mikekusters

My great grandfather, Arthur Robert Fenton-Raven, came to HK in 1902 and my family has lived there ever since until recently when the last of us, my brother, moved to Europe following the death of my grandmother, Wynne Ward.  Arthur married my great-grandmother, Viola, and had 2 daughters, Wynne and Dorothy.  Arthur, an architect, built a nice life for his family and amongst other landmarks, he designed King Yin Lei mansion on Stubbs Road, so I think of him whenever I drive past it.  They lived in a bungalow with gardens in North Point which was just "countryside" back then and my grandma would take a sampan over to central for school each day or would ride her donkey into town, causing the tram drivers to stamp their feet on the brakes....and horns.  Back then, the architecture was in the Victorian & Edwardian style and no building was taller than 3 stories.....can you image?   However, according to my grandma, the war changed the landscape of HK. They returned to their home in North point (which had been looted, of course) after the Japanese occupation and my great-granddad's internment at Stanley Prison.  Growing up, we were constantly listening to my grandmother's complaints about Hong Kong's ever-growing population and the accelerating skyscraper height line as "her" Hong Kong was fading away (and my HK blossoming) she would start to recall "Pre war days, Hong Kong ..........."  As we grew up, we grand kids would tease her for her comments about  "all these new monstrosities they are building everywhere".  We knew she was sad to see Hong Kong's landscape change, but as kids we loved the new tall exciting skyscrapers like Gammon House (now Bank of America tower), then the Hopewell Centre, then Exchange Square, Bond Centre (Now Lippo ) the Bank of China, Central Plaza etc, and failed to appreciate the beauty of Hong Kong's colonial architectural history slowly disappearing.  My grandmother's sister Dorthey married Dr. Balean and had 3 girls (Sally, Patricia & Barbara) living in Repulse Bay.  My grandma Wynne married John Ward, an architect & civil engineer from Yorkshire originally who had served with the merchant Navy.  My granddad who was originally sent by Mr. Gammon to liquidate the company, but he re-started Gammon Constructions making it the largest construction firm in Hong Kong. It's responsible for the construction of Kai Tak Airport, Swire House and many other HK landmarks, as well as laying the infrastructure for underground piling, foundations, substructures, tunneling, bridges, marine works and water storage schemes and is still going today.  My mother Carole and her sister Marilyn, went to KG5, then Château Mont-Choisi (Lausanne) and lived in various places growing up;  Repulse Bay,  Clearwater Bay, Anderson Road, Bluff Path and their last family home was "The Rock", 15 Shek-O Road where my grandfather passed away in 1982. Marilyn (Ward) had married, then divorced Graham Woodbrook, later married Mike Hunt and my mum Carole married a Dutchman, Ron Kusters. I was fortunate enough to grow up in Headland Road with my brother Anthony, Mum and Dad, with my grandma living in Shek-O, then latterly Stanley and my Auntie Marilyn and cousins around the corner in Chung Hom Kok, a great aunt & cousins once removed in Repulse Bay.  Dad was VP of Monsanto Pharmaceuticals, whose office was in Wan Chai and my Mum managed a few flats they rented out and did the usual Tai -tai routine of lunches at the American Club, receptions at the RHKYC, charity bizarres at the Hilton hotel or charity galas at the Peninsular - (Full-time working Mums - lol).  My cousins Laurie & Emma went to Bradbury, then to South Island, whilst my brother and I went to The Oratory (Boarding) School in the UK and so looked forward to coming home for the holidays.  After university, I came home to HK in 1999 to work for Apollo Foods Douwe Egberts and my brother worked with my Dad, who had left Monsanto to start his own group of hardware manufacturing & export companies in Ningbo & HK.  
Apart from property and a few old friends, I have no connection to HK anymore, which saddens me as things have changed, but it is what it and I loved the Hong Kong I grew up in.  My brother was there in 2025 and said that it felt so quiet as there were so few tourists.  I am so grateful to have had Hong Kong as my family home and despite its future, I have all my glorious memories of HK's historic past.