SUNDAY, JULY 31, 1983
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LARGEST SINGLE DONATION BOOSTS PHOTO ARCHIVES
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HONG KONG'S PHOTO ARCHIVES HAVE BEEN ENRICHED BY THE LARGEST SINGLE PRIVATE COLLECTION DONATED RECENTLY BY MRS IRIS JOHNSTON, THE DAUGHTER OF SIR HENRY MAY, GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG FROM 1912 TO 1919.
THE PUBLIC RECORDS OFFICE HAS RECEIVED FROM MRS JOHNSTON 630 PHOTOGRAPHS OF HONG KONG, BOOSTING ITS COLLECTION TO MORE THAN 5 000 PICTURES WITH A VIVID PANORAMA OF HONG KONG'S HISTORY.
WHILE IN ENGLAND RECENTLY, THE ARCHIVIST IN CHARGE OF THE PRO, MR IAN DIAMOND, VISITED MRS JOHNSTON TO SEE THE MAY FAMILY COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF HONG KONG. DURING THE VISIT, MRS JOHNSTON OFFERED TO PRESENT THE COLLECTION TO THE OFFICE.
+MANY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS RECEIVED ARE UNIQUE AND OF CONSIDERABLE HISTORICAL INTEREST, AND MOST WERE TAKEN DURING AND JUST BEFORE SIR HENRY MAY'S TERM OF OFFICE AS GOVERNOR, MR DIAMOND SAID.
THEY INCLUDE COVERAGE OF SUCH EVENTS AS THE OPENING OF THE KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY, THE CELEBRATIONS TO MARK THE CORONATION OF KING GEORGE V, THE PEACE CELEBRATIONS OF 1919 AND THE LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE KRC CANTON TERMINUS. THERE ARE ALSO PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE OPENING OF THE HELENA MAY INSTITUTE ONE OF HONG KONG'S OLDEST LANDMARKS STILL IN EXISTENCE TODAY AND VARIOUS RACE MEETINGS AT HAPPY VALLEY.
THERE ARE MANY INTERESTING VIEWS OF TAI PO, SHA TIN AND OTHER PLACES IN THE NEW TERRITORIES TAKEN AT A TIME WHEN THESE AREAS WERE STILL ENTIRELY RURAL.
THE MAY COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDES NUMEROUS UNIQUE INTERIOR PICTURES OF GOVERNMENT HOUSE, THE GOVERNOR'S PEAK RESIDENCE MOUNTAIN LODGE, THE OLD CITY HALL AND OTHER HONG KONG BUILDINGS LONG DEMOLISHED.
+THE PHOTOS SHOWING THE OPENING OF THE KCR TSIM SHA TSUI TERMINUS IN 1910 AND AN OFFICIAL PARTY TAKING THE TRAIN TO LOWU PROBABLY EXIST NOWHERE ELSE. THEY PRESENT A DRAMATIC CONTRAST TO THE KCR WITH ITS ELECTRIC TRAINS WHICH ONLY RECENTLY MADE THEIR DEBUT TO THE LOWU BORDER,+ MR DIAMOND POINTED OUT.
OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OFFICE'S 5 000-PLUS PHOTOS, SOME 3 000 WERE TAKEN AFTER WORLD WAR 1 AND THE REST COVER A LONG SPAN OF HONG KONG'S HISTORY, WITH THE EARLIEST DATING TO 1859, SHORTLY AFTER PHOTOGRAPHY WAS FIRST INTRODUCED TO HONG KONG, MR DIAMOND SAID.
+MANY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS VIVIDLY CHRONICLE THE LIFE STYLES OF HONG KONG IN DIFFERENT PERIODS, ITS EVOLVING TRANSPORT MODES AND ITS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS, HE SAID,
+EARLY PHOTOS OF WHAT BECAME THE NEW TERRITORIES ARE RELATIVELY RARE AS ACCESS WAS DIFFICULT AND BANDITRY IN THE AREA WAS STILL PRETTY COMMON, HE EXPLAINED.
/THE PHOTO