Directory_and_Chronicle_1917 — Page 1127

1022

HONGKONG

the outlying villages. There are large granite quarries, both on the island and in Kowloon, and there is a small export of this stone. A bed of fire clay exists at Deep Water Bay, and bricks and earthenware pipes are manufactured from it. The forests now growing up and in course of being planted may one day become a source of revenue, when sufficiently extensive, from the periodical thinnings

The approaches to the port are fairly well lighted. A lighthouse on Green Island lights the western entrance of the harbour. The eastern approach is indicated by a group flashing dioptric light of the first order, visible at a distance of twenty-two miles, erected on Waglan Island, while a smaller light on Cape Collinson assists navigators to make the Ly-ee-mùn Pass. A lighthouse on Gap Rock, about thirty miles to the south, was completed and first displayed its beacon on the 1st April, 1892; it is connected with the port by cable, and the approach of vessels is signalled froin it to the Post Office. A radio-telegraphic station of medium range has been established for commercial purposes on Cape d'Aguilar in connection with the Post Office, and a long-range Marconi station has been erected on Stonecutters Island.

The harbour of Hongkong is one of the finest and most beautiful in the world, having an area of ten square miles, and, with its diversified scenery and varied shipping, presents an animated and imposing spectacle. It consists of the sheet of water between the island and the mainland, and is enclosed on all sides by lofty hills, formerly destitute of foliage, but the island slopes are gradually becoming clothed with young forests, the result of the afforestation scheme of the Government. The city of Victoria is magnificently situated, the houses, many of them large and handsome, rising, tier upon tier, from the water's edge to a height of over five hundred feet on the face of the Peak, while many buildings are visible on the very summit of the hills. Seen from the water at night, when lights twinkle among the trees and houses, the city, spreading along the shore for upwards of four miles, affords a sight not readily to be forgotten.

Nor on landing are the favourable impressions of the stranger dissipated or lessened. The city is fairly well built, the roads and streets are for the most part admirably made and kept, and many of the thoroughfares delightfully shaded with well grown trees. The European business quarter occupies the middle of the city, from Pottinger Street to the Naval Yard, but with the exception of this limited area almost all the lower levels, especially the Western District, are covered by a dense mass of Chinese shops and tenements. The Botanic Gardens are situated just above Government House, and are tastefully laid out in terraces, slopes, and walks, with parterres of flowers. A handsome fountain adorns the second terrace, around which many European children and their amahs resort daily. There is a bandstand, presented by the Parsee community (but never now occupied by a band), some aviaries, orchid houses, and ferneries, and seats are provided in every spot where a view is obtainable or shade afforded by the varied foliage. A fine bronze statue of Sir Arthur Kennedy, Governor of the Colony, 1872-6, erected by public subscription, stands above the second terrace looking down on the fountain. It was unveiled in November, 1887, by Governor Sir William Des Voeux. The chief public building is the City Hall, erected in 1866-9 by subscription; it contains a commodious theatre, numerous large rooms used for balls and public meetings (in one of which, known as St. George's Hall, is a fine portrait of the late Queen Victoria, presented by Sir Thomas Jackson, Bart., in 1900), an excellent and valuable Library, and a Museum gradually increasing in importance. In front of the main entrance is a large fountain presented in August, 1864, by Mr. John Dent, a former merchant of the Colony. Eastward of the City Hall is a fine open space or lung, in the shape of the Parade Ground south of the road, and the Cricket Ground on the north. The latter is furnished with a neat Pavilion, and the turf is kept in perfect order.

The Post Office, a palatial building in which several other Government departments are accommodated, occupies a site with frontages on the Praya, Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road. The Courts of Justice, probably the most substantial edifice in all Asia, were designed by Sir Aston Webb and Mr. E. Ingress Bell, consulting architects to the Government of Great Britain. The foundation stone was laid in 1903 and the building was completed at a cost of $856,310 and opened in January, 1912. Occupying a site on the west of the Courts of Justice stands the Jubilee statue of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the erection of which was postponed until this site became available; it was unveiled on the 28th May, 1896. The statue represents Queen Victoria seated on her throne, and is of bronze under a stone canopy. Close by, formerly stood a fine bronze statue of the Duke of Connaught, presented by Sir C. P. Chater to the Colony. It was unveiled by Sir William Gascoigne on the 5th July, 1902. This statue was removed in February, 1907, to a site on the waterfront near Blake Pier, and H. R. H. the Duke of Connaught,