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Wyndham Street, and set about getting the rusting machinery operating again. Luckily he was able to find pre-war newsprint in a disused godown and a working electric generator, which he transported to Wyndham Street. He had been appointed by the Royal Navy Commander in Chief of the liberation fleet as Press Liaison Officer and Controller of Government Printing, pending the return to civil administration.
As a result, Hong Kong's first post-war newspaper came out on 30th August 1945. It was a single column sheet, nine inches by five, and in bold type under a big heading read: 'Fleet Entering.' Twenty thousand copies were run off and it was circulated free of charge. The same evening it was changing hands for one dollar. The following morning it was worth five dollars.
Frederick Franklin died in 1955 and was buried in the Colonial (now Hong Kong) Cemetery in Happy Valley. His son, Douglas, returned to England after war service with the Royal Australian Navy. He qualified at Cirencester, in England, and joined the Colonial Agricultural Service and was posted to Nigeria. After that country was granted independence in 1960 Douglas returned with his family to Australia. With his experience of tropical agriculture he joined the Agricultural Department in Papua New Guinea. His story and that of his family is fairly typical of many Britons and their relatives who enjoyed a peripatetic existence in the days of Empire.
Items donated by Douglas Franklin to our Branch comprise the following:
1. Presentation specimen (1 5/8 inches high by 2 inches diameter) of the first telephone cable connecting Canton (now Guangzhou) and Hong Kong, dated 1 September 1931. This was presented to Mr Franklin senior. His son today confirms that, in those days, there was splendid co-operation between the two cities.
2. This consists of an ivory canister, about 3 inches high, which contains 30 "fortune sticks" inscribed on both sides. They are similar to the larger bamboo version frequently found on altars in Chinese temples in Hong Kong. After shaking the canister, if done correctly, one fortune stick "worms" its way up and drops out. One then reads the
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Wyndham Street, and set about getting the rusting machinery operating again. Luckily he was able to find pre-war newsprint in a disused godown and a working electric generator, which he transported to Wyndham Street. He had been appointed by the Royal Navy Commander in Chief of the liberation fleet as Press Liaison Officer and Controller of Government Printing, pending the return to civil administration.
As a result, Hong Kong's first post-war newspaper came out on 30th August 1945. It was a single column sheet, nine inches by five, and in bold type under a big heading read: 'Fleet Entering.' Twenty thousand copies were run off and it was circulated free of charge. The same evening it was changing hands for one dollar. The following moming it was worth five dollars.
Frederick Franklin died in 1955 and was buried in the Colonial (now Hong Kong) Cemetery in Happy Valley. His son, Douglas, returned to England after war service with the Royal Australian Navy. He qualified at Cirencester, in England, and joined the Colonial Agricultural Service and was posted to Nigeria. After that country was granted independence in 1960 Douglas returned with his family to Australia. With his experience of tropical agriculture he joined the Agricultural Department in Papua New Guinea. His story and that of his family is fairly typical of many Britons and their relatives who enjoyed a peripatetic existence in the days of Empire.
Items donated by Douglas Franklin to our Branch comprise the following:
1. Presentation specimen (1 5/8 inches high by 2 inches diameter) of
the first telephone cable connecting Canton (now Guangzhou) and Hong Kong, dated 1 September 1931. This was presented to Mr Franklin senior. His son today confirms that, in those days, there was splendid co-operation between the two cities.
2. This consists of an ivory canister, about 3 inches high, which contains 30 "fortune sticks" inscribed on both sides. They are similar to the larger bamboo version frequently found on altars in Chinese temples in Hong Kong. After shaking the canister, if done correctly, one fortune stick "worms" its way up and drops out. One then reads the
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