NAVAL YARD
(Contd.)
It was a dock used by the Admiralty for a good many years.
The juxtaposition to military property persisted until the early Eighties, and it is shown that the Naval Establishment at Hong Kong originally had a Military Guard.
In February, 1866, this guard was withdrawn, and Dockyard Police were engaged.
The need for more accommodation arose from time to time, and a letter dated March 26, 1876 from the Commander-in-Chief to the Commodore, refers to the allocation of £5,000 for the commencing of new buildings in the Naval Dockyard including the Commodore's offices.
The pressure on adjoining areas was evident for a long period. Some interesting correspondence took place, commencing in 1877, concerning the encroachment by the naval authorities on part of the present Naval Yard which was in those days included in military property. In the course of this correspondence, reference is made (for the first time) to the fact that a portion of property in the western part of the present Naval Yard was transferred by the Army to the Navy in 1854 (see earlier note) and a further grant was made to the Royal Navy by lease in 1856.
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The subject arose through the erection by naval authorities of a cook-house on the boundary of the two properties. Eventually the cost of erecting the cook-house and other necessary buildings was borne by the Navy, but for a period an annual sum of $1 appears to have been paid by the naval authorities to the military authorities. This was referred to in the correspondence as an "annual acknowledgement".
An earlier letter, dated 1867, from the Commodore to the Surveyor General, had requested the measuring of the boundaries of the naval property.
In the Eighties, we come to the seaward expansion. In 1883, there was considerable correspondence between the naval authorities and the Governor, Sir George F. Bowen, concerning a proposed Praya extension by the Government which was to run across, and in front of the Naval Yard. It was shown that the naval authorities opposed the project, but would consent to it on condition that certain modifications were carried out: the matter eventually was allowed to drop.
Space does not permit of going into the details of this matter to-day, and a fuller reference is reserved for to-morrow's issue.
The photographs published here were taken by permission of the Naval Authorities, and show interesting relics to be seen in the Naval Yard. It is intended to publish a further series of pictures with the concluding part of this article to-morrow.
The figurehead of H.M.S. Tamar is beautifully carved, depicting a female figure in flowing robes suggesting a Biblical motif. Perhaps Tamar of Genesis 38 was the model in the mind of the man who carved it; or it may have been Tamar the sister of Absalom, mentioned in 2 Samuel.
The vessel was, of course, named after the famous river of Devon and Cornwall, flowing to Plymouth. A brief history of the warship Tamar might be given here. Built at Millwall and launched in the beginning of June 1863, and started on her maiden trip on January 12, 1864, as a troopship, to the Cape and China. Originally she was barque-