1941-01-20 — Page 122

CHINA MAIL,, PAGE 74

1841

HONG KONG. CENTENARY NUMBER

Scrapbook Of Memories

The first marriages in Hong Kong were solemnised in 1842 in the Matshed Church, in the north- west corner of the present Mur- By Parade ground, which was established the same year.

Copies of the Brst marriage licences were entered in a Regis- ter, now in the custody of the Registrar of Marringes, Mr. T. S. Whyte-Smith, by Richard Hay-- ward Kidd, at that time Culonial Chaplam of Hong Kong.

According to this register, the Arst rriage took place on July 25, 1842, between George Brayson, widower, (G.C.), upothecary, of H.M. 12th Regiment of Foot, and Margaret Slattery. spinster. of long Kong This marriage was performed by George Cooper, M.A, (Chaplam of HMS. Blen- hein), in the presence of four witnessrs. B R Johnston. W Tartani, Janet Waddell

and

Charles E Stewart.

፡፡

*

The Roman Catholic mar- riage in Hong Kong took place on Jamary 7. 1860, which Becording to the orgmal, (also in the cus- Lody of Mr. Whyte-Smith) was between Francis Heraldus and Athanasia Francisca D. Paula, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. This marriage WIS performed by the Rev Angeles

Vandagur. the witnesses being Castano dos Santos and Mivlos Pontes

*

።።

The first marriage under the Marriage Ordinance took place on March 11, 1876, between Thomas Doherty, 25, bachelor, Stail Clerk, of Spring Gardens, and Kate McCarton, 22, spinster. The re ligious ceremony took place in the Church of the Immaculate Con- ception and was performed by the Rev. M. Cullen.

Oldest Policemen

The Hong Kong Police Force Wis organised on May 1, 1844. The oldest European, Chinese and Indian members still in service

ar

Mr. Robert Horace Ethelbert Marks, Assistant Superintendent of Police, who jomed the on July 29, 1909.

forre

Inspector Chu Heung. Principal Chinese Detective, who joined on May 1, 1906. He is retiring on May 1, this year.

Lance Sergeant (B112) Xaman Ali, who joined the Force January 7, 1913.

*

* =>

on

The Hong Kong Volunteer Corps, forerunner of the

Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, was formed on March 1, 1862, a battery of artillery armed with three pounders and 4 2/5 inch howiters.

*

was

The first Commandant Captain (later Lieutenant-Colonel) F. Brine, R. A., and first officers were W. Kane, R. B. Baker, J. M. Fraser, and J. Dodd.

* * 毖

The Corps was disbanded on June 1, 1866 owing to continu- ous non-attendance of its mem- bers!

*

Hong Kong's Cadet system came into being by an official announ- cement on October 12, 1861, the first three Cadets, Messrs. Cecil Clementi Smith (uncle of Sir Ce- cil Clémenti), W. M. Deane, and M. S. Tonnochy were appointed.

* ✡ *

On the night of September 22- 23, 1874, the entire Police Force was confined to barracks by the Captain Superintendent of Police, Mr. W. M. Deane, owing to the typhoon. This decision by Mr. Deane, instead of ordering the Police out to do rescue and sal- vage work, drew severe criticism. This typhoon was responsible for

the loss of 35 foreign ships. Over 2,000 lives were lost and some $5,000,000 worth of property was destroyed in less than six hours.

* **

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The Water Police was organised in 1868, on a large wooden Junk which had been formerly en- ployed in the opium trade, In 1884, the junk caught fire and was blown

bv a torpedo from II. M. S. Merlin. The Water Police moved into Crosby's Store on the Hong Kong waterfront. In September the same year--1884- they moved into their present pre- Inises at Tsimshatsui.

******

In 1886, rumours were rife that the Chinese in Canton were plan- ning to descend on Hong Kong to loot and set fire to the Colony, and as a result of petitions from Chi- nese bodies, the District Watch- men were organized.

MARRIAGES

One Theres

THI

were married in the facon

behind Flagstaff House. This came to be known as the “Churen Parade."

to

* * *

*

Seven And - Six - Penny Hill received its name from the Army. Soldiers used to climb up the hill draw their weekly pay bf 75. Od.

* Following the attempt

on Sir Henry May's life, State sedun chairs were abolished and Gay. ernors since have bech provided with cars. Sir Henry was travell- ing in a State Sedan Chair when the attempt was made, after his official landing at Blake Pier.

** * *

The Supreme Court has been accommodated in three different premises since it started to func- tion on October 1, 1844. First it was in Wellington Street; four years later it was removed to a

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Eight Hundred

This Marringe was solgsunizes

In the Prescord of

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were married in ting

in the Year One Thousaất Eight Hundred

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This Marriage was solemnized between in

In the Presence of

Jose Holliday

the Year One Thousand, Eight Hundred and By me.

This Marrings was rolununiau berween us in Holledig

the Prints

A copy from the Register of the first marriage to be cele brated in Hong Kong, on July 25, 1942. The second took place two days later and the third in the following September,

Hong Kong Hotel charges were considerably lower in the early days. Two dollars was charged for a first class room and between 50 cents and 75 cents for a meal of some 22 courses!

*

* *

The Police Force was first known as the Colonial Police: Force una the members were equipped with -green uniforms which gave them the name of Green Coats.

* 10

Scandal Point was so named because it was in the early days the neighbourhood where gos- sip was exchanged on Sunday

afternoons.

*

"Showing off!! was regularly carried out on Sunday afternoons. in the old days.↑ The women of, the Colony in their Sunday best und accompanied by their escorts, used to stroll after leaving Church along the path which, now rung

building called Exchange Build- ing in Queen's Road Central,

* *

The present Supreme Court was completed early in 1912 and was formally opened by Sir Henry May on January 15, 1912.

* * *

One of the first schools in the Colony was St. Andrew's School for British children which was opened following a public meeting in 1855. It, however, lasted only a few. YEZrs.

* * *

The Botanical Gardens wers laid out by Government in 1860. In 1861, the Gardens were in the charge of Mr. T. Donaldson, who was appointed Curator. The trees and some of the plants still exist- ing were neured "from seeds. from England and Australia. The Gar- dens were not opened to the gen- eral public until October 7, 1861. The Parsee community was re-

sponsible for raising the funds for the bandstand which can still be seen to-day. ་་

* *.* The Helena May Institute was named in honour of Lady May, wife of Sir Henry May.

* * ***

The Hong Kong General Cham- ber of Commerce was founded in 1861. The first President of the Chamber was Mr. Alex. Percival, of Messrs. Jardine Matheson, and Co., and the Vice-President, Mr. W. Walkinshaw, of Messrs. Tur- ner and Co. The Chamber's first representative on the Legislative Council was Sir Thomas Jack- son, General Manager of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

Queen's Road

Queen's Road was given its name in March, 1842, when the first Land Committee was ap- pointed to investigate claims along the road.

** * M

Hong Kong once had a Chinese Police Magistrate. He was the the well-known Mr. Ng Choy, afterwards known as Minister Wu Ting-fang, and was appointed in 1880 by the Governor, Sir John Pope Hennessy. Wu Ting-fang was also the first Chinese to be called to the English Bar and to have been admitted locally, and he was the first and only Chinese magistrate in the history of Hong Kong.

**

The first Chinese national in Hong Kong to adopt foreign clothes was Sir Kai Ho-Kai.

* * *

Kellett Island was named after

a Vice-Admiral Sir H. Kellett, who was Commander-in-chief in the late Sixties.

* *

Hong Kong's first Inspector of Buildings (a comparatively easy job at that time) was a Mr. M. Bruce, who was appointed to this post by Sir Henry Pottinger Hong Kong's first Governor

(1841-44).

Hong Kong Club

The Hong Kong Club was start- ed in May, 1846 and was first lo- cated on the site now occupied by the King's Theatre.

** * *

The first Harbour Master was Lieutenant William Pedder, R. N., and he had his headquarters at the top of Pedder Street.

* **

The city of Hong Kong was not provided with street lights until 16 years after the occupation, On October 1, 1857, 350 oil lamps were put up in different parts of the town.

My

*

*

Meetings Council were

of

the Legislative

not made public

Home was

until March 25, 1858.

* *

The first Sailors'

*

opened in West Point (next to St. Peter's Church) on January 31,

1863.

*

* * Gas was not known in Hong Kong until the early Sixties, when the first

gas lighting in the Colony was introduced on No vember 12, 1864. By March 1885 there

of 400 gas were a total lights in the streets of Hong Kong.

焱

The first ship built in Hong Kong, after the occupation, was launched on February 7, 1843, two years after the Colony was ceded. Named the Celestial, of 80` tons, it was launched from patent slip at East Point.

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**

D

· Flue wells were sunk in 1851 to supply the city with water,

St. John's Cathedral opened on

*

March 11, 1849.

1941