2 Connaught Road / New Oriental Building [1898-c.1955]

Not sure but this building may have had something to do with the New Oriental Bank that folded in the 1890s. The Bank was the first note issuing institution in Hong Kong.

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Note the Butterfield and Swire Building was built in 1897 aprroximately the same period as the other buidlings east of Statue Square.

King's Building and the the GPO were completed in 1905 and 1911 respectively.

The Telegraph Building was constructed in 1898 and housed two telegraph companies: Eastern Extension Telegraph Company and the Great Northern Telegraph Company.

St. George's Building was completed in 1904.

I've set the dates:

• Completion: I received this very prompt reply from HK Land confirming the date: "As per our record, the first site to be developed on the Central Reclamation was Marine Lot 278 at No. 2 on the then newly formed Connaught Road, where a building that eventually came to be known as the New Oriental was completed in 1898. It was a 4-storey building and was Hongkong Land's first building completed on the new reclamation.  However, there is no record of who the architects were for this building."
• Demolition: I've put 1963 as an estimate, because it's already been demolished in this photo, dated 1963:
  
  

2 Connaught Road (Later New Oriental Building)

Marine Lot 278 Acquired 12^th October 1896 for HKD67,441

Completed 1898, designed by Architects Palmer & Turner

                Originally four stories, 5^th Story added mid construction due to strong demand from tenants

Offices for

                Carlowitz & Co

Hamburg based China Export, Import and Bank Compagnie

                German Club leased part of Top Floor as did Japanese Consulate

Sold 10^th June 1939 to Toshihiko Eto

                -possibly to spy on dockyards?

Mr Eto declared enemy alien after WW2, property passed to Hong Kong’s administrator of Japanese property

Became temporary headquarters of Hong Kong police until building in Arsenal Street was completed

Building sold in October 1954 to Kwong Hing Investment House

Demolished to become car parks until construction of Furama - I would change demolishment date to 1955-01-01

As mentioned above, Toshihiko Ito, a Japanese publisher purchased the New Oriental Building in June 1939. China Mail dated 26 June 1939 indicates the purchase of the building was connected, inter alia, with the establishment of an English language newspaper publication. On another photo from the same era the word "NIPPO.. " can be viewed in bold letters on the ground floor of the building. (Update: "NIPPO" was the cable address.)

In the photo below, the Japanese flag flies from the top floor of the consulate.

Hong Kong Sunday Herald 1 June 1947

Before the war, all Hong Kong Police departments were at Central Police Station but at Liberation, its Administration Section moved to the HSBC Building. In October 1945, this department and several others moved into the New Oriental Building which had then come under the control of the Custodian of Property as an ex-Japanese owned newspaper office. 

Altogether, ten departments of Police are housed, including the C.I.D., Special Branch, Fingerprint & Photographic Bureau, Immigration, Registration and Stores.

(The Hong Kong News also had its Head Office at 2 Nakasumiyoshi-dori [Connaught Road Central] during the Occupation.)

The comment above records the sale of this building to Toshihiko Eto on 10th June 1939.

IDJ posted this clipping from 1 June 1939 noting that the Carroll Brothers had bought the building, so it changed hands very quickly.

For some reason I missed moddsey’s post about HongKong News in 2022 having its head office at 2 Nakasumiyoshi-dori [Connaught Road Central] during the Occupation. I always thought the HKN used former SCMP Chinese and Portuguese staff and the SCMP printing press for the production of HKN during the occupation and thus the HKN office was at the SCMP building in Wyndham Street? So were there 2 locations within Hong Kong for the HKN during the Japanese occupation? Anyone know more about this? 

Yes, there were two locations initially. 

The Head Office of the HongKong News was at 2 Nakasumiyoshi-dori [Connaught Road Central] whilst their Editorial and Business Offices were at 1-3 Wyndham Street (former SCMP).

However, sometime after April 1944, the Head Office had moved to Wyndham Street. 

Copies of the Hongkong News can be viewed at: https://repository.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en/item/cuhk-2623246-0

Thanks for the link HKN link moddsey - fascinating glimpse into Occupation life, even though it’s just a handful of copies digitised for viewing. 

For the Sunday July 26th 1942 edition on page 8 at the very end it stated that the newspaper was “Published by TOSHIHIKO ETO, Managing Director for the Hongkong News, at No. 2 Nakasumiyoshi-dori, Hongkong.”

The Hong Kong News 25th December 1942 Special Supplement edition on page 21 has a photograph of the Chater Road face of the head office of the Hongkong News bedecked in commemoration of the first anniversary of the capture of Hong Kong.