On various occasions, in the course of these articles, reference has been made to Spring Gardens, a formerly salubrious locality situated at the eastern end of Wanchai, named from a nearby spring and the gardens which the early European residents had planted. We now have a Chinese slum quarter covering most of the locality, and Spring Garden Lane some years ago of most unsavoury repute is all that recalls the old days.
Yet the area was select in every way in the Forties, and must have been a fashionable suburb approximating to the high-class repute later attached to residence on the Peak. For many years the heads of one of the principal firms, Jardines, had their dwellings on the East Point hill; there was one of the earliest hospitals - the old Seamen's Hospital, now incorporated in the Royal Naval institution on an adjoining rise; and close by was the former residence of a Chief Justice of the Colony; while the Morrison Educational Society and first Protestant mission had their headquarters hard by on what later came to be known as Morrison Hill.
In Spring Gardens itself were several fine-looking houses and well-kept lawns, with a waterfront promenade such as the Colony has never known since, owing to the acquisition of all seafront property for roadways or railways.
All this about old Wanchai might seem a dream had not a clever artist of the early days, Mr. Bruce, left us a series of delightful sketches in which he accurately captured scenes in various parts of the Colony, and one of these is reproduced to-day, showing Spring Gardens as it was in 1846, complete with fine houses and several fine ladies and gallant gentlemen promenading.
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The picture is reproduced by courtesy of a local resident who has acquired a complete series of Mr. Bruce's delightful drawings, which were published in London, and eight of which, by courtesy of the Government, were reproduced a little while ago. The complete series comprises twelve views, and by the kindness of the owner of the set, I am able to publish the remaining four.
The one given to-day is entitled "View of Spring Gardens, Hongkong, August 20, 1846," and it is indicated in the usual small marginal inscription that the artist was Mr. M. Bruce, architect, while the reproduction was a lithograph on stone by A. Maclure. The originals were in two sets, buff and black prints, and hand-coloured ones. The colouring sets off the scene in all its beauty, and forms probably one of the prettiest of the dozen views. Even in the newspaper reproduction given here, and on such a small scale, the scene captures the imagination. It might be repeated, as has been stated previously, that Mr. Bruce was one of the very few artists of the old days whose pictures were meticulously accurate: he never put a hill where it should not be, nor drew a house other than as it really appeared. So we can safely take this scene of Spring Gardens, with its splendid appearance of gentility combined with utility - the houses were probably combined dwellings and offices, and we see a landing stage and wharf in front - as a photographically correct vision of the past. In the background the old hospital and Morrison Hill premises are clearly shown.