CO129-589-11 Port of Hong Kong- Report on future control and development 18-7-1941 - 10-10-1944 — Page 99

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Registrar of Shipping, Principal Examiner of Masters and Mates,

Director of Air Services, Marine Magistrate and a member of the

Harbour Advisory Committee.

(10) Work in the Harbour, such as the reclamation of land

from the waterway, piers for Government use, and dredging, etc.,

have been executed by the Department of Public Works, but beyond

the provision of mooring buoys, navigational lights for ships, and

an amount of dredging, not much money has been spent by the

Government on accommodation in the nature of piers, etc., for

shipping and for goods imported and exported, that having been

left to private enterprise, the Government merely leasing the

necessary land.

(11)

Harbour Advisory Board and Committee. In the year 1927,

a suggestion that an Advisory Body, to be called the "Hong Kong

Harbour Board", should be established, was approved by the

Governor. The idea apparently originated with the Harbour Master

who reported that all great Ports of the size of Hong Kong had

such Boards of one sort or another and, as he had been in Colombo,

he seemed to think that the system there was the ideal one. It

was not until 1929 that the "Hong Kong Harbour Board" was actually

formed and it consisted of the Harbour Master, as Chairman, with

seven Government officials as well as four members recommended

by the General Chamber of Commerce and two nominated by the

Chinese Chamber of Commerce, together with representatives of

the Royal Navy and the Mercantile Marine, respectively.

(12)

The duties of this Board were to advise the Government

in any matter concerning the Harbour as to which the advice of

the Board might be sought by the Governor.

(13) It is interesting to note that when the General

Chamber of Commerce was consulted before the appointment of the

Board, they stated at first sight it appeared that the

appointment of such a Body without executive powers would lead to slight, if any, improvement upon the then existing organisation as regards the Harbour. Later the Chamber