3

Lamp/ERII

1

Pillar/GRV

1

Wall/GRV

2

Pillar/GRVI

1

Pillar/GRVII

1

Pillar/GR

1

Oval

1

Total number:

14

 

Queen Victoria era pillar boxes can only be found in either the HK History Museum or the Gallery of the General Post Office now. 

Regarding the list 'of old post boxes still "in store" with HK Post', would the third from the bottom "Pillar/GRVII" be actually ERVII (King Edward VII 1901-1910)? If otherwise, we will sadly have no postbox in that era left? 

 

Great map and list - many thanks.

Just for completeness: the Box Type of No. 239 is "Oval / ER II". I found the lack of royal cipher a bit intriguing and came across the following comment about Scottish Crown post boxes on the website of an expert in the UK (http://www.wicks.org/pulp/part2.html):

“In 1954, after it had been pointed out that Elizabeth II of England was only the first Elizabeth to reign over Scotland, the EIIR cipher was not used in Scotland. Letter boxes were made with just a Scottish Crown on instead.”

i.e. No. 239 was probably made in or after 1954.

Incidentally, Singapore seems to be the only place where you can buy souvenir miniatures of old HK post boxes (http://www.spm.org.sg/gifts_souvenirs/post_boxes_hk.html).

Submitted by
richardw (not verified)
on
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 12:03

Excellent work from Moddsey

I would like to use one of the photos of the victorian pillar boxes for an article I have written on the early postal boxes, which I would be happy to post - I hope/assume that this is not a problem

The first post office pillar box was erected in Bonham Strand in April 1878; the Daily Press of 6 April 1878 reported: “A postal pillar box is being placed in Bonham Strand as an experiment to shorten the distance that Chinese have to carry their Australian, San Francisco and Singapore correspondence. Stamps will be sold at a shop close by where also letter scales, tariffs in Chinese etc will be kept.

It was relocated in late 1878, as evidenced by the 19 December 1878 edition of the Daily Press, due to dissatisfaction with the original positioning, to the south frontage of the Harbour Department (Praya West) i.e. in Wing Lok Street at or nearby the junction with Morrison Street. A new pillar box was erected at the West Point Police Station (Police Station No. 7) located between Western Street and Pokfulam Road opposite the Sailors Home in Queens Road West. The two locations were confirmed in the Postmaster General’s notice dated 14 January 1879:

The pillar boxes were cleared three times daily and the mails at the General Post Office, the only post office at that time, were kept open until the messenger arrived with the letters collected there from. Furthermore, those who kept a postage account with the post office could post local correspondence in the boxes without stamps, provided that the sender’s name or recognised device appeared on each article.

The two pillar boxes were not, by any stretch of the imagination, an instant success; the Postmaster General in his annual report for 1878 issued on 12 April 1879 stated “they must be, with regret, pronounced to be failures. If however, they are failures in Hongkong, it may be some consolation to know that Pillar Boxes have not (it is believed) succeeded anywhere in the East.

He explained that “when there was only one Box in Bonham Strand and that was cleared but once a day, the collections averaged about 60 letters a week, almost all on mail day. With the removal of the box to the Harbour Department, and its clearance three times a day, the number of letters dwindled to less than half! The reason was that before the extension of mail hours (which took place about the same time) Chinese got half an hour longer at the Pillar Box free of late fee, showing that they prefer to bring their correspondence to the general office.

The two pillar boxes remained as the only such facilities for letters until 1892, some thirteen years later. In the annual report for 1891, the Postmaster General suggested, in response to the Governor’s request to improve the available postal facilities, to install 12 new pillar boxes at certain locations – six in Victoria, five at the Peak instead of the existent wooden letter boxes and one in Kowloon. The pillar boxes were delivered by the Crown Agents, tenders were called for their installation by Government notification of 16 July 1892 and the new facilities went into operation in August of that year.

The pillar boxes were set up in the locations suggested by the Postmaster General in 1891 except that one was placed at the East end of the town in Percival Street instead of near the tramway station. This change was made because letter boxes had been attached to the tramcars some years previously and it was therefore considered that a pillar box at the tramway station was unnecessary. The wooden letter box at the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station was retained but those formerly affixed to the police boxes at the Peak were withdrawn from service.

A notice from the General Post Office dated 12 August 1892 set out the locations of all 14 existent postal pillar boxes in the Kowloon and Peak Districts, Town District (from Ship Street to Bonham Strand West and up to level of Robinson Road) and Suburban Districts; clearances were effected twice daily for the Kowloon and Peak Districts boxes, three times daily for the Suburban Districts boxes and five times daily for the boxes in the Town District. Users were advised to reduce the risk of theft of the stamps affixed to letters etc by cancelling them by writing the date across them. The 14 locations were:

Kowloon and Peak Districts

  • Pillar Box No 1 Kowloon, near Wharf and Godowns
  • Pillar Box No 2 Magazine Gap, at the Gap
  • Pillar Box No 3 Victoria Gap
  • Pillar Box No 4 Mount Kellett, near “Myrtlebank”
  • Pillar Box No 5 Junction of Mount Gough Road with Road to Aberdeen West of Government Villas
  • Pillar Box No 6 Plantation Road at Junction of Roads between Rural Building Lots 14 and 27

Town District

  • Pillar Box No 7 Junction of Queens Road East and Arsenal Street
  • Pillar Box No 8 Near the Harbour Master’s Office *
  • Pillar Box No 9 Junction of Albany, Robinson and Garden Roads
  • Pillar Box No 10 Junction of Seymour and Castle Roads
  • Pillar Box No 11 Junction of Old Bailey and Caine Road

Suburban Districts

  • Pillar Box No 12 Junction of Robinson and Bonham Roads
  • Pillar Box No 13 East Point, Junction of Percival Street and Praya
  • Pillar Box No 14 West Point near No. 7 Police Station *

* indicates the two pillar boxes of late 1878.

Collections from Pillar Box No. 1 at the Kowloon Wharves commenced on 8 August and up to 20 August the letters collected amounted to 448. The collections from Pillar Boxes Nos. 2 to 6, at Magazine Gap and the Peak, commenced on 12 August and up to 20 August a total of 64 letters were collected. The collections from the pillar boxes in the town between 15 and 20 August amounted to 201 letters.

The number of letters collected from the pillar boxes in the town from 15 August until the end of 1892 was 3,072 broken down as follows:

  • Box No. 7 Arsenal Street 804 letters
  • Box No. 8 Harbour Office 479 letters
  • Box No. 9 Albany and Robinson Roads 98 letters
  • Box No. 10 Seymour and Castle Roads 174 letters
  • Box No. 11 Old Bailey Street 403 letters
  • Box No. 12 Robinson and Bonham Roads 146 letters
  • Box No. 13 Percival Street 19 letters
  • Box No. 14 No. 7 Police Station 949 letters

In the following year, 1893, a total of 7,266 letters were collected:

  • Box No. 7 Arsenal Street 2,271 letters
  • Box No. 8 Harbour Office 1,148 letters
  • Box No. 9 Albany and Robinson Roads 340 letters
  • Box No. 10 Seymour and Castle Roads 381 letters
  • Box No. 11 Old Bailey Street 424 letters
  • Box No. 12 Robinson and Bonham Roads 448 letters
  • Box No. 13 Percival Street 45 letters
  • Box No. 14 No. 7 Police Station 2,209 letters

The pillar box at Percival Street seems to have particularly poor patronage; less than one letter per week !! The pillar box at Arsenal Street as well as the original boxes at the Harbour Office and No. 7 Police Station seems to have been reasonably well used by comparison with the others.

There is a dearth of “official” information regarding pillar boxes after 1893 until the Postmaster General’s annual report for 1905 when it was confirmed that there were 5 pillar boxes on the Peak, presumably as set up in 1892 (see above), 10 pillar boxes in Victoria, being two more than in 1892, and 6 pillar boxes in Kowloon, being an increase of five from the initial box set up 13 years previously.

The number of articles posted in the pillar boxes during 1905 was 92,170 as against 66,746 in 1904 and 48,110 in 1903; almost a doubling of usage in two years. Furthermore, it can be seen that there was a more than 6 fold increase of usage between 1893 and 1903 despite the opening of branch post offices at Kowloon and Western during the period. The Postmaster General observed that “This is a complete justification of the appointment of special messengers to clear these boxes instead of leaving that duty to postmen whose punctuality had to be sacrificed to the varying demands of deliveries.” It seems that the once unpopular and unsuccessful pillar boxes were now anything but; indeed they warranted dedicated personnel to clear them.

Further pillar boxes were erected and daily deliveries started at Pokfulam on 21 March 1906 and at Kowloon City on 3 October 1906. In Victoria, three new pillar boxes were placed at certain points on the higher levels in the same year.

New pillar boxes were erected at the Star Ferry Company’s wharves and at the Lower Peak Tramway Terminus in 1909; a new pillar box was erected at the Victoria Hospital in 1910.

The total number of articles collected from all pillar boxes during 1909 was 183,152 against 161,933 in 1908, an increase of 21,219 on the total of the previous year and a 25 fold increase since 1893.

We can see that, after a decidedly sluggish start and contrary to the strong opinion of the Postmaster General in 1879, the humble post office pillar box became, in time, an essential and popular part of the infrastructure of the Hong Kong and Kowloon postal administration.

Good Spot !!

Inspection of the referenced photograph shows to the right of the post office pillar box, affixed to the wall of the Harbour Department building, an iron letter box installed at the same time as the pillar box (January 1879 PMG Notice).

There were two iron letter boxes installed at that time, the other was at Sai Ying Pun Police Station; in both instances "letters removed 3 times per day except Sunday (at 10, 2 and 4 o'clock) and safely carried to the Post Office for despatch." Letters delivered in Hongkong were charged postage of 2 cents each.

With regard to pillar boxes 4 and 5 on the 1892 list, where exactly was "Myrtlebank" on Mount Kellett Road and where was Mount Gough Road - is it called something else these days ...... my current day street maps do not show it.

With regard to Pillar Box No 1 of the 1892 list, which was located at Kowloon near Wharf & Godowns - I assume this was reference to the premises of Wharf & Godown Co; would this have been on what is now Salisbury Road (roughly opposite where the YMCA is) or on the seaward side of what is now Canton Road where there were a number of godowns ??

Any ideas ??

Considering this was 1892, the Kowloon Wharf and Godowns (Canton Road) preceded Holts Wharf (opposite Salisbury Road, near the former New World Hotel). One of the reasons, I think Pillar Box No 1 was located there was the fact that the original Kowloon Star Ferry Pier was situated opposite the godowns and it would have been easier to transport mail across the harbour.

1900s Kowloon Star Ferry Pier

 

Although not clear, this may be Pillar Box No. 1 standing on the corner just north of the main office entrance. What's interesting is the building above the godown. Mosque ? - as mentioned in another thread on gwulo.

1900s Kowloon Wharf and Godowns

 

1892 Kowloon Wharf Pillar letter Box

 

As an aside, one of the earliest postboxes I have seen in Kowloon can be viewed from the Swire archives:

http://translate.google.com.hk/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&la…

Postbox No 1 has now been relocated to the junction of Mody and Chatham Roads.

First of all, one exciting piece of news recently in a Chinese daily (http://news.hkheadline.com/dailynews/content_hk/2010/06/17/113733.asp ) which reported the conservation of historic postboxes had caught the attention of the Antique and Monuments Office and HK Post is considering a change of policy. The first sign was positive as a KGV box in Sok Kwu Wan which HK Post claimed was beyond repair back in February (see my correspondence with HK Post on SCMP: letters to the editor on 11/2, 18/2, 24/2) and scheduled to be removed has now been restored (with help from the Architectural Services Department sought by HK Post) and reinstalled on the same spot (haven't had a chance to go there to verify yet).  

Secondly, 4 old boxes not on the HK Post list have been found:

No.256 Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island Pillar KGV 

Sun Tin Post Office Wall ERII 

Kam Tin Post Office Wall ERII

Sha Tau Kok Post Office Wall ERII

 

 

 

Thanks to Guy Shirra for this clipping from the SCMP, 23 Sep 2012:

[...] the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) wants some of the most colourful reminders of British rule to stay on the streets.

Vintage postboxes - once painted red but now green - are dotted over the city, many still in use. Among the 58 colonial-era postboxes in operation, nine have been selected by the AMO for conservation. Hongkong Post has been working closely with AMO on preservation work.

"Postboxes, irrespective of their year of commissioning, are part of the postal network for service delivery. We will therefore continue to maintain them in good and serviceable condition until they are beyond repair," Hongkong Post spokeswoman Mary Chung said.

"We think the best way to preserve these iconic items is to keep them in use rather than putting them in museums as historic exhibits. Nevertheless, we have also arranged a display of some vintage posting boxes at the Postal Gallery [in the General Post Office] and the Hong Kong Museum of History."

The display will include traditional pillar and lamp-type boxes that have been used since long before the handover.

Hongkong Post will dispose of any unserviceable postboxes bearing royal insignia, and will consult the Director of Government Logistics to arrange for them to be destroyed.

According to one lawmaker, miscellaneous leftovers from colonial times are a fact of life in Hong Kong and it has to be accepted that there are still numerous colonial influences visible in its architecture and appearance.

"Many British-given street names remain unchanged and lawyers are still required to wear white wigs in court," Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong lawmaker Ip Kwok-him said.

Ip said similar British postboxes were still being used in former colonies such as Malaysia, and did not think it necessary to have them replaced in the city when still in working order.

"Anyway, they will be replaced when they are worn out," he said.

Just by chance, I stumbled over this list in the Chronicle & Directory for 1898

6. —Pillar Letter Boxes have been placed at the following localities and are cleared daily at the following hours, except on Sundays and Holidays:—

Town  District.

From Ship Street to Bonham Strand West and up to level of Robinson Road.

Clearances: 8.30 a.m., 10.30 a.m., 0.30 p.m., 2.30 p.m., 4.30 p.m.

Pillar Box No.  7    Victoria, junction of Queen’s Road East and Arsenal Street.

Pillar Box No.  8   Victoria, near the Harbour Master’s Office.

Pillar Box No. 9    Victoria, junction of Albany, Robinson and Garden Roads.

Pillar Box No 10   Victoria, junction of Seymour and Castle Roads.

Pillar Box No 11   Victoria, junction of Old Bailey and Caine Road.

Suburban Districts.

Clearances: 9.30 a.m., 0.30 p.m., 5.30 p.m.

Pillar Box No. 12  Victoria, junction of Robinson and Bonham Roads.

Pillar Box No 13   Victoria, East Point, junction of Percival Street and Praya.

Pillar Box No 14   West Point, near No. 7 Police Station.

Kowloon and Peak District.

Clearances: noon and 4 p.m.

Pillar Box No. 1    Kowloon, near Wharf and Godowns.

Pillar Box No. 2    Magazine Gap, at the Gap.

Pillar Box No. 3    Peak District, at Victoria Gap.

Pillar Box No. 4    Peak District, at Mount Kellett, near “ Myrtlebank.”

Pillar Box No. 5    Peak District, at Junction of Mount Gough Road with road to Aberdeen West of Government Villas.

Pillar Box No. 6    Peak District, at Plantation Road, at junction of roads between Rural Building Lots 14 and 27

There is also a Letter Box fixed in the Charge Room at Tsim Sha-tsui Police Station.

Only the one at the Police Station has been added since 1892.