Ta Kwu Ling police station (2nd generation) [1937- ]

Submitted by David on Fri, 01/15/2021 - 17:13
Current condition
In use
Date completed
(Day & Month are approximate.)

Name also spelled "Ta Ku Ling" on older maps.

Photos that show this Place

1948
1948
1948

Comments

I'm assuming the current building is a more recent addition - or at last has had some modifications done to it?

It looks to be mostly the same building, though an extra floor has been added at some point.

The old photo shows a two-storey building with a wall around the roof that has a couple of grey patches on.

HK border in NT #2 photo .JPG
HK border in NT #2 photo .JPG, by Roland H J Brooks

 

Looking at a modern view, the right side of the building is still the same style as in the old photo. It also has one of those gray patches in the wall around the roof, and zooming in shows it is a loophole for firing a gun through.

The left side of the building has been modified at some point, with a third floor added on the old roof.

The notes linked to Moddsey give the completion date as 1937 (it replaced an earlier station built in 1905) and note it is a Grade 3 Listed Building.

The work is described in the PWD Annual Reports for 1936:

188.    Block House and Well—Ta Ku Ling:—Sketch plans were prepared providing accommodation for two European police officers, twenty-six Indian constables, four Indian sergeants, four Chinese detectives, servants quarters and the boring of a well for fresh water supply. A contract was let and signed by Messrs. Sang Tai & Co. on the 23rd December.

By the end of the year the work had been laid out and the excavation to foundations was in progress.

and 1937:

181.    Ta Ku Ling Police Station—Extensions:—This was referred to in paragraph 188 of last year’s Report. The work proceeded satisfactorily and was completed on 22nd October.