Update 2024-02-17: I've updated the completion date to c.1861, and the demolition date to 2 Sep 1871, according to the recent comments below.
Notes by gw:
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 (1st generation). 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.
These two photos show Pedder's Wharf (1st generation) 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, see Pedder's Wharf (2nd generation).
Photos that show this Place
Comments
Destruction of Pedder's Wharf by the 1871 typhoon
[It was very complicated to get any information about history of the first generation Pedder’s Wharf. I originally thought the wharf was destroyed during the 1874 typhoon, but in 1871 a call for tender was published for the erection of a new wooden pier. This indicates that the old pier was damaged beyond repair, likely by a typhoon. However, searching the 1871 Government Gazette gave no indication. Advice gave the Twentieth century impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China. by: Wright, Arnold. Publication date: 1908, page 192 where a typhoon on September 2, 1871 was listed. Having a date now, this opened the chance to find something in the old newspapers. And that was a direct hit.]
The Hong Kong Daily Press, 1871-09-04 gives a detailed report of the typhoon and its aftermath. Regarding Pedder’s (there Peddar’s) Wharf it is referred:
From Pedder's Wharf westward for several hundred yards the Praya is demolished. Like Troy, the Praya was, as far as this portion of it is concerned. The wall is an unshapely heap of granite, huge blocks of which have been carried by the impetuous violence of the sea to distances of twenty and thirty feet from their original locations. But not only have the stones been displaced, but large gaps have been formed, reaching almost to the verandas of the houses. This is particularly the case between Peddar's wharf and the P. & O. offices.
[…] Peddar's Wharf is greatly injured, as indeed are all the prominent stone constructions, while the wooden piers, through which the water has free passage, are unhurt except as regards the tearing up of the planking which is easily remedied.
This shows that Pedder’s Wharf was demolished by a typhoon on 2 September 1871 and had to be replaced. About two months later, the Hong Kong Gazette from 8 November 1871 issued a call for tender to construct "a temporary Pile Pier at Pedder's Wharf. " It was built likely in 1872.
Construction date of c1861-1862
From the Government Gazette 30 Nov 1860:
Pedder's Wharf by John Thomson
Two photos by John Thomson with the same title, and at first sight they look the same. But take a closer look and see the different piers. The upper photos shows Pedder's Wharf (1st generation) [c.1861-1871], the lower one obviously a different one: Pedder's Wharf (2nd generation) [c.1872-1886]. The first wharf was in line with Pedder Street, the second one a bit to the east.