Title : 1880s – 1940s Hong Kong photos: 70 years of stories to tell
In this new talk for 2026 we'll see Hong Kong’s people, the ever-changing city, and the devastating effects of storms & war, then hear their stories.
We’re transported to this distant outpost of the British Empire via historic photos, many over 100 years old. The outstanding detail they capture allows David to zoom in live and show us their minutest details. These details become the clues he’ll use to tell us the photos’ hidden stories.
The photos were taken from the 1880s through to the 1940s - which means chickens will also make an appearance, as key participants in that period's photographic revolution!
Booking : Book online with a credit card at Eventbrite, or to pay by bank transfer or Paypal please contact Grace at grace@gwulo.com
Date & time : Wednesday 7th October 2026 @ 2:30 pm (2pm doors open, 2:30pm talk begins, 3:30pm Q&A, then time to chat with David and guests.)
Ticket price : £10 (or £5 for full-time students)
Venue : Exeter Library, Castle Street, Exeter, EX4 3PQ [map]
The speaker : Originally from Wales, David lived in Hong Kong from 1992 to 2024. Since 2009 he has run the Gwulo.com website, providing an online meeting place where people from around the world meet to ask questions and share their knowledge about Hong Kong’s history. The site has grown to over 60,000 pages, including over 40,000 photos of old Hong Kong.
In 2014 David received the SCMP’s Spirit of Hong Kong award for Heritage Preservation for his work on Gwulo. Then in the 2025 New Year’s Honours List he was awarded the British Empire Medal, For services to Heritage Preservation in Hong Kong.
David is a regular speaker, both in person and on YouTube, using photos from his collection to introduce Hong Kong’s history in a way that is easy for audiences to enjoy. He has also published a series of five illustrated books, Volumes 1 – 5 of Old Hong Kong Photos and The Tales They Tell. Volume 1 has been translated into Chinese.
