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to a site in central waterfront for a naval yard and a central location in the area adjoining Queen's Road and next to the Victoria Barracks for naval stores.
Sai Ying Pun was very much deserted when R. Fortune revisited Hong Kong in December 1845. He said:
"Before leaving China, I had occasion to visit this spot of ground, the grave of many a brave soldier. A fine road leading round the island ...passed through the place where they had been buried. Many of their coffins were exposed to vulgar gaze, and the bones of the poor fellows lay scattered about on the public highway. (Fortune 1845, P. 22. footnote)
The malaria fever of 1843 has a great effect on the urban development of Sai Ying Pun. If the military authorities did not move out in those early years due to the fever, many areas in Sai Ying Pun at present might still be in the hands of the military and excluded from the sprawl of urban structures.
Sai Ying Pun During the Late Nineteenth Century
Sai Ying Pun was only a tiny settlement in the 1850s. According to the Government Gazette of 1 April 1854, Sai Ying Pun was classified as a small village with some isolated squatter huts in those years. It had only 83 people (64 adults and 19 children) in 1853. The general occupations of the inhabitants were said to be fishing, trade and agriculture. However Sai Ying Pun experienced a rapid growth rate. For example, in 1854 the population rose rapidly to a total of 266 people (248 adults and 18 children), a 220% growth over the previous year.
In 1860 together with Staunton Street and Tai Ping Shan Street, Sai Ying Pun was laid out. In 1866 under the Victoria Registration Ordinance, Sai Ying Pun became part of or one of the districts of the city of Victoria. The most interesting feature of the layout plan of Sai Ying Pun is that the road pattern in the First, Second, Third and High Street areas had been planned! (Talbot, 1971, P. 59)
Though the road pattern had been influenced by the presence of
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to a site in central waterfront for a naval yard and a central location in the area adjoining Queen's Road and next to the Victoria Barracks for naval stores.
Sai Ying Pun was very much deserted when R. Fortune revisited Hong Kong in December 1845. He said:
"Before leaving China, I had occasion to visit this spot of ground, the grave of many a brave soldier. A fine road leading round the island ...passed through the place where they had been buried. Many of their coffins were exposed to vulgar gaze, and the bones of the poor fellows lay scattered about on the public highway. (Fortune 1845, P. 22. footnote)
The malaria fever of 1843 has a great effect on the urban development of Sai Ying Pun. If the military authorities did not move out in those early years due to the fever, many areas in Sai Ying Pun at present might still be in the hands of the military and excluded from the sprawl of urban structures.
Sai Ying Pun During the Late Nineteenth Century
Sai Ying Pun was only a tiny settlement in the 1850s. According to the Government Gazette of 1 April 1854, Sai Ying Pun was classified as a small village with some isolated squatter huts in those years. It had only 83 people (64 adults and 19 children) in 1853. The general occupations of the inhabitants were said to be fishing, trade and agriculture. However Sat Ying Pun experienced a rapid growth rate. For example, in 1854 the population rose rapidly to a total of 266 people (248 adults and 18 children), a 220% growth over the previous year.
In 1860 together with Staunton Street and Tai Ping Shan Street, Sai Ying Pun was laid out. In 1866 under the Victoria Registration Ordinance, Sai Ying Pun became part of or one of the districts of the city of Victoria. The most interesting feature of the layout plan of Sai Ying Pun is that the road pattern in the First, Second, Third and High Street areas had been planned! (Talbot, 1971, P. 59)
Though the road pattern had been influenced by the presence of
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