SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST-HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT
GILMAN & CO., LTD.
EAST INDIA MERCHANTS
Established 1841
3341
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POPULAR SINCE 1900
JANUARY 25, 1941;
Newspapers Come Into Being:
Road Developments Start
to this numinary of local history and the introduction of amenities, it 19 tting to include brief notice of the Press, the Ales of whick, In fact, form the basis for a great deal of historical record, and a mine of Information for any future work on these lines,
The oldest established newspaper lu the Colony to-day is the China Mall, which frst appeared us a four-page weekly on February 20, 1843, pubilsti- ed in premises at Pottinger Street, with Ar Andrew Shortrede as editor and proprietor.. It became a daily in the nftien, being then produced at au address in Gld Bailey Street, and early the sixties had moved to 2, Wyndham Street, behin the
Hong-
in
kong Club, Later, a move was made to premises further up the same street. But this was "not the Brst paper to appent locally.
Old records show that the Friend of Ching and Hongkong Gazette was the frst of our newspapers: it appeared on March 17, 1842, under the editorship. of the Rev. J. L. Schuck (ur Shuck) and Mr Jaines White. It appears to have been a Weekly devoted mainly to the dissemination of Government pru- clamations, and. is worthy of note that the compasitors were Portuguese, as was the case with locally produced newspapers for a gond many years,
FIRST EUROPEAN BUSINESS PROPERTY IN H.K.
Jardine, Matheson's property at East Point, seen from Causeway Bay in 1816.
In 1893, the Ciston Register, which had appeared at Canton as far back 21 1827, appears to have established an office Hongkong, and the Eastern Globe had also made its oppenrance. By 1845 the Hongkong Register and came into existence, apparently replac- ing the Canton Register; in 1850 there was the dutý Hongkong Shipping List; and In 1857 the lungkang Daily Prest came into existence (stilt published today), By the sixties the others hnd disappeared, but the Hongkong Mercury appeared about 1806, and the long- kong Timea in 1873; while in 1851 had appeared Dixson's Hongkong Recorder, issued gratis, and published by Mr Andrew Scet! Dixson, of the China Mail. By 1873, must of the competition with the China Mail and Daily Press
ROAD DEVELOPMENTS had dropped out of the running, but
Meantime, various developments of China Overland Trade Report, entirely
were going ahead. catering to commercial interents, had material kind
Dally The roadways were being extended. na well
oul, Advertiser and Shipping Gazette, start-reclamations were being carried
und residential arena opened up.
short run,
ร
The First
on
con-
ed. In 1871.
After Queen's Road, several smaller The Daily Press first appeared on
roadways branching off the main clly October 1, 1857. under the editorship of
street were constructed, From the Mr George M. Ryder, and was publish alder records it is evident that Ice ed at Wellington Street. The propri-
House Street, Duddell Street, and etorship passed to Mr Yorick Jones Zetland Street were in use by the
the Murrow in 1858, and he edited
'Atties: while Wyndham Streel. paper for some years, retaining. the D'Aguilar Street, Wellington Street and nwnership up to the time of his death Aberdeen Street had been constructed
still having its in 1884, the family
with the development of their adjacent Interest therein.
Carcas In 1845-46. Hollywood Road. The Hongkong Telegraph made its serving the old Gaol, was also appearance on June 15, 1881, as an structed about this period. afternoon dally, ani has been published
Queen's Road extended only as far ever since. The Arst offices were at
na Wanchal; but a highway
to Wellington Street, near the junction Shaukiwan was completed in 1842, and with D'Agulinr Street; and later a move
л serviceable road round Happy was made to Pedder's Hill (opposite Valley followed within a few years, the Bishop's House), then to Queen's In 1845. The extreme enst and west Road Central (where Lock Hoge of the island were not served until premises are situate), afterwards to
very much later; and the south was the junction of Battery Path and Iccrenched only by the pathway lending House Street. After a brief move to up from Happy Valley and down Des Voeux Rand, a return was made to through Tallam to Stanley. This old Ice House Street: and in 1025 a move Chinese path was improved by ihe was. made to the present location in military. Bad for many years formed Morning Post Building Wyndham
the only proper roadway across the Street.
Island. The lower part is now mudera highway known as Blue Pool Houd, and the portion from Wongnel- chong Grp through Taitam to Island Rond is nearly completed as a motor rond:
The first editor of the Telegraph was the founder, Mr Robert Fraser Smith, a man who became known for fearless ness in expression of his views in print, even to the extent of going to prison en a conviction for libel fly associa- Island Road was constructed by de- tion with the paper continued until grees from the ftles onward, a high- "his death i 1893, Pernaps-the-best-in-way-from-Aberdeen-to-Stanley-on-tha dication of the impressius his per-south of the island, having been laid sonality made here, is contained is out as early as 1818.
the fact that the paper is still known Smaller ruadway projects which among Chinese as Sec-init Sut Po, or contributed to development were com "Smith's newspaper."
The South China Morning Post was first Issued on November 7, 1903, under the editorship of Mr Alfred Conning- bam, and was published from 15, 16, and 17 Connaught Rond Central. After Rouet, a move in 1007 to Des Voeux the publishing efices were transferred to the present site in Wyndham Street in 1913, in at old building which made way for the new one in 1925. In 1910 the South China Morning Post and Hongkong Telegraph were brought under the control a single company, the South China Morning: Past, Ltd.
Space does not permit of mention of a number of other journals, mag zines and so forth, that have appear
but #1 In Hongkong's history, China Punch was published from 1807 to 1870; and a Hongkony Monthly Magazine came out in 1857, also a In that China Magazine in the sixties. Kame period
Portuguese- several tanguage weeklies appeared, but ceased publication after a time.
Two Chinese newspapers which were started in Hongkong many years ago are the Wah Taz Yut Po (1872) and Taun Was Yet Po (1873). The cele- brated Chinese Minister to Washington, His Excellency Wu Ting-fang, who had spent part of his school days In Hong- kong, is slated to have had hand in the founding of these two papers.
An earlier Chinese dally, the "Chin- shith Pien-lu, generally known In English as the tongkang News, was started in 1804 under foreign control, and passed into Chinese ownership in 1883. Some years later It censed publication.
Greeni
KELLETE
DANK
SULPHUR CHANNEL
Shergthong
rond
pleted during the furlies. Wanchal Rond was built in 1851; Robinson Road, with a bridge across Glenealy, was ready in 1801; and in 1864 the from town to Shaukiwan was Improved into a broad carriageway. The shorter connection with Repulse Bay (Stubbs Houd) was not completed as a motor rod until 1922.
It was not until 1865 that Kowloon had its first proper highways, these being Robinson Bond later renamed Nathan Rund) and Macdonnell Road (renamed Canton Road). It had not appeared to the administration when these highways were first, bullt that with the inclusion of Kowloon in the Colony, similar names to those on the island would cause confusion.
RECLAMATION WORK
The reclamations have brought much additional valuable land into use, or mainly
Industrial premises for
The tenement Chinese
property.
Importance earliest project of any apart from the necessary construction of seawalls and slight niling necessary within the first few years of the occu
the pation was that of 1873, when Praya Enst was partly formed, giving n better frontage to Wanchai. A large reclamation at Causeway Bay (which extinguished the old stone causeway that had given the place its mantel was carried out in 1884; and between 1884 and 1089 much of the foreshore ot Kennedy Town was reclaimed,
The great Central Praya schente was varried out between 1880 and 1902- the effect was to make Des Voeux Rod twhich had been constructed along the waterfront on a partial recimation) into an Inland highway, and to make available a large area of very valuable
MAP
OF
- HONGKONG.
Navy Bay
Reclamation Project
land, on which most of the present large office buildings were constructed, and the new Post Office, Hongkunst Club and Supreme Court found sites. with several The longkong Bank. acres of land opposite its premises after this reclamation (now part of Statue Square) retained its foreshore rights, and the garden space opposite the Bank premises is its property.
There has been a certain amount of smaller reclamation work from time to time, but the biggest project in the Colony's history was the Praya East scheme, which was practically com pleted by 1920, being soon covered with
buildings, extending the area of Wan- chai district to more than double its previous size. In the course of this work, a large portion of Morrison 1, near the Naval Hospital, was cul away and it would have been levelled com - pletely hnd It net proved to be almost solid rack.
With all these extensions of land on the island, the mainland had not been
in
However, Peak realdence was vogue much earlier, and several houses built before 1880 stand to-day. The Governor's Peak residence has already been mentioned, and naval santa- torlum had also existed at a time when the only means of access was by chair, Sir Hercules Robinson, then Governor, ordered the cutting of the path to Victoria Penk, carried out in 1850-00,
The military authorities then bullt n sanatorium on the Peak, in 1802, but the project was not a success. By 1878, however, the Iden of dwelling in the Peak so as to be out of the summer- Une beat, had become established. Much of the credit for the development of the Penk goes to the late Mr. Granville Sharp, who despite lack of support, continued his advocacy of the den, and was one of the earliest Peak residents.
►
In Kowloon, the Portuguese were the ploneers in residential development. At Yaumati, particularly, they bullt several fine houses, and they were among the carliest lessees of farm lots
A LANDMARK FOR 80 YEARS
An old photograph showing to the left the Albany (erected in the 'Afiles) a building used originally as Government quarters, and possibly quarters for milliary officers, which was demolished within the past ten years. In the foreground are the Rolatile Gardens, with the former fountain.
to
neglected. Reclamation of the seafront in 1869, and later acquired garden lots ni Kowloon Point brought land on when these were issued in 1874. Another the Chinese pioneer in Kowloon was the late Bir which the Hailway border, connecting the Colony with Paul Chater; whose part in forwarding Cunto overland, was constructed hu
the Central Praya reclamation scheme 1900-11; and the huge Kal Tak
in Hongkong was also an important clamation, of fifteen years ago, resulted in making an area avaliable for the present airport.
re-
one, and who is commemorated in Chinter Road, constructed across the reclaimed aren.
•
PEAK AND KOWLOON HOMES. On the island, a low-level tramway
But naines of a number of ploneers came into being in 1004; but the Penk are due for mention in other seelfons Trainway Company B
a compara-
tively old history, and to its construc- of this supplement, in the references tion of a cable raliway can be attrito business firms and to place names. buted the development of the Peak If space permitted, many more such area as a European residential suburb. references could be accommodated; for the Colony's history is essentially The service up the Peak was opened in May, 1888, and much of the building bound up with the work of man who of houses and levelling at sites on the looked ahead, and maintained a faith was not upper lovein lias followed since that which time has shown
I misplaced-ta the future of Hongkong, year.
HONG
KONG
Hangheong.
ROA DA.
VICTORIA
Fossession
Malthums
Tente.
Enternes to Kowloon Bay.
Fast Build
Ont_of_the_oldest_maps_of_the_harbour of Hongkong in existence, drawn in 1844, abowing former barracks at West 'Polit
Quarry Bay,