291
PART TWO
Ships that pass in the night, and speak to each other in passing;
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness:
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak to one another,
Only a look and a voice; then darkness again and a silence.
Introduction and aims of Part Two
With the rapid advancement of technology, especially since World War Two, many trades and professions have been severely affected and, in some cases, phased out altogether. Horses were replaced as draught animals by motor vehicles. Electronic sciences and automation have drastically altered our world. Lighthouses have also been affected, as we have seen above by the relentless march of progress, including by such inventions as radar surveillance, Loran and other shipboard navigation aids.26
The Trinity House automation programme in Britain involved the conversion of 60 lighthouses and lightvessels to automatic operation and the withdrawal of keepers (Navigation News; 1998). The last manned lighthouse in the United Kingdom was the North Foreland Lighthouse which withdrew keepers on 26 November, 1998. This ended the profession of lighthouse keeping in Britain with a history of nearly 400 years. It dated back to 1609 when Trinity House opened its first lighthouse at Lowestoft, in eastern England.
Hong Kong's first lighthouse, as we have seen, set up at Cape D'Aguilar, commenced operations in 1875 (Endacott; 1958, 163). But the Territory, too, has followed the trend to automation. Waglan Island (sometimes spelt Wang Lan) Lighthouse withdrew keepers in August 1989 (Gazetteer; 1960, 108).27
The aims of Part Two of this paper are to look largely at the men who manned Hong Kong's lighthouses. What sort of people were they? What kind of life did they lead and under what conditions did they work? In a letter to the author, Royal Asiatic Society (Hong Kong Branch) member A. J. S. Lack,28 who served as Deputy Director of Marine in Hong Kong in the early 1980s, wrote (Lack; 1999):
291
PART TWO
Ships that pass in the night, and speak (to) each other in passing; Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness:
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak (to) one another, Only a look and a voice; then darkness again and a silence.
Introduction and aims of Part Two
With the rapid advancement of technology, especially since World War Two, many trades and professions have been severely affected and, in some cases, phased out altogether. Horses were replaced as draught animals by motor vehicles. Electronic sciences and automation have drastically altered our world. Lighthouses have also been affected, as we have seen above by the relentless march of progress, including by such inventions as radar surveillance, Loran and other shipboard navigation aids.26
The Trinity House automation programme in Britain involved the conversion of 60 lighthouses and lightvessels to automatic operation and the withdrawal of keepers (Navigation News; 1998). The last manned lighthouse in the United Kingdom was the North Foreland Lighthouse which withdrew keepers on 26 November, 1998. This ended the profession of lighthouse keeping in Britain with a history of nearly 400 years. It dated back to 1609 when Trinity House opened its first lighthouse at Lowestoft, in eastern England.
Hong Kong's first lighthouse, as we have seen, set up at Cape D'Aguilar, commenced operations in 1875 (Endacott; 1958, 163). But the Territory, too, has followed the trend to automation. Waglan Island (sometimes spelt Wang Lan) Lighthouse withdrew keepers in August 1989 (Gazetteer; 1960, 108).27
The aims of Part Two of this paper are to look largely at the men who manned Hong Kong's lighthouses. What sort of people were they? What kind of life did they lead and under what conditions did they work? In a letter to the author, Royal Asiatic Society (Hong Kong Branch) member A. J. S. Lack,28 who served as Deputy Director of Marine in Hong Kong in the early 1980s, wrote (Lack;1999):
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