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ABSENT
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MRS. GRACE HO, O.B.E., J.P.
MR. AUGUSTINE S. K. CHUNG
DR. PHILIP C. K. KWOK, J.P.
IN ATTENDANCE
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR SIR EDWARD YOUDE, G.C.M.G., M.B.E. MR. LO MAN-WAI, C.B.E., J.P.
MR. A. de O. SALES, C.B.E., J.P.
MR. B. D. WILSON, C.B.E., J.P.
MR. NGAN SHING-KWAN, C.B.E., J.P.
DR. THE HONOURABLE SIR ALBERT RODRIGUES, C.B.E., E.D., J.P. THE HONOURABLE SIR KENNETH PING-FAN FUNG, C.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE WOO PAK-CHUEN, C.B.E., J.P.
DR. RICHARD C. LEE, C.B.E., J.P.
MR. ERNEST C. WONG
MR. FUNG HON-CHU, O.B.E., J.P.
MR. K. S. LO, C.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE R. H. LOBO, C.B.E., J.P.
DR. THE HONOURABLE HENRY H. L. HUI, O.B.E., J.P.
MR. DANIEL S. H. LAM, O.B.E., J.P.
MR. PETER P. K. NG, J.P.
MR. JAMES M. H. WU, O.B.E., J.P.
MR. PETER P. F. CHAN, J.P.
MRS. C. J. SYMONS, C.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE D. C. BRAY, C.M.G., C.V.O., J.P.
MR. JOHN MACKENZIE, J.P.
MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN
MRS. KWAN KO SIU-WAH, O.B.E., J.P.
MR. FRANCIS CHAINE
PRIVATE SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT HOUSE, MR. G. A. HIGGINSON, A.E., J.P.
THE SECRETARY, URBAN COUNCIL, MR. R. SPENCER, J.P.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
OPENING REMARKS BY CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN (in English):- On behalf of Members of the Hong Kong Urban Council, may I extend a warm welcome to His Excellency the Governor, Sir Edward YOUDE, who is attending the Council's Centenary Meeting today and who will in a short while deliver his Message in accordance with Standing Order 19(c).
May I also extend a warm welcome to two of the Council's past Chairmen, Mr. A. de O. SALES and Mr. Brian WILSON, who is currently the Director of Urban Services.
I furthermore warmly welcome Mr. Lo Man-wai, a past Councillor and the father of Mr. Kenneth Lo, the Chairman of our Recreation Select Committee. Mr. Lo Man-wai has kindly consented to address Council on behalf of past members.
Last but not least, I warmly welcome all past Councillors who are here today and the inclusion of whose names will be part of the record of the Proceedings. Now, may I have the honour of inviting His Excellency the Governor to deliver his Message.
SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR SIR EDWARD YOUDE, G.C.M.G., M.B.E.
SIR EDWARD YOUDE (in English):— Mr. Chairman and Members of the Council, it is a great pleasure for me to be present today at this Special Meeting of the Urban Council. It marks this 100th Anniversary of the establishment of the Council's predecessor body, the Sanitary Board in 1883. This year is also the 10th Anniversary of the reconstitution of the Council in 1973: and to add to the importance of the occasion, we mark also the successful completion of the new process under which members of the Council have for the first time been elected on a constituency basis. It gives me the opportunity too to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, on your election for a further period of office. I might add that if our predecessors in the '30s had got round to things two years earlier and acted in 1933 instead of 1935, we could have completed the pattern and celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Urban Council itself.
In the process of transition over the 100 years of its existence, from a three-man Sanitary Board, all officials of the Government, to this enlarged assembly of 30 members, all Unofficials, the Council has seen many changes in its composition, functions, and method of selection. That is a reflection of the need for public bodies to respond to the changes in the society which they serve. The Sanitary Board grew out of a requirement to improve the environment in which the population of Hong Kong then lived. In 1883, Sir George Bowen, on becoming Governor, found it necessary to inform the Secretary of State that