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a very seasoned sailor, felt that it could well have happened. It is not of course suggested that the two Obelisks were erected specifically for the use of submarines. As the public relations officer from the Clyde Submarine Base points out, the fact that they were erected about 1900 makes this 'very doubtful' (Trayhurn, 1995).
Conclusions
It appears then that the two Obelisks were set up in their present form around 1900. The general consensus is that ships took sightings, using the two Obelisks as 'head marks', and then followed 'sight lines' and sailed through Tai Tam Bay into Tai Tam Harbour, which provides a sheltered anchorage. There is no written evidence that the beacons were ever used for the timed 'measured mile' or for markers for submerged submarines although the latter cannot be ruled out.
It must be stressed that this paper is by no means definitive and it is hoped that other researchers may be able to add to what has been written above.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements must be given to H J W Chetwynd-Chatwin and Keith Francis, for initial efforts, which largely got this project started in the first place. A considerable number of persons have, in fact, been involved to some degree. My sincere thanks go to everyone named in the text or in the bibliography. A special thank you must go to Alan Lack, past Deputy Director of Marine and to Ken Atherton of the Hydrographic Office at Taunton, England, and to Remy K M Woo and David M Hodson in Hong Kong.
Bibliography
Antiquities and Monuments Office (1980, March), typed notes about, 2 Obelisks (at Tytam Reservoir Area).
Atherton (1995), 'Obelisks in Hong Kong', The Mariner's Mirror, The Journal of the Society for Nautical Research, England, vol. 82, no. 1, February 1996.
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a very seasoned sailor, felt that it could well have happened. It is not of course suggested that the two Obelisks were erected specifically for the use of submarines. As the public relations officer from the Clyde Submarine Base points out, the fact that they were erected about 1900 makes this 'very doubtful' (Trayhurn, 1995).
Conclusions
It appears then that the two Obelisks were set up in their present form around 1900. The general consensus is that ships took sightings, using the two Obelisks as 'head marks', and then followed 'sight lines' *and sailed through Tai Tam Bay into Tai Tam Harbour, which provides a sheltered anchorage. There is no written evidence that the beacons were ever used for the timed 'measured mile' or for markers for submerged submarines although the latter cannot be ruled out.
It must be stressed that this paper is by no means definitive and it is hoped that other researchers may be able to add to what has been written above.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements must be given to H J W Chetwynd-Chatwin and Keith Francis, for initial efforts, which largely got this project started in the first place. A considerable number of persons have, in fact, been involved to some degree. My sincere thanks go to everyone named in the text or in the bibliography. A special thank you must go to Alan Lack, past Deputy Director of Marine and to Ken Atherton of the Hydrographic Office at Taunton, England, and to Remy K M Woo and David M Hodson in Hong Kong.
Bibliography
Antiquities and Monuments Office (1980, March), typed notes about, 2 Obelisks (at Tytam Reservoir Area).
Atherton (1995), 'Obelisks in Hong Kong', The Mariner's Mirror, The Journal of the Society for Nautical Research, England, vol. 82, no. 1, February 1996.
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