Home for the Blind [1902-????]

Submitted by christoph on Sat, 06/11/2011 - 01:06
Current condition
Demolished / No longer exists
Date completed

This marker is only a guess for the "Home for the Blind" in Kowloon. The house was founded by the "Hildesheimer Blindenmission", Germany;  "Hildesheim Mission for the Blind". It is an early forerunner of what is todays "Ebenezer School & Home for the Visually Impaired" in Pokfulam. The lot of land was donated by Queen Voctoria in 1901.

Can anyone help with the localisation? My marker is only a guess.

I read in a missionary report that the "Home for the Blind" in Kowloon was located 7 minutes by foot on a hill above the village To Kwa Wan.

I add a Photograph of the home that was taken before 1917.

Home for the Blind

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Photos that show this Place

Home for the Blind - First Building
1897
Home for the Blind
1902
Home for the blind in Kaulun
1902
See more photos of this place

Comments

Hi there,

The History of over a century section of the Ebenezer School mentioned the To Kwa Wan site was returned to the Government for Industrial redevelopment.  That would mean the site would be a bit more seaward towards Ma Tau Wai Road.  My argument is, most the the modern day industrial building are located that way.  Maybe probably their predecessor too.

Look's like we really need some very old maps for reference.

My 2 cents,

T 

Thanks tngan; I just found:

"The China Mail" reports on the opening ceremony in the edition on Friday, August 15, 1902. The headline goes: "Blind Asylum at Mataukok".

So I think, I should move the marker more to the north (?) and seaward.

Home for the Blind

The Ebenezer School's webpage that T mentioned gives 1930 as the date that the site was returned to the government for redevelopment, so we can use that for the demolition date.

Here's a map of the area in 1924. Unfortunately the Home isn't marked, but at least you can see which areas were built-up, and are potential sites for the Home. It can't have been a very pleasant area to live, with a tannery and a slaughterhouse in the district.

The only other mention I've found is in "The Report of the Director of Works for 1900". Point 4 includes the text:

There were also two free grants [of land] at Kowloon, one [...]; and the other of 15,000 square feet to the Hildesheim Mission for Blind Girls at To-kwa-wan.

I didn't know anything about this before, so it's good to hear about. How did you get interested in it?

Regards, David

PS I've changed the 'Places showw...' from Kowloon to this Place in your two photos, so that everything is linked up.

Here's a guess - look at the straight road that runs top to bottom down the left of this 1924 map (click the map for a larger view):

1924 Kowloon map - Quadrant 4

Half-way down you can see a fork in the road. At that junction there is also a short road that leads away left to a building on a low hill. That location would match the picture above, and may be the Home.

Regards, David

Established by a worker in the German Mission nearly forty years ago (in 1896-97) in Pok Fu Lam Road, west point it passed during the war under the control of the Church of England here: for a number of years in Kowloon, it came over after the change in control to Hongkong, to its original locality. For a while, in its earliest years, the Home was moved to Macao, but returned to the Colony in 1902.

 

The actual founder was Miss Postler, and her memory will always be associated with the work of the Hildesheim Mission Blind Asylum, as it was known before the war.

 

ln May 1902, the new building at Ma-tau-kok, Kowloon, was first occupied. Here, under the care of another lady, Miss Reinecke, who recently joined Miss Postler as colleague, thirty-eight blind girls are to-day cared for and taught

 

Source: Old Hong Kong by Colonial Vol 1