XN000022-1975-05-01 — Page 13

1.

DATE

SUNDAY May 4th

TIME

EVENING

PLACE

i) HONG KONG

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

11) CITY HALL

NOTES

In

Previously called Kai Tak Airport, this term is now reserved for the Royal Air Force's portion of the field. The name Kai Tak arose from the fact that two residents, Ho Kai and Au Tak, formed a company in the 1920s, the Kai Tak Investment Company Limited, to reclaim a part of Kowloon Bay for development. 1929, a newly-formed Hong Kong Flying Club rented part of the area for a landing field. In 1930, the Government took over the airport, and a Civil Air Service was formed. In 1932, a total of 1,785 flights was recorded, and 1,185 passengers carried. In 1974, statistics show that 52,929 aircraft used the Inter- national Airport, and 3.7 million passengers were processed.

HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, opened Hong Kong's first City Hall in 1869. It was a two-storey, elegant building, in the colonial style of the period, with ample balconies and a black-tiled roof. The building was demolished in 1933 to make way for the present head- quarters of the Hong Kong and Shang- hai Banking Corporation. The present City Hall was opened in March 1962, and patronage was immediate and enthusiastic. The Hall is the venue for all major cultural events. It houses a library, an art gallery, and a

museum.

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