CO129-526-7 Proposed vehicle & passenger ferry for Hong Kong Harbour- plans of the development of the... 22-4-1930 - 22-4-1930 — Page 35

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facility later which is essential to foster the

development of the Colony. It will be noted that

Messrs. Coode, Fitzmaurice Wilson & Mitchell, Consulting

Engineers write in their Report of 1924, quoted in

Sessional Paper 6 of 1928 :

"We consider the cross traffic between Hong Kong

and Kowloon is growing sufficiently to warrant

the provision of a good vehicular and passenger

service".

4. There are at present in existence two ferry

systems, viz, the Star Ferry and the Yaumati Ferry,

running across the harbour between Victoria and the

West side of Kowloon, the side of the Peninsula on which

the greatest development has occurred and on which it may confidently be expected to continue. The Star Ferry Company runs across the narrowest part of the harbour and its position is based on the lease of the

pier at Ice House Street, Victoria. The lease was

purchased as from the 1st of December, 1910, and

continues in effect to the 31st December, 1949. The

conditions include the sole right to run ferries

between two defined points. The conditions were

altered and added to after the construction of the

railway in 1918.

5. This is an extremely busy ferry service

carrying as many as 10,753,080 passengers in a year and the nature of the service will hardly permit the use of larger boats than are now employed or of more frequent running. The pressure of passengers allows no

space for vehicles and the landing points in any case

are not suited to the piers required for a vehicles

ferry