Japanese Golf Course aka Shatin Golf Club (1933-1949)
The earliest mention of it I’ve seen is in a 1933 newspaper article (1) which said this of driving through Shatin.
“As we came to the railway crossing, I spotted cottages here and there and also the Japanese Golf Course. The links are somewhat on the small side but scenery (sic), this place is as good as Deep Water Bay and certainly better than the course at Happy Valley”.
The most obvious question then becomes, “why was it called the Japanese Golf Course? The probable answer is found in a 1933 newspaper report of a match between “Shatin Golf Club” and the Country Club (2). The victorious Shatin Golf Club team consisted of Y. Abe, Acino, K. Hakura, Y. Hayasaki, N. Hirowoka, Y. Kawasaki, J. Mori, H. Mori, K. Ohta, S. Shaltoh, N. Shimokawa, S. Takasaki, Tsujimura, T. Tukel, W. Uno and H. Yamamoto. I’m no expert on Japanese names, but almost all of these seem Japanese to me.
Based on the names, and also because I’m not aware of another golf course in Shatin in those days, I presume Shatin Golf Club was based at the Japanese Golf Course and that its members were wholly or mainly Japanese.
A 1937 newspaper article (3) supports this theory as it reported another match involving Shatin Golf Club in which their players were again predominantly Japanese named.
This extract from a 1941 Japanese military map suggests the Course still existed at the time of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong.
The original map was amended by the addition of marks and labels in red highlighting features of military significance. The Japanese characters within the red box read, “Japanese Golf Course”.
I don’t know what happened to the Course during the Japanese occupation, but it’s still marked on this 1945 map.
Although still on the map, it’s impossible to imagine it continuing to operate immediately post-war as a Japanese members club.
In August 1949 the Golf Course became a military airstrip - RAF Shatin. The following 1956 map of RAF Shatin shows a building labelled “Club House”.
The term “Club House” is more often used in relation to golf courses than military sites, so perhaps the building previously served as the Club House of the Shatin Golf Club and its name continued to be used following the RAF takeover. Here it is on the left in this photo.
The building continued to appear on maps until the mid-1970’s when the area was redeveloped.
I’ve chosen 1933 to 1949 as the approximate start and end dates of the Golf Course based on the earliest and latest of the sources quoted above. Corrections welcome.
Sources
(1). HK Daily Press, 8 June 1933.
(2). HK Telegraph, 5 Dec 1933.
(3). HK Daily Press, 22 Jan 1937.
Photos that show this Place
