Public Pier No. 17 - British Canton Line / Yuen On Steamship Co. Ltd [c.1924-c.1974]

Submitted by David on Fri, 01/17/2020 - 19:46
Current condition
Demolished / No longer exists
Date completed
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)
Date closed / demolished
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)

1920s photos show it with a semi-circular sign for the "British Canton Line". There's a good example at PH014_50-22 Gertrude Bass Warner photographs.

Maps from the 1930s / 40s, eg plates 3-5a and 3-5b in Mapping Hong Kong, label it as "Yuen On Steamship Co. Ltd, P.P. no. 17".

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Photos that show this Place

11 Hilly Hong Kong The Praya
1927
1927 Sheung Wan Waterfront
1927
Sheung Wan piers (annotated) 1927
1927
See more photos of this place

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from HKG Business:

THE YUEN ON STEAMSHIP COMPANY LTD
Company Type: Private Company Limited By Shares
Date of Incorporation: 23 July 1903 (Thursday)
Status: Dissolved
Date of Dissolution: 13 June 1962 (Wednesday)

 

The pier vanished latest when the next phase of reclamation started west of the new built Macau Terminal in the 1970s. It doesn't appear on the 1975 map on hkmaps.hk.

First appearance is on an aerial photograph from 1924, also on hkmaps.hk.

News report that Yuen On pier was demolished on 7-5-1959. Steamer Fatshan which used to dock here had to move to HK Macau wharf that means  Osaka Custodian pier in 1959. It also said it had 50 years history that means it started out in 1909.

 

1959-7-5 yuen on wharf demolished
1959-7-5 yuen on wharf demolished, by simtang

Another news report gives the exact year it started operation as 1908.

1959-7-2 yuen on demolished
1959-7-2 yuen on demolished, by simtang

News report says Yuen On wharf demoition began:
Demolition of Yuen On wharf on Connaught rd started on Jun 29 1959. Ticket counter and coolie room inside pier has moved elsewhere. The roof has been partly removed. It is estimated it will be completely removed in one month.
The wharf was built end of Qing dynasty Xuantong period or 1908. The steamers Guangdong and Guangxi docked here since then. It has a 50 year history. Government has designated that place within boundary of the third phase of planned reclamation.

The location of Yuen on wharf was given in this government map in 1930 which is the same as the map here.

1930 sheung wan map
1930 sheung wan map, by simtang

The date that Fatshan moved to Custodian pier  was confirmed by this report:

https://gwulo.com/media/47270

The pier is still shown on maps at https://www.hkmaps.hk/viewer.html after 1959, and also looks to be still standing in the foreground of the photo below, dated to 1966. Is there any chance that the report about the demolition is just talking about the buildings on the pier, but that the pier survived for a few more years?

Old Hong Kong - Macau Ferry Terminal (1966)
Old Hong Kong - Macau Ferry Terminal (1966), by Klaus

The second report says demolition started in July 1959 but didn't say how long it takes. But the report is quite clear about the date it was built. It says it was during the last emperor of Qing dynasty Xuantong period or 1908.