Early as 1864 newspapers, the street was named e.g. 'Captain Bulley' ad on Daily Press. 1 It might exist earlier.
As Old Hong Kong (scmp, 1933), it was so named in honour of Mr. William Scott, a pioneer merchant who had also traded in Canton before 1842. 2
About its location, below are several supports :
¤ in one case of coolies caught gambling on 38 Gilman's Bazaar, several men escaped onto roofs of the adjoining houses in Scott's Lane 3
¤ on a 1882 auction notice, sale of a leasehold property by Order of the Mortgagee, it is described as
all that piece of GROUND situate between and abutting on to Scott's Lane, Queen's Road Central, Praya Central and Wing Shing Street,
and also forming a portion of Scott's Lane registered as Section A of Marine Lot No. 56 etc.. and section A of Marine Lot No. 63A. 4 (link)
These well conclude that it is adjacent to and west of Gilman's Bazaar.
later place on this location : Wing Kut Lane or Street (from c.1883, this name is generally used in newspapers and Gazette), 5
which forms Wing Kut Street of today
(+) in the Plan of Victoria, by 1889, all these lanes along Queen's Road Central are shown clearly with names ending with 'street';
Wing Kut Street, Wing Woo Street, Wing Shing Street (adjacent ML 56 & 63A indicated), all on the west of Gilman's Bazaar.
Chinese name of Scott's Lane on publications had been 士吉街. It may be in some way inherited onto Wing Kut Street as 永吉街.
Kind of good fortune in Chinese. The street names start with 'Wing' somehow reflects what the Chinese merchants used to think about EVER (永).
sources
1. Hong Kong Daily Press, 1864-1-9
2. actually, on the 1845 map, there is a wide block drawn on the north of Aberdeen Street across Queens' Road, named Scott's House;
possibly it is related but no direct info met yet.
in the 1948 Almanack, there is a William Scott, E. recorded also, with a company of same name on Queen's Road
3. China Mail, 1880-3-9
4. Hong Kong Daily Press, 1882-10-14; reference also source #7 below
5. e.g. Hong Kong Daily Press, 1883-9-29; China Mail, 1884-1-31; Gov't Gazette, 1884/1885
Comments
Private Streets
One early mention of 'private street' is in a court case and its settlement in 1880, around ML 14 and ML 15. The plaintiff side is Webster. 6
As a 1881 transactions list, Lot 56* (40 shops in Queen's Road and Praya known as "Scott's Lane") was one of the properties sold by foreign residents to Chinese. 7
It is said that there were 13 such private streets in Central before, including Theatre Lane.
All these were returned to government administration later in the 20th century.
sources
6. China Mail, 1880-3-1 p.3
7. Gov't Gazette 1881; refer also Daily Press, 1881-5-11
* corrected as Marine Lot 56 on p.3