Kowloon Wharves 1933

Thu, 01/02/2020 - 02:39

Text on Flickr: people live on these tiny boats for months and years at a time. Sep 1933

Note the inscription "TO HONGKONG FERRY" and the number 47. My guess for the location are Kowloon Wharves. Confirmed, see comments below.

Source: This image originally came from Flickr, but it has been removed there. Re-uploaded from (old) Gwulo.

Date picture taken
1 Sep 1933
Author(s)

Comments

Greetings!. Although no trolley tracks can be seen,, I think it is the most southerly wharf-pier at TST. The lane way separating the two buildings, walk-outs, window pattern, and the ramp (stairs or conveyor belt?) appear similar.

It was logical to use this entrance as passage to the ferry if they did not want to disrupt workers along the shore, and possibly a safety hazard for the public. This brings me to this question – I have not seen Star ferry passengers walking along the water's edge, was the scene in the movie Susie Wong staged just for that moment? Regards, Peter

Additional thoughts January 2, 2020:  After taking a closer look below the Number 47, it does not look like a walkable passage to the Star ferry pier.  Perhaps  there was an arrow on the sign pointing to the right direction.  If true, does this hind sight qualify 2020?. 

Photo – Aerial View of TST c1960

 

Aerial View of TST c1960
Aerial View of TST c1960, by Herostratus

Thank you Peter and Moddsey. The location is confirmed, so I will remove the question mark. With your help, I found two more photos of that area which I uploaded already.

1926 Kowloon Wharf 4
1926 Kowloon Wharf 4, by Eternal1966
1954 TST Kowloon Wharf
1954 TST Kowloon Wharf, by Eternal1966

Regards, Klaus

The aerial photo from 1948 shows clearly the location. The arrow points to the roof with directions to Star Ferry.

Kowloon Wharves 1948
Kowloon Wharfs 1948, by Eternal1966