BUILDING (2)
Continuation
"St. Stephen's R.C. chapel on the opposite corner has been displaced in favour of King's College. The Chinese Gardens next door and "Nullah Side" bungalow which occupied the whole area between Bonham Road, the nullah on the west and Pokfulam Road, has suffered the common fate of large properties, and is now covered by several terraces of flats.
At the northern end of Bonham Road was Shirley House, a fine dwelling in large grounds. Here once lived the noted Mr. J.J. Francis Q.C. Subsequently Mr. A.H. Rennie resided there. On the western part of the land he built stables for his horses, but, owing to the prevalence of malaria the premises were vacated. Subsequently the property passed into the hands of Chinese, and has undergone several changes in buildings erected thereon.
Coming back to town, how many old residents remember that, next to Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, was a building with a small garden fronting on Queen's Road?
"It was occupied by the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India (now the Mercantile Bank of India, Ltd.), and on the site is now the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China.
"The premises now occupied by the Mercantile Bank of India, Ltd., were built specially for the Deutsche Asiatic Bank, but on outbreak of the Great War, were taken possession of by the Custodian of Enemy Property.
The building now in the possession of the Netherlands Indische-Bank at the corner of Queen's Road and Ice House Street was erected to house the Mercantile Bank of India Ltd.
The building which formerly stood on the present site of the National City Bank of New York once housed the old Oriental Bank, until its failure.
"The Bank of China, opposite, supplanted the building specially erected for the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, which on the expiry of the lease was forced to find temporary accommodation in Connaught House, on the opposite side of Queen's Road, pending the erection of their present building.
On Lok Yuen, at the corner of Queen's Road and D'Aguilar Street, was formerly occupied by the Hongkong Dispensary, which ran right through to Stanley Street. The corner of Stanley and D'Aguilar Streets portion was the aerated water factory, and the staff lived upstairs.
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