Brief History of Racing at Happy Valley Racecourse
Interest in horses was not a traditional Southern Chinese characteristic. Lawrence (1984:5), claims it was imported by the British when they took over the then sparsely inhabited island of Hong Kong in 1841.
Most of the crew of the 'Kung Yik' have returned to work. Two
trips each way were made on Sunday and soon we hope to have
the full service running. From to-day the sailings are at 1 p.m. and 5.15
from Hongkong.
...
The preacher next Sunday will be the Rev. R.A. Jaffray of Wuchow.
Today is the 17th anniversary of the Typhoon which wrecked a
number of the new houses in the first year of the settlement (1908).
source : China Mail
Public Matsheds from 1912 to 1918
According to Coates (1983:170), by the 1918 three-day Chinese New Year racing carnival it had become the custom for the entire west side of the Happy Valley racecourse, from the village at the top end to the monument at the Valley entrance, to be lined by a long row of matshed stands. He claims that the Jockey Club was extremely careful to ensure that all matshed structures on its property were properly constructed and safe. With the benefit of hindsight, the Government, as it turned out, was not so careful.
The following symbols have been utilised to indicate source references for names of victims as obtained from the SCMP.
* SCMP (28 February 1918:4, 6 & 10)
# SCMP (1 March 1918:6)
~ SCMP (2 March 1918:3)
List of the 382 Male Victims who perished in the Great Fire at the Happy Valley Racecourse on 26 February 1918
|
Tse Po |
Leung Pak-chuen |
The evacuation is mentioned on page 1 of the Hong Kong Sunday Herald, 1940-07-14:
List of Successful Matshed Permit Purchasers 1918 Race Meeting:
With regard to the two Government Departments whose actions have so largely come within the scope of this enquiry we wish to place on record the conclusions we have come to respecting same.
Public Works Department
That in view of the danger from fire the practice of permitting the use of temporary race stands constructed of such inflammable materials as matting and bamboo be discontinued.
The accommodation required, in addition to that provided within the Hongkong Jockey Club enclosure, should take the form of suitable permanent buildings in which all inflammable material is eliminated as far as possible.
INTRODUCTION
This account of the Stanley Civilian Internment Camp in Hong Kong, written for the information of relatives and friends, reaches them via the "Kapunda Herald." The proprietor and editor of that paper, Mr L.N. Tilbrook, saw the m.s.s. and considered that the story would be of interest to his readers. After serial publication, the type was kept standing, and this pamphlet was made up therefrom.
Pre-World War II
Precautionary Measures
Public expenditure had also greatly increased. Air raid tunnels – thought incapable of sheltering more than a tithe of the teeming population – had been constructed at a cost of $8,000,000. Further large expenditure built up a food and fuel reserve, large enough to furnish a siege ration for 150 days for two million people. More than $1,000,000 was needed to build decentralised stores (58 in number) for this vast quantity of food. Government borrowed $20,000,000 and took over the rice import trade.
The following is a chapter from A Small Band Of Men - An Englishman's Adventures in Hong Kong's Marine Police:
21. DEADLY GAME
亡 命 遊 戲
Since the days of the Opium Wars, Hong Kong has been on the trading route between East Asia and the rest of the world. Its geographically strategic location made Hong Kong a financial and economic gateway to China. It also made it the ideal platform for illegal trading and smuggling between the colony and China.
Although this news is not put with the column heading 'Cheung Chau Notes', it may still be a continuation of that correspondent series.
The annual concert of the Cheung Chau Residents' Association was held in the Assembly Hall last evening ... [1]
The programme includes :
The Blow Falls!
DEDICATION
With grateful thanks to:
Miss Julia Lam, Dr. P. S. Selwyn-Clarke,
Mr. T. Lunson, Mr. Andrew Tse
who made this book possible by supplying me with seeds and
drawing materials in Stanley Internment Camp.
Air Defences
It has also to be mentioned that the Colony’s air defences were practically nil. In the now-remote pre-war years effective air defence appeared to be impracticable, because the limited land area of Hong Kong affords little space for airfields. The lessons of the war, however, may suggest methods of overcoming that difficulty. Neighbouring small islands could be flattened and converted into “airstrips.”
Surrender!
The Internment
The Rations
By June, 1942, the Japanese appeared to realise that they had gone too far in their efforts to discover on how little the hated foreigner could keep body and soul together. They announced that they realised Europeans needed bread, and they issued a few ounces of flour per head daily. A little meat was also supplied. The rations, however, were still usually 1,000 calories below the recognised League of Nations minimum of 2,500 calories.
