1939 Cheung Chau - the bungalows

The Clifts, along with other European missionaries, owned/ rented a bungalow on Cheung Chau, starting sometime before 1915, to which they retreated in the hot summer months. Favoured locations for bungalows were the tops of the rises on the island, which nicely caught the cool sea breezes and afforded pleasing views.  It was a cheaper alternative to the coolness of The Peaks and like the Peaks Cheung Chau had its own 'Peak' area*.

In 1919 the Government passed legislation to effectively make the southern half of the island a European reservation for missionaries and the like.

After the Clifts finally moved to Hong Kong from Nanning, China, around 1930, the bungalow was an invaluable retreat for their day of rest each week.  They found from experience that only by being physically absent from the Medical Centre could they guarantee a break from the constant demands of a needy population.  And as Sundays were busy with their Mission Church, they settled on Thursdays as their rest day and duly took the ferry each week for the hour's trip to the island and their bungalow there. 

Their bungalow was #18A at Nam Tam Wan.  In this picture we're looking NE towards Lamma Island and Hong Kong Island beyond.  It seems the Clifts also owned/ rented house #28 during the 1930s.

The Clifts' garden offered fragrance and a cool retreat.  Dr Clift enjoyed gardening and had a great interest in the cultivation of tropical and rare plants.  So bougainvillea, night-flowering cerias, masses of double spider lilies, zinnias and orchids were all to be found.*

* Jill Doggett:  The Yip Family of Amah Rock