CLUBS(25) Continuation,
www.
226
Mr. Morison moved.- "That the thanks of this Meeting are due to the Governor for the favourable disposition evinced by His Excellency to promote the objects in view" which motion was seconded by Mr. Crakunthorp and carried unanimously.
"Mr. Duus moved the thanks of the Meeting to the Chairman, which motion was carried by acclamation and the Meeting closed."
In that meeting we see not only the first agitation for a public recreation ground, but also the founding of the Hong Kong Cricket Club. The Club, which it was proposed to form for use of the ground, came almost immediately into being; and organised cricket was thereafter played on the ground, which was duly levelled for the purpose.
As mentioned in yesterday's article, this ground then stood by the sea-shore and had been used for some years prior to 1851 as a drill area as well as having a military store shed, and a pier at one corner.
Probably we can trace the subsequent development of Murray parade ground (which was in use from some time in the Fifties) to the necessity for giving over the lower area to the public or, more correctly, to the Cricket Club. For a good many years, however, parades were still carried out on the Cricket ground when necessity arose, and until now the right of the authorities to use the H.E.C.C. ground in case of pressing need remains.
As mentioned in the previous article on the H.K. Cricket Club (see 9-11-33) various pastimes other than cricket have been played on the ground in years gone by; and for a time the area was not exclusively used by the Club, though it came to be recognised as that body's preserve in due course, when further playing fields came into existence on both sides of the harbour.
It is interesting to find that this question of exclusive use was raised and disposed of, as far back as 1866, though another "agitation" occurred in 1883. In October 1866, the Colonial Secretary, Mr. W. T. Mercer, laid down:
"The Hongkong Cricket Club has no more title to the ground than the rest of the general public, but as the Club has for many years been at the expense of keeping the ground in order, there has been a tacit understanding that they should not be interfered with.
That applies to-day. By this date the Club's expenditure on the ground must amount to a huge sum.
CLUBS(26)
THE REVIVAL OF THE POLO CLUB.
(All Rights of Reproduction are Strictly Reserved.)
The recent transfer by the Hongkong Polo Club to its new location at Mongkok, on the mainland, and the giving up of the Causeway Bay ground to the Naval authorities for use as a