Motorcycle:
1929 Overhead 680cc Spring Frame Brough Superior, supplied to C.R. Ham, Hong Kong.
Despatched from the factory May 14, 1929 to Birkenhead, shipped by Blue Funnel Steamer.
Factory Records:
The only Brough Superior recorded as sent to Hong Kong
170403923_10225546397107637_7707378656765905781_n.jpg, by dfc
170281628_10225546409467946_2605299903252904109_n.jpg, by dfc
Newspapers:
Hong Kong Sunday Herald - 7th July, 1929
Owner or Importer:
Charles Rutherford Chun HAM, listed in Juror Lists as an assistant at shipping company S.T. Williamson from 1920-32 https://gwulo.com/search/node/Ham%20Charles%20Rutherford
(later references to Charles Chun HAM 1937-41)
It could be the owner, the photographer or someone else entirely in the photo.
Photo Location:
unknown - addresses related to C.R. Ham are in Kowloon
Registration:
'333' fits with other registration marks of motorcycles of the period in Hong Kong.
In 1940 the goverment announced the intention to requisition all motorcycles in the colony in the event of an emergency
There is some suggestion that it was hidden away to avoid this.
There is no record of it still being in existence, however a 1928 model was sold at auction in the USA in April 2021 for US$99,000.
The photo was taken in Hong Kong and shows Ma On Shan. Kooter was a skilled photographer. The original photo and other photos of Hong Kong from the late 1920s and 1930s appear here Alot of nice scenes to behold.
Brough Superior in Hong Kong c1930
Motorcycle:
1929 Overhead 680cc Spring Frame Brough Superior, supplied to C.R. Ham, Hong Kong.
Despatched from the factory May 14, 1929 to Birkenhead, shipped by Blue Funnel Steamer.
Factory Records:
The only Brough Superior recorded as sent to Hong Kong
Newspapers:
Hong Kong Sunday Herald - 7th July, 1929
Hong Kong Sunday Herald - 7th October 1929
Owner or Importer:
Charles Rutherford Chun HAM, listed in Juror Lists as an assistant at shipping company S.T. Williamson from 1920-32
https://gwulo.com/search/node/Ham%20Charles%20Rutherford
(later references to Charles Chun HAM 1937-41)
Photographer:
Believed to be amateur Norwegian photographer Jacob Blaauw KOOTER
Records indicate he was in Hong Kong 1931-35
https://gwulo.com/search/node/kooter
https://digitaltmuseum.org/021036007137/kooter-jacob-blaauw-1903-1949
It could be the owner, the photographer or someone else entirely in the photo.
Photo Location:
unknown - addresses related to C.R. Ham are in Kowloon
Registration:
'333' fits with other registration marks of motorcycles of the period in Hong Kong.
In 1940 the goverment announced the intention to requisition all motorcycles in the colony in the event of an emergency
There is some suggestion that it was hidden away to avoid this.
There is no record of it still being in existence, however a 1928 model was sold at auction in the USA in April 2021 for US$99,000.
Re: Photo Location
The photo was taken in Hong Kong and shows Ma On Shan. Kooter was a skilled photographer. The original photo and other photos of Hong Kong from the late 1920s and 1930s appear here Alot of nice scenes to behold.
location
Thank you moddsey - a fantastic collection of photographs.
Location would be Old Tai Po Road, above the KCR line close to the CUHK gate.
Looks like the road originally passed through the campus.
The cropped image had made me think it was taken closer to sea level and I had thought been unsure about Ma On Shan as the location.
Any leads on where it was stashed welcome...!