255
on, principally by David Faure (on my left) and his colleagues at the Chinese University, and their students, in researching local history.
I came to Hong Kong in 1956 to work for the Hong Kong Government. After a year at the Hong Kong University's language school, where our RAS member Mr. Francis Sham was my teacher (in the audience), I was sent to the New Territories as a District Officer. It was the custom, then and long before, to send new administrative officers to the New Territories, and the unfortunate villagers and local leaders had to put up with them. The only benefit they might have had out of it was that these youngsters had not had time to get set in their ways as civil servants. In many of them, a spark of interest in local life was kindled by what they saw around them. This was certainly the case with me.
I immediately became fascinated with the communities of the Southern District, which at that time took in Sai Kung and the Clearwater Bay area in the eastern New Territories and the present Islands District on the west and south. It was a wonderful life. I had a Marine Department launch every now and again, and was able to go out and see places, all as part of the job. Many people before me had also enjoyed it. There was only one snag about the work when I was there. The Government had decided to build the Shek Pik Reservoir on Lantau Island, and I had a good deal of extra toil and trouble on that account. In particular, two villages had to be resettled. However, when you move villagers for development, you are in a position to learn quite a bit about them. I made an effort at the time and collected as much information as I could about these villages, but I simply did not know enough about Chinese rural society to know what more I might have got by different questioning. Anyway, the reservoir was my main preoccupation when I was District Officer South, a post I held for five years, with an overseas leave in between.
When I went around this fascinating part of the New Territories, I saw the villages, the market towns and the resident boat people, all very much as they must have been at the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty, up to 1911. I am not exaggerating: that's what they seemed like at that time, owing to the lack of development.
255
on, principally by David Faure (on my left) and his colleagues at the Chinese University, and their students, in researching local history.
I came to Hong Kong in 1956 to work for the Hong Kong Government. After a year at the Hong Kong University's language school, where our RAS member Mr. Francis Sham was my teacher (in the audience), I was sent to the New Territories as a District Officer. It was the custom, then and long before, to send new administrative officers to the New Territories, and the unfortu- nate villagers and local leaders had to put up with them. The only benefit they might have had out of it was that these youngsters had not had time to get set in their ways as civil servants. In many of them, a spark of interest in local life was kindled by what they saw around them. This was certainly the case with me.
I immediately became fascinated with the communities of the Southern District, which at that time took in Sai Kung and the Clearwater Bay area in the eastern New Territories and the present Islands District on the west and south. It was a wonderful life. I had a Marine Department launch every now and again, and was able to go out and see places, all as part of the job. Many people before me had also enjoyed it. There was only one snag about the work when I was there. The Government had decided to build the Shek Pik Reservoir on Lantau Island, and I had a good deal of extra toil and trouble on that account. In particular, two villages had to be resettled. However, when you move villagers for devel- opment, you are in a position to learn quite a bit about them. I made an effort at the time and collected as much information as I could about these villages, but I simply did not know enough about Chinese rural society to know what more I might have got by different questioning. Anyway the reservoir was my main pre- occupation when I was District Officer South, a post I held for five years, with an overseas leave in between.
When I went around this fascinating part of the New Territor- ies, I saw the villages, the market towns and the resident boat people, all very much as they must have been at the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty, up to 1911. I am not exaggerating: that's what they seemed like at that time, owing to the lack of development.
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