Japanese tunnels #1, Wilson Trail Stage 5 [????- ]
There are a couple of tunnel entrances here, one of which is very obvious. I assume they link up, but didn't fancy going in without a torch and some seriously good mosquito repellant!
There are a couple of tunnel entrances here, one of which is very obvious. I assume they link up, but didn't fancy going in without a torch and some seriously good mosquito repellant!
These tunnels were the center of attention in early 1946 - when they exploded!
The tunnels were dug into the slope on the southern edge of the Diocesan Boys School (DBS) campus, near to Argyle Street. The tunnels would have been well known to the school at the time, as the school staff had been pressed into digging the tunnels by the Japanese. The DBS website notes:
We've looked at the tunnels built by the British before the war [1], but how about those built during the Japanese occupation?
The Japanese dug a variety of tunnels throughout Hong Kong. Some, like the tunnel near Diocesan Boys School [2], were used to store ammunition and explosives. Others in the built-up areas [3] were likely built as air-raid shelters. Then out in the countryside, many smaller tunnels were dug into hillsides [4]. These were likely prepared against possible invasion, and would be used by Japanese soldiers fighting a guerilla war.
These are described on the government website describing local monuments:
During the Japanese Occupation Period [when the compound was used as a base for the Japanese Navy], extensive underground tunnels were constructed beneath the lawn but after World War II, in view of public safety, these tunnels were blocked and the lawn was re-turfed.
The tunnels were destroyed during the recent development works to turn the compound into a hotel & shopping mall.
It looks as though there are several tunnel entrances on the south side of Mount Cameron, though they are all blocked up now.
There are two entrances, quite close to each other. Both were gated and locked when we passed by, so it's not clear if they are just short straight tunnels into the hillside, or if they are connected in any way.
They are on the Maclehose trail, stage 4, as you walk along the side of buffalo hill towards buffalo pass. The path curves around a spur of the hill, with one entrance on either side.