Pedder's Wharf (2nd generation) [c.1872-1886]

From Wikipedia:

Served as the official wharf of the colonial establishment from 1841 to 1890s.

In February 1886, the first pile of the new Pedder's Wharf was driven in 38 feet (12 m) from the praya wall. "Three similar piles have been towed over from Tsim Sha Tsui and are ready to be put in place". The new wharf, located at the junction of Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road, extended 195 feet (59 m) out from the praya wall, and was 40 feet (12 m) wide. Six sets of steps lead down to the water.

Pedder Wharf became landlocked after the big reclamation scheme of 1890–1904, and was replaced by Blake Pier.

From The Hongkong Telegraph 1882-07-18:

We hear that the matshed at Peddar's Wharf was blown to pieces during the storm last night.

As it stands, some of the photos and dates linked to this one "place", i.e. "Pedder's Wharf pre-1886", are confusing. I think it's because within this time frame there were two different wharfs, located in slightly different positions. Here's what I think happened.

This 1866 map shows Pedder's Wharf situated directly in-line with Pedder Street. It's the earliest mention of it that I've come across, so it was constructed in 1866 or earlier. I'll call it Pedder's Wharf (First Edition). The Duke of Edinburgh visited Hong Kong in late 1869 and landed here. The Wharf was augmented with a Triumphal Arch to mark the occasion, meaning that photos of the Wharf with the Arch can be accurately dated to late 1869, e.g.

https://gwulo.com/media/37412

https://gwulo.com/media/29241

(Apologies, can't get these two photos to appear here)

These two photos show Pedder's Wharf (First Edition) was made of stone, had a curved outer end and stood directly in-line with Pedder Street.

And the following map shows it was still there in 1873.

A huge typhoon struck Hong Kong on 9th October 1874, destroying or damaging beyond repair almost all piers on Victoria Harbour. Klaus has previously stated that Pedder's Wharf, i.e. the First Edition, was destroyed at that time.

Sometime later, I'm not sure when, a replacement appeared. It was wooden and positioned slightly to the east of the junction of Pedder Street and The Praya. I'll call it the Second Edition, pic below.

In 1886 another Pedder's Wharf was built (1886 PWD Report), i.e. the Third Edition (see https://gwulo.com/pedders-wharf-post-1886). Larger than the Second Edition, it was of timber construction and positioned directly in-line with Pedder Street. For a short time both the Second and Third Editions existed side-by-side, as seen here.

In July 1886 the Government asked for tenders to demolish the "old Pedder's Wharf", the Second Edition, (GG Notification 265, 17 July 1886), meaning that it was still standing at that time but probably vanished a short time later to leave the Third Edition all alone as seen here.

The Third Edition closed in 1894 and was probably demolished soon afterwards.

Thanks gw, I've made a new Place for the 1st Generation, and hopefully linked all the photos to the correct Place, but let me know if any are still wrong.

First generation Pedder’s Wharf was made of stone, likely granite blocks, see below:

Recently, gw pointed out that in fact three generations of Pedder’s Wharf were built. In an earlier post I assumed that the first generation was destroyed during the 1874 typhoon and rebuilt afterwards. However, this seems to be incorrect.

The Hong Kong Gazette from 18 November 1871 issued the following:

GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.

Tenders will be received at this Office until Noon on Saturday, the 18th instant, for the construction of a temporary Pile Pier at Pedder's Wharf.

The Plan and Specification can be seen, and a proper Form of Tender obtained, at the Surveyor General's Office.

No Tenders will be received unless the Person tendering shall produce a Receipt to the effect that he has deposited in the Colonial Treasury the sum of $250 as a pledge of the bona fides of his offer, which sum shall be forfeited to the Crown if such Person shall refuse to carry out his Tender.

The Government does not bind itself to accept the lowest, or any Tender.

By command J. GARDINER AUSTIN, Colonial Secretary

Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 8th November, 1871

It looks as if the second wharf was built in 1872 already and not after the 1874 typhoon. I have tried to find out the reason for building a new wharf. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything. The reports of public works in the 1870s were without details, and I didn’t find anything in the Government Gazette. Reason for constructing a new pier could be a damage or even the collapse of the wharf. The granite blocks were very heavy, so possibly the foundations weren’t strong enough to support the stones.

Amongst the photos on Gwulo that show the destruction during the 1874 typhoon is this one Damage from 1874 typhoon | Gwulo. A crop shows a pier at the very right end (in front is the damaged Douglas Wharf), and it looks quite intact. So possibly the wooden wharf survived the typhoon without serious damage.

I think the photo below was taken from the wooden wharf (opposite direction compared to the photo above). The praya wall is damaged, but there is no stone wharf visible.

When counting the segments of the wharf in the "1874 typhoon damage at Douglas Wharf" photo, it comes to four.

Another photo, likely from the early to mid-1880s shows the wharf in its full length.

When counting the segments, it comes to five. The outer segment is somewhat wider and has two stairs leading inwards.

Possibly the wharf lost the fifth segment during the typhoon, or it was added after typhoon.

One more photo likely from the 1870s is this one:

The inscription on the right building reads Lammert, Atkinson & Co. Shipchandlers. This company had its offices there in the mid-1870s.

One last photo of the wharf is again from the 1870s:

It looks as if the wharf was built in 1872, possibly damaged only slightly during the 1874 typhoon and demolished in 1886. The matshed roof wasn’t there from the start and was added later.

 It looks as if Pedder's Wharf ( second generation) was already in use in April 1872.

Addendum:

The Government Gazette from 2 December 1871 refers that Governor MacDonnell will land at the Government Wharf. Likely because Pedder's Wharf (the usual landing wharf) wasn't reconstructed yet.