NAVAL YARD ....(Contd.)
15730
have noted (see 7-12-33) that his enterprise and optimism at least gave the Colony its splendid area of business houses on the central waterfront and the open space known originally as Royal Square, and now more popularly termed Queen's Statue Square.
From time to time there have been references in these articles to the New Territories, which were opened up after British control came into operation in 1899 (see 21-10-33). Until then the districts which so many picnickers range over now, including such delightful spots as Castle Peak, and sports areas such as the golf courses at Fanling, were alien territory, inhabited by Chinese peasants who resented intrusion by foreigners, and visited only occasionally by sportsmen. Even after the cession of the New Territories there were occasions when it became a real adventure to penetrate these regions: and until the motor-car came into use and good roads were built, the proper development of this area was not possible.
It is interesting to hark back to the early years of the N.T. and to find recorded incidents such as the following, contained in a report dated October 16, 1876, which refers to the accidental killing of a Chinese at Castle Peak Bay by Lieut. Bower, of H.M.S. Nassau, when he was out snipe shooting with Lieut. Pollard. It appears that Lieut. Bower was unaware there was a ball cartridge mixed up with his ammunition, and when he fired at a bird the shot struck a Chinese who died the same night.
Lieut. Bower was detained in custody by the villagers at Castle Peak, and what might have been an ugly situation was averted. An armed party was sent to obtain the officer's release, and later the sum of $200 compensation was paid to the wife and relatives of the deceased, and everything was satisfactorily settled.
It was not until twenty-three years later that Castle Peak became British leased territory, yet for a good number of years longer Castle Peak Bay had not been properly surveyed, and the Royal Navy were, as usual, to the fore in this work. We learn from the records that there was no detailed survey of Castle Peak Bay until 1912, when a letter from the Governor drew attention to the discovery of an uncharted rock, and this resulted in the Navy carrying out the necessary hydrographic work.
In the local records we find correspondence dated as recently as February 1901, which refers to a Naval request for a better lighting of the Lyemun entrance to the harbour. This was acceded to.
In a series of articles which began on October 27, 1933, the history of the Naval Yard from the year 1854 to the beginning of the present century was given in detail. The story ended with the Admiralty's rejection of Mr. (later Sir Chater's scheme for the establishment of a Naval Yard on the West side of the Kowloon Peninsula.
Ton Va regarded as urgent and the Valore Aussigued Mong Paul Chater's and Hung Hom Bay at Kowloon as alternative sites. The Admiralty did not concur with this scheme, and with the beginning of the present century, we see plans being prepared for extensions and improvements at the Yard. On January 15, 1902 Mrs Powell, wife of Commodore Powell, Dockyard Superintendent, laid the foundation block for the extensions. As Mrs. Powell declared the stone "well and truly laid" the fond dreams of Sir Paul Chater of a road running the full length of the