Hong Kong School for the Deaf (1st generation) [c.1935-c.1947]

Submitted by LizB on Sun, 03/07/2021 - 17:58
Current condition
Demolished / No longer exists
Date completed
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)
Date closed / demolished
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)

Address at 15 Babington Path is referred to on p9 & p11 of the China Mail, 5 November 1935. The article refers to the school commencing operation at this time.

Comments

HKSD was a residential/boarding school. It began operating in 1935 with six students enrolled, and by 1941 this had increased to 40 students. The school closed temporarily in 1941 (during WWII) and eventually reopened in 1949. At some point during the late 1940s or early 1950s, it appears the school relocated to Hammer Hill Road, Kowloon. It became a mainstream school (now Chun Tok School) in 2004.

"The first Deaf school in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong School for the Deaf [...], was established by missionaries in 1935. In the two to three decades after World War II, several more Deaf schools were initiated. Nonetheless, written records of these Deaf schools are scarce and scattered." - from Felix Sze, Connie Lo, Lisa Lo and Kenny Chu, "Historical Development of Hong Kong Sign Language", Sign Language Studies, vol. 13(2) (Winter 2013) 155-185 (at 157) (Gallaudet University Press)

Several schools for the deaf across HK are listed on p159 of this article, as follows (no locations are specified):

- Hong Kong School for the Deaf (1935-2004)

- Overseas Chinese School for the Deaf and Dumb (1948-1975/1976)

- Victoria School for the Deaf (1960-2006)

- Hill Chong Special School for the Deaf (1961-1974)

- Kai Yum School for the Deaf (1961-1975/1976)

- Hong Kong Deaf and Dumb Association School (1962-1969)

- Lutheran School for the Deaf (1968-to date)

- Canossa School for the Deaf (1973-2007)

 

"Chun Tok School (Formerly named as Hong Kong School for the Deaf) was founded by three Christian missionaries (Ms. M. Pope, Ms. W. Griffin and Ms. Elliott) in 1935 and Ms. Li Luk Wa was our school principal. At the time of establishment, there were only 6 students. We made use of three University of Hong Kong female dormitory rooms, which were located at Babington Path, as classrooms."

Source: https://oneclick.hku.hk/en/node/48 

Thanks T, that's good to know. Hopefully more information on HKSD and its alumni can be added to this page (and the HKSD 2nd generation page) over time.  Cheers, Liz

Just adding their full names in.

The three Christian missionaries that founded the Hong Kong School for the Deaf were Beatrice Mary Pope, Winifred Ida Griffin and Nell E. Elliott.

Source: 

1. Change and Continuity: A History of St. Stephen's Girls' College, Hong Kong, 1906-1996 by Kathleen E. Barker.

2. University of Bristol: https://www.chinafamilies.net/