There were dockyards here from the 1850s:
Built by John Lamont, in the 1850s, the first dock [to the west] was known as the Lamont Dock and proved highly successful. In the early 1860's, Lamont added another dock to his enterprise, the Hope Dock [to the east], but before the latter was finished, both docks were bought, in 1865, by the large and very successful firm, the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Co. of Hung Hom.
Pg 150, Voices from the past, by Solomon Bard.
The Hope Dock opened on 15th June, 1867:
On the 15th of June, the new dock at Aberdeen (on the southern side of the Island of Hong Kong), belonging to the Hong Kong, Canton, and Whampoa Dock Company, was opened in the presence of the governor and a large party of invited guests. This dock is over 400 feet long ((410 feet in length)), 99 ft. broad, and 34 1/2 deep. It has been cut out of the solid granite of which the island is formed, and is a very magnificent work. It is lined with hewn granite, and presents a very imposing appearance.
[...]
The dock is, of course, constructed with the intention of accommodating either the ironclad Warrior or Black Prince (for draught of water), or the Pacific Mail Company's steamer the Great Republic (for breadth of beam); and we understand that there is only one of the new ironclads - viz., the Agincourt, which draws some 26 feet - which is too large to enter the Hope Dock without being lightened previous to doing so. Under these circumstances, it would not be surprising if her Majesty's huge ironclads be sent out to the China station, for the existence of this magnificent dock now opened in Aberdeen Bay, Hong Kong, removes what would otherwise be an insuperable objection to their presence - namely, the impossibility of dock repair in the event of an accident.
Pg 515, Nautical magazine and journal of the Royal Naval Reserve, Volume 36, Sept., 1867.
This photo from HF Siu, shows the two docks, sometime in the late 19th century:
Initially I thought it was aberdeen dock, but not so sure. any idean where it was?
While I think this photo from fivestar, dated 1971, shows the dockyard closed, and the area being reclaimed.
I think this was taken from the Peak when I was experimenting with my new 400mm lens. Hi there, If it was 1971 I think the Jumbo wasn't there yet. In the photo the floating restaurants were still in their original position. The demolishment of the dockyard had already begun but other reclaimation is not there yet. In the photo there are two slighly bigger ones and those were Tai Pak and the Sea Palace. I think there were two smaller ones too. Best Regards, T
Comments
I've provisionally set the dates for the dockyard's existence to be 1855-1970, but please leave a comment below if you can be more accurate.
Regards, David
PS thanks to Ho Lim Peng for letting us know the old dock names.
Photos that show this Place
Comments
This Hedda Morrison phot has lots of detail (double-click the thumbnail to zoom in): http://via.lib.harvard.edu/via/deliver/deepLink?_collection=via&recordI…
Comments
Re: unknown #3
Hi there,
I tend to believe it was Aberdeen Dock. Did you see the bay with the 石排 (Shek Pie)? The shape of it fits a previous Aberden Harbour map posted in another article. The ridge in the background looks very familiar too.
The terraces also fits the location of the cemetary.
Any more ideas, anyone?
Best Regards,
T
Re: unknown #3
Yes, it looks like Aberdeen Dock to me too. Taken from up on the hill where the old Police Station stood.
UNKNOWN *3
Definitely the Hope, and Lamont, Drydocks, Aberdeen. Probably soon after completion.
lamont and hope
thanks a lot for the lamont and hope pointer. I don't know dates for completion or demolition, but the dock was replaced by the Aberdeen Centre complex. You can see it clearly on google map here:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=%22aberde…
Aberdeen dockyard
I would suppose this to be both Hope and Lamont docks. From the look of the ships the dating would be very late in the 19th or the early 20th century. The nearer ship looks like a Douglas Steam Ship Co. ship. The further ship might be a China Merchants vessel (the funnel colours more or less fit), but that's mere conjecture. A good diagnostic is the tide gauge hut on the nearer end of the nearer dock. I can't remember when it was installed, but I have a trace memory that it wasn't until the 1890s.
The HKMM would be very appreciative of a copy of this photo.
SD
HKMM - HK Maritime Museum ?
HKMM - HK Maritime Museum ?
re: HKMM - HK Maritime Museum ?
Yes, Dr. Stephen Davies is the Museum Director of the HK Maritime Museum.
Pictures of Aberdeen Dockyard
There are 3 pictures in the UK National Archieves (CO 1069/445), presumably showing the Aberdeen Dockyards as destroyed by the typhoon of Sept 1874.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/7838473408/in/set-72157631193302238/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/7838473176/in/set-72157631193302238/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/7838472864/in/set-72157631193302238/