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7.
By courtesy of His Excellency the Governor, Sir William Peel, I am able to publish, beginning from to-day, a series of eight old views of Hongkong, dated 1846, which are of the greatest historical value. These views, lithographed in black and buff, have obviously been redrawn from original pencil sketches, and came recently into the possession of the Government of Hongkong. They were offered at Home to the Colonial Office, who notified Hongkong of the opportunity of acquiring the pictures, and the local Government has purchased them, to be hung in due course with the Chater collection.
There are a few notes attached to each of the lithographs identifying the scenes, and it is stated that the drawings were made by a Mr. Bruce, who was an architect, and resided in the Colony in 1846. He was a Scot and was known to be a proficient performer on the bagpipes.
He was also undoubtedly a first-class draughtsman and artist: his pictures have a marvellous photographic accuracy. The original sketches have fortunately been wonderfully well reproduced, being lithographed on grained stones, and the copies obtained from them are undoubtedly the best of their kind, and a decided acquisition for the Colony.
Nothing further is known of the history of these lithographs, or of the man whose sketches formed the basis for their production. However, I think it is safe to say that the artist must have been Mr. M. Bruce, who was evidently an architect of the old Hongkong days: It is on record that he was appointed Inspector of Buildings in the early administration of Sir Henry Pottinger, the first Governor (1841-44), and he must have continued to reside in Hongkong for some few years.
It is intended to publish one of these pictures each day. That reproduced on this page is of Wyndham Street, as it was in 1846. Incidentally, this proves the street was so named at that early period. There are several interesting features in the scene, which explain to us what the original contour was like and the great changes that have been brought about. To the right can be seen the old Hongkong Club, opened in May, 1846, and later converted into the Yee Sang Fat premises, being demolished only a few years ago to make way for the King's Theatre. (See 23-10-33). A little higher up is, of course, the present site of the South China Morning Post building. In the background, further up the slope, can be seen the present Hollywood Road level, where several Government buildings are to be seen. Here were the old Gaol and Magistrate's Court.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of this old picture is the left-hand side of the street, with a fairly high rocky bluff, since levelled, where the Asiatic Building and other premises further back on either side of On Lan Street, are now located. This explains, more vividly than could any mere printed account, the name Pedder's "fill", on which the first Harbour Master of Hongkong, Lt. Wm. Pedder, R.N. had his headquarters - the original Harbour Office of the Colony (see 11-7-33 and 7-11-33). At the extreme edge of the picture, top-left, can be discerned the Harbour Office flagstaff.
One can visualise from this old view the way in which the lower part of Wyndham Street was subsequently excavated, so as to bring the ground floors of the buildings on the right to road-level: also how the hill on the left was cut right...