KOWLOON (contd.)
23.600
in old deed registered in the Land Office referring to a plot in Kowloon bounded on one side by Robinson Road, and dated 1889. This also dates the principal Kowloon thoroughfare we know now that it existed in the Eighties, and certainly that it was named after Sir Hercules Robinson.
It may seem strange that two roads in the Colony should have been named after the same man, but apparently the fact that the harbour separated them was sufficient excuse, at a time when postal confusion was less likely. The naming of Kowloon's chief road was evidently a tribute to the Governor who was here at the time that Kowloon came under British jurisdiction (1861).
By the courtesy of the Land Office, I have been able to look up several old deeds relating to the Robinson Road in Hongkong, and there is a sale plan dated 1862 showing this road marked and named, so it was probably completed shortly before that, and called after the then Governor, Sir Hercules.
An additional note on Nathan Road is provided by "Bindihi", who refers to the fact that the road formerly ended near Yaumati. He writes:
"Re Nathan Road (18.8.33) it wasn't all Nathan Road until very recently. There was a hill near the Po Hing Theatre at Yaumati which had to be skirted part of the range that runs through King's Park to Hunghom. This site of the hill was Nathan Road, but beyond it was Coronation Road. Under popular pressure the hill was cut back and the whole road became Nathan - named after Governor Sir Matthew Nathan."
A PAGE FROM KOWLOON HISTORY
Since British Occupation in 1860
Not many of us, I am afraid, know much about the history of Kowloon so a few short notes on the subject may not be out of place.
Some four square miles of the peninsula were first granted in perpetual lease by the Kwangtung Government to Sir Harry (then Mr.) Parkes, but were definitely ceded to Great Britain in 1860 by Article VI of the Peking Convention.
Yaumati, the then principal village has long since developed into a town and the district now boasts not only many modern and up-to-date buildings, but also some of the big industrial works and factories.
An important event in the history of the peninsula happened in 1892 when the Gas Works were erected. The place developed so rapidly that during 1905-6, extensive reclamation works were carried out from the Godown Company's site to Hunghom, and soon Messrs. Butterfield & Swire acquired the reclaimed land and put up their extensive godowns which are now a familiar sight in that part of the Kowloon Waterfront.
But to go back again to the nineties, 1898 to be exact, an agreement was entered into whereby China ceded to Great Britain for ninety-nine years, the territory behind Kowloon peninsula, up to a line drawn from Mirs Bay to Deep Water Bay, and the adjacent islands, including Lantao, the extent of the New Territory being about 376 square miles, namely 286 miles on the mainland and 90 square miles on the islands.
TAKING-OVER POSTPONED
The ceremony of formally taking over the territory was fixed for April 17, 1899, when the British flag was to have been hoisted at Taipoku, and the day kept as a general holiday. Attacks, however, having been made on the parties engaged on the preliminary arrangements, the matsheds erected for the accommodation of the police having been burnt, and other evidences of organized opposition having been given, it was deemed advisable to assume full jurisdiction on