511
"In connexion with this house hangs a story. The Jewish community desirous of having a site for a new synagogue in this vicinity, and Mr. Belilios being owner of the land, negotiations were entered into. These negotiations were complicated and protracted and were finally aired in the Supreme Court. Mr. Belilios having won his point, his co-religionists put a curse upon him and his new house a curse, it is said, which bore fruit.
"It was Mr. Belilios who was responsible for the Reformatory at Causeway Bay, this institution afterwards being named the Eyre Diocesan Refuge.
"A great admirer of Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), Mr. Belilios placed in the hands of the Hongkong Government the sum of £1,000 for the erection of a statue of his famous compatriot. "Dizzy" asked to be excused, and the money was eventually given towards the establishment of the Medical Society Fund which was subsequently changed into the Belilios Scholarship Fund.
"Undaunted in his design to perpetuate the name of Beaconsfield in Hongkong, Mr. Belilios afterwards named the row of houses opposite the City Hall, Beaconsfield Arcade.
"At one time there was a restaurant called Bartolones in York Building. The Vienna Cafe was in the old Hongkong Club, formerly Yee Sang Fat Building, and now the site of the King's Theatre.
"Then, of course, there was Weismann's, already becoming an obsolete name in Hongkong. Weismann, a ship's baker, discovering the lack of a foreign bakery in Hongkong, came ashore and commenced business nearby the Bowrington Canal.
In my first days here, Weismann's was also in the Yee Sang Fat Building. Afterwards it removed in turn to 14, Des Voeux Road and St. George's Building, when Messrs. Lane Crawford secured a controlling interest. Now the old name is no more, Lane Crawford's Restaurant being its modern counterpart.
Only the very old residents of the Colony will remember the day when Hongkong had a floating hotel. It was moored by the Praya West, opposite the old P. and O. wharf, and while the novelty lasted, it did an excellent business.
First reference in the old files appears on April 16, 1890, when the first half-yearly meeting of the Hongkong Marina Ltd., was held at the offices of the company, No. 3 Beaconsfield Arcade.
From this report, it is gathered that the company had purchased a vessel, formerly known as the Elizabeth, the hull of which had been adapted to carry the superstructure of a hotel.
The owners hoped for an exclusive clientele and set about the purchase of furniture and fittings, having as their motto "Nothing but the Best".
The hotel, when completed, had three decks - saloon, main and promenade. The saloon deck, just above the water-line, was luxuriously appointed and carried the dining room, billiard rooms and bar.
Above the saloon deck were the bedrooms and outside each bedroom it was hoped to construct a small verandah. The after part of the main deck was apportioned out to hairdressers' rooms, staff rooms, kitchens and stores.
The approach to the ship was by a platform on the starboard
Page 250
Page 251
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511
"In connexion with this house hangs a story. The Jewish community desirous of having a site for a new synagogue in this vicinity, and Mr. Belilios being owner of the land, negotia- tions were entered into. These negotiations were complicated and protracted and were finally aired in the Supreme Court. Mr. Belilios having won his point, his co-religionists put a curse upon him and his new house a curse, it is said, which bore fruit.
"It was Mr. Belilios who was responsible for the Reformatory at Causeway Bay, this institution afterwards being named the Eyre Diocesan Refuge.
"A great admirer of Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), Mr. Belilios placed in the hands of the Hongkong Government the sum of £1,000 for the erection of a statue of his famous com- patriot. "Dizzy" asked to be excused, and the money was event- ually given towards the establishment of the Medical Society Fund which was subsequently changed into the Belilios Scholarship Fund.
"Undaunted in his design to perpetuate the name of Beacons- field in Hongkong, Mr. Belilios afterwards named the row of houses opposite the City Hall, Beaconsfield Arcade.
"At one time there was a restaurant called Bartolones in York Building. The Vienna Cafe was in the old Hongkong Club, formerly Yee Sang Fat Building, and now the site of the King's Theatre.
"Then, of course, there was Weismann's, already becoming an obsolete name in Hongkong. Weismann, a ship's baker, dis- covering the lack of a foreign bakery in Hongkong, came ashore and commenced business re arby the Bowrington Canal.
In my first days here, Weismann's was also in the Yee Sang Fat Building. Afterwards it removed in turn to 14, Des Voeux Road and St. George's Building, when Messrs. Lane Crawford secured a controlling interest. Now the old name is no more, Lane Crawford's Restaurant being its modern counterpart."
Only the very old residents of the Colony will remember the day when Hongkong had a floating hotel. It was moored by the Praya West, opposite the old P.and 0. wharf, and while the novelty lasted, it did. an excellent business.
First reference in the old files appears on April 16 1890, when the first half-yearly meeting of the Hongkong Marina Ltd., was held at the offices of the company, No. 3 Beaconsfield Arcade.
From this report, it is gathered that the company had purchased a vessel, formerly known as the Elizabeth, the hull of which had been adapted to carry the superstructure of a hotel.
The owners hoped for an exclusive clientele and set about the purchase of furniture and fittings, having as their motto "Nothing but the Best".
The hotel, when completed, had three decks - saloon, main and promenade. The saloon deck, just above the water-line, was luxuriously appointed and carried the dining room, billiard rooms and bar.
Above the saloon deck were the bedrooms and outside each bedroom it was hoped to construct a small verandah. The after part of the main deck was apportioned out to hair dressers' rooms, staff rooms, kitchens and stores.
The approach to the ship was by a platform on the starboard
Page 250Page 251
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