Wanchai Police Station, Gloucester Road [1932- ]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 09:28
Current condition
In use
Date completed

awarded grade II listing:

Wan Chai Police Station (灣仔警署), also known as No. 2 Police Station
(二號差館) or Eastern Police Station, is situated at No. 123 Gloucester Road.

It was built in 1932 to replace the old No. 2 Police Station which was constructed in 1868 at the junction of Wan Chai Road and Johnston Road (Praya East Road). The existing police station is located on land reclaimed under the Praya East Reclamation Scheme (1921-1929). In its early years, it served not only as a police station, but also a garage for fire brigade, and police officers’ hostel. The building was heavily bombarded during the Japanese invasion of 1941 and had to be substantially renovated before operation was resumed. It is currently used as the Wan Chai District Headquarters and District Station.

80sKid

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Photos that show this Place

Southorn Playground in 1932
1932
Hong Kong Fire Brigade
1935
European Staff No.2 Police Station Hong Kong 1935 on the retirement of Inspt. McLellan
1935
See more photos of this place

Comments

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Submitted by
80sKid (not verified)
on
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 13:07

govt statement says the police will soon be vacating the station:

The Wan Chai Police Station and married quarters site will be rezoned and conserved for revitalisation. It will be put up for open tender for hotel, culture and commercial use.

When I passed out of the Police Training School as Probationary Inspector in 1967, I was quartered in the Officers' Mess on the first floor of what was then Eastern Police Station. I had a room with a shared balcony overlooking Gloucester Road where sampans were tied up on the harbour wall. The station and the quarters opposite were surrounded by Dannert wire, Knife rests and sandbags and Jaffe Road was similarly blocked off. I shared the mess with an Australian inspector who, with others less lucky, was blown up by a bomb he tried to move. Eventually discharged from hospital, he was picking bits of shrapnel out of his soup at lunch for weeks therafter. He went on to be a Queensland MP! I look forward to enjoying shrapnel-free soup in a hotel restaurant in the restored building sometime in the not too distant future. OnOn.