Mt Austin Rd Playground 1966

Source: This image came from Flickr, see https://flickr.com/photo.gne?id=8955165220

Date picture taken
1966
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Don't know if you'll see this but this is definitely South Craig - 3 Mount Austin Road. It was where I grew up - I was probably at home when this photo was taken. The lower 3 windows were the servants' quarters leading on to the kitchen. The higher window on the left was my bathroom - from there, my bedroom.

Craig Ryrie was a historic, sprawling estate built in the 19th century on The Peak in Hong Kong. Located on R.B.L. 11, the mansion was named after its original owner, prominent 19th-century merchant and legislator Phineas Ryrie

The estate sat on the south side of Mount Austin Road, here are the key details regarding the site: 

  • Original Owner: Phineas Ryrie (1829–1892), a co-founder of the Peak Tram and prominent Hong Kong businessman.
  • Location Reference: R.B.L. 11 (Rural Building Lot No. 11). It occupied the hillside just below Victoria Peak's summit.
  • Site Evolution: The original mansion eventually gave way to subsequent buildings and estates, such as Mackinnon House. By the mid-20th century, the broader vicinity housed estates like South Craig (currently located at 3 Mount Austin.

South Craig is a single-block residential property located at 3 Mount Austin Road on The Peak, Hong Kong Island.

Historically built in 1955 (with an occupation permit issued in October 1962), the site is situated on Rural Building Lot 11 (RBL 11). 

Phineas Ryrie builds ‘Craig Ryrie’ on R.B.L. 11.  The Hon. P. Ryrie joined hands with Mr AF Smith”, to invest on the Peak Tram project in 1889.

He was auditor of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and investor and director of Dr. Patrick Manson's Dairy Farm Company. With Alexander Finlay Smith, who had previously worked for Scotland's Highland Railway, he co-founded the High Level Tramway Company in 1885 and began to build the Peak Tram running from Garden Road to Victoria Gap.