99
Kong dates back only to 1898 when the New Territories were leased to Britain. At that date, there were at least six of these wheels operating in Tsuen Wan, as recorded by Lockhart on his tour of Britain's latest territorial acquisition,
A large establishment exists near Tsun Wan for the manufacture of incense powder, out of which joss sticks, used in the worship of idols, are made. The powder is made from fragrant wood, which is pounded into dust by means of water wheels, six of which were seen at work,18
These six water-wheels were owned by a clan surnamed Cheung. Today, four sets of the hammer components are left in Lo Wai (E), Tsuen Wan. Two of them are mortars; one is larger, with an inner diameter measuring 33 cm, with a depth of 28 cm; the other being smaller with measurements of 28.5 cm and 21 cm. The other two pieces are granite supports for the cross beams.
From the turn of the century to 1930, sandalwood continued to be one of the major commodities produced in the Tsuen Wan area. In 1905, Governor Sir Mathew Nathan noted that,
Tsun Wan two passenger boats ply daily between Hong Kong and Tsun Wan; the number of passengers carried each way averages over 60. The principal goods carried are rice, pineapples when in season, grass, and wood in connection with the 24 sandalwood mills, worked by water power and situated in the various valleys of the Tsun Wan district.19
After the 1920s, the number of sandalwood mills in Tsuen Wan began to decline as water-wheels were replaced by electrically driven grinders. During this transitional period, the total output of incense powder fell. In 1925, the District Officer, South, Walter Schofield noted in the annual Administrative Reports that sandalwood powder showed “a slight decline in output though prices were maintained at last year's level”29 Following a general decline in business of the sandalwood mills in Tsuen Wan in 1931, “Hawkins reported “a further decline in the business done by the sandalwood mills” in 1932.22
Despite this, incense wood milling continued to be a prominent feature of Tsuen Wan in the 1950s. Heywood observes that,