Introduction
Recently, some photos of houses on Barker Road were posted on Gwulo. I had the idea of creating a timeline for Barker Road Houses (35 – 45). This spans more than 120 years and might be of some interest.
The predecessor was likely looted during WW2.
A new house was constructed after the war. The date is guessed to be 1950. The house was likely constructed and owned by Moller’s company, the owner of the predecessor building The Cottage [c.1901-c.1946].
It was sold in the early 1960s to Mr. Haking Wong (黃克競), a famous industrialist of Hong Kong.
Building on R.B.L. 150, today 35 Barker Road.
After Felix Maurice Ellis bought 35 Barker Road in 1920, in between 1920 and 1948, the house had been rebuilt once, and after JB bought it in 1948 the house was torn down and rebuilt between 1950 to 1953 approx.
45 Barker Road is located in Central and Western District (Address: 45 Barker Road, HMA: Peak). There are a total of 1 blocks, providing 2 residential units. The saleable area of 45 Barker Road ranges 1144 sq.ft. to 1336 sq.ft. (Centanet). Occupation started in November 2020. The house stands on R.B.L. 544, the original number (e.g. in 1938) was R.B.L. 97.
In 2015, the house 22 Barker Road was sold to Alibaba's Jack Ma for HK$1.5 billion ($193 million) [according to the South China Morning Post].
The end of construction was at the end of 2024. The building is characterized by a lot of concrete, only a few windows on the street side, and high security measures to ensure privacy.
At the location of 37 Barker Road [1985-2022], construction started on a new building. In November 2025, not too much is visible yet.
2025 was preliminary set for the start of construction.
RBL 50. No 510 on 1924 Map
RBL 50. No 509 on 1924 Map
Prof. Lawrence Lai from HKU writes about houses on the Peak after WW2*:
Meanwhile, the work of termites, looters hunting for valuables and firewood and the sub-tropical humid climate of Hong Kong ruined the European houses that survived the Battle of Hong Kong and the inaccuracy of the Allied bombings.
