[ { "id": 213167, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1993", "page_number": 235, "title": "RAS-1993", "content_text": "217\n\nREPORT ON VISITS TO\n\nTHE SWIRE INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE AND CAPE D'AGUILAR, 1993 AND 1994\n\nGEOFFREY ROPER\n\nOn Saturdays, 6 November, 1993 and 5 November, 1994 parties from the Branch visited the Swire Institute of Marine Science at Cape D'Aguilar, Hong Kong Island and also toured areas of historic interest on the Cape\n\nOn the first visit, the Institute was still known as the Swire Marine Laboratory but by the second visit had become an Institute - a mark of the progress it had achieved in the study of marine science in Hong Kong. Progress was also demonstrated by the expansion of facilities seen on the second visit and by the imminence of marine protected area status for the adjacent sea shore ecological research area, Lobster Bay. Professor Brian Morton, Director of the Institute, and a very welcoming host, addressed the Society on both visits. He spoke in particular on the recent history of marine biology in Hong Kong, the work of the Institute, support from the Swire Group, problems caused by increasing sea pollution, and a wide range of items of local natural science interest, including the bird life.\n\nOn both visits the parties visited the nearby Cape D'Aguilar Lighthouse, first put into service in 1875, and viewed the remnants of the Cape D'Aguilar Gun Battery.\n\nAn area of especial historical interest visited on both occasions was Hok Tsui (Crane's Bill) Village, with its mid-to-late 19th Century granite watchtower and Pak Tai Temple. For the second visit we were fortunate enough to be accompanied by Dr. James Hayes, Past President of the Branch, who spoke about the pattern of pre-1841 (i.e. pre-British) settlements in Hong Kong, of which Hok Tsui was one of the few remaining examples on Hong Kong Island remaining close to its original form and still settled, at least in part, by descendants of the original settlers.\n\nAccording to clan records, quoted by Dr. Hayes, the first ancestor of the Chu family arrived in Hong Kong in 1762 and opened a stone quarry in Shek Tong Tsui, Western District. He prospered and started a farming village at Hok Tsui before dying there in 1781 A highlight of", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1993.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215556, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2001", "page_number": 333, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "283\n\nan important strategic port for merchants.\n\nIn the process of competing with Macao as the doorway to China trade, Hong Kong had its moments of hesitation. It had its own internal problems to solve during the three decades after 1841, such as building roads, houses, godowns, and having to provide an attractive and safe environment for trade. Only in 1875, after Hong Kong had developed into a port which was busy receiving Chinese junks from the north as well as Japanese vessels from the East and European steamers from the West was the first lighthouse at Cape D'Aguilar constructed to facilitate the navigation route leading to its harbour.\n\nShips from the West\n\nTo build lighthouses was a need formed by several elements. First, the marine navigation route from Europe to Asia used to go round the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa. In 1869, the Suez Canal was opened for navigation, shortening the distance between Europe and East Asia by 20 to 30 per cent as well as cutting the cost, facilitating more frequent sea traffic.4 Secondly, the Industrial Revolution in Europe increased drastically the supply of consumer goods which, in turn, demanded more and more large steamships with greater speed to carry them. Thirdly, shipping costs depend not only on the size and speed of the vessel or the time needed for the transportation. Part of the cost goes to the insurance against the danger of shipwrecks. The safe route with good navigation aids affected the cost of the goods directly. Because of the above elements, the demand for building lighthouses on the sea route to Hong Kong became more pressing with the increase of trade.\n\nOld lighthouses\n\nBefore the setting up of lighthouses in Hong Kong there were already lighthouses in nearby waters. On the Eastern approaches to the Singapore Straits Horsburgh Lighthouse was established in 1851.5 Off the west coast of Taiwan located on Xi Yu Island of the Pescadores/Penghu Islands, the Fisherman Island Lighthouse (Yureng Tao Lighthouse) was set up as early as 1778.6 In Macao, the Guia lighthouse (Farol da Guia), built in 1865, claims to be the oldest on the China coast. These lighthouses, however, did not provide enough help for\n\n7", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215557, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2001", "page_number": 334, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "284\n\nsteamships sailing towards Victoria Harbour.\n\nHong Kong's first lighthouse\n\nIn 1875, the Government Gazette announced that 'a light will be exhibited on Cape D'Aguilar' on and after the 16th April next. The illuminating apparatus is fixed Dioptric of the First Order showing a white light. The focal plane of the light is 200 feet above mean sea level, and in clear weather it should be seen at a distance of 23 nautical miles. The tower is round, of stone, 30 feet high, with a total height from its base to the lantern vane of 57 feet.'\n\nThis official announcement was meant for the marine community with a series of technical terms. In laymen's language, 'fixed' means the showing of a continuous or steady light. Most of the lights of the time were of this type. They are brighter and simpler technically speaking. The disadvantage was that fixed lights were sometimes confused with lights of ships or with neighbouring shore lights. Later, improved types could show their distinctive characteristics and were known as \"flashing\" or \"occulting\" depending on the shorter or longer duration of light respectively.\n\nThe Dioptric system adopted by the Cape D'Aguilar Lighthouse aimed at concentrating and intensifying the light. It used lens and prisms to concentrate the light from the burner into beams of parallel rays directed to the horizon, just like an overhead projector which takes a light bulb and forces the light forward in one direction. This kind of lens was first designed by Augustin Fresnel in 1822 and was named after him as the Fresnel lens.\n\nAnother older system, which was first employed in the mid 1700s, is called the catoptric system which involves using a parabolic metallic reflector behind the light, similar to that used in flashlights. A combination of these two systems is also available called the CataDioptric System.\n\nLights of the Dioptric system are classified according to their power which depends on the focal distance from the centre of the burner to the lenses. According to the British system the focal distance in diameter of the first Order is 1,840 mm, the second Order 1,400 mm, the third", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215558, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2001", "page_number": 335, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "285\n\nOrder 1,000 mm, the fourth Order 500 mm, the fifth Order 375 mm and the sixth Order 300 mm.\n\n10\n\nHowever, the brightness of a light does not depend only on focal distance. Different kinds of burners and fuel also affect its power. At first coal and wood were used as fuel for lighthouses. Starting from the 19th century sperm oil derived from the whale was used but was later completely replaced by colza oil, which was cheaper. Mineral oils were used starting in the mid 19th century. The next kind of fuel was gas. Oil gas was introduced in the 1870s. Because it required huge containers for storage it was quickly replaced by acetylene and dissolved acetylene. This burns to a bright incandescence far beyond that of many other fuels. Another kind of fuel is liquid petroleum (incandescent mineral oil), which was first used at the end of the 19th century. Liquid petroleum was injected into a vaporizer, where the liquid was heated and vaporized. The vapour moves into the burner where it combusts. Normal oil burners are improved about sixfold with this burner. The latest development was electric arc lamps. Once electricity became a common commodity many lighthouses were converted to its use often using gas as a backup fuel. In Hong Kong, coal and paraffin were used in most of the lighthouses at the beginning. Only after 1915 was acetylene gas installed in Hong Kong's lighthouses.\n\nThe lights of lighthouses also have colour, usually red or green in addition to white. White is generally preferred because white lights can be made brighter. Colours are used in some sectors. White lights are used to indicate the most desirable route to port while coloured sectors indicate dangerous waters.\n\nThe distance a lighthouse light is visible depends on its height and the elevation of an observer when light intensity and weather conditions are considered equal. The lighthouse at Cape D'Aguilar has the standard height of 200 feet above mean sea level; therefore its light can be seen 23 nautical miles away by an observer at an elevation of 30 feet.\n\nThe lighthouse at Cape D'Aguilar, situated at the southeast of Hong Kong Island, was also known as Hok Tsui Lighthouse. Its tower was of stone, of conical shape, with a circular and smooth outer surface. This specific structure is typical of lighthouses in order to keep the centre...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215559, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2001", "page_number": 336, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "286\n\nof gravity of the tower low and to afford the minimum resistance to wind and wave. This lighthouse became superfluous and stopped operating in 1896 after Waglan lighthouse came into operation in 1893.\n\nSeveral considerations\n\nIn building Hong Kong's first lighthouse many factors were considered, such as need, finance, location, the apparatus to be installed and the staff.\n\nIn the beginning of the 1870s the need to erect lighthouses was envisaged by the Western mercantile community. In fact, in 1872, the combined tonnage, outwards and inwards, amounted to about six million. The need to provide navigational aids for the heavy sea traffic was thus obvious. The revenue raised by levying vessels entering Victoria Harbour would be able to support the running costs of lighthouses.12\n\nSurveys were conducted to look for suitable sites on which to erect lighthouses to light the approaches to Hong Kong harbour. The three best sites were considered to be,\n\n• Waglan, an island off the south-eastern extremity of Hong Kong,\n\n• The North East head of Lema Island, and\n\n• Gap Rock, 26 miles southward of Hong Kong.\n\nHowever, all these three were then under Chinese jurisdiction. Negotiations with the Chinese Government did not reach satisfactory conclusions for both parties. This was because the Chinese Government would not cede or lease any island for such purposes and the British Government did not wish to spend money on projects not under its direct control.\n\nThe second-best sites, all within the jurisdiction of Hong Kong, were considered to be Cape D'Aguilar, Green Island and Cape Collinson, as reported by the Harbour Master, H.G. Thomsett in March 1873. Lighthouses in these places would cover the eastern entrance and the western entrance to Hong Kong harbour. Eventually, this is", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215560, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2001", "page_number": 337, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "287\n\nwhere the first three lighthouses were built.\n\nTo manage the new lighthouses a 30-year-old man from the county of Surrey, Mr. Archibald Baird, was recruited in England. He received training at Trinity House in London,13 for a fortnight, to gain experience with various Dioptric Lamps and their management.14 He also stayed with Messrs. Chance Brothers, the manufacturer of the apparatus, for another fortnight to acquire further working knowledge.15 He arrived in Hong Kong in 1874 in the capacity of Principal Light Keeper for Cape D'Aguilar. He was also responsible for the supervision of the lights at Cape Collinson and Green Island, although all these lighthouses were not yet in operation.\n\nGreen Island Lighthouse\n\nGreen Island Lighthouse started to operate on 1st July 1875, about three months after Cape D'Aguilar Lighthouse was set up. The illuminating apparatus was fixed dioptic of the fourth Order showing a red light on the bearings from N. 16 E. to S. 18 E. (146 degrees). From N. 16 E. to N. 44 W. (60 degrees) and from S. 18 E. to S. 25 W. (43 degrees) it showed a green light. The focal plane of the light is 95 feet above mean sea level and in clear weather it should be seen at a distance of 14 miles.16\n\nThe small round Green Island lighthouse tower is constructed of granite and is about 12 metres high. Its arched doorway is decorated with granite blocks with a cross-shaped opening above. In comparison to Cape D'Aguilar, Green Island Lighthouse cost much less, about one sixth of the cost for the Cape D'Aguilar lighthouse.17\n\nWhen the Cape D'Aguilar Light became obsolete after the construction of Waglan Island Lighthouse, in 1893, Governor Henry Blake later proposed to move the lantern of Cape D'Aguilar to Green Island.18 In 1905 a higher and larger tower to accommodate the Cape D'Aguilar Light was completed and the new lighthouse on Green Island came into operation the following year. It has a round tower, is 17.6 metres high and is constructed of granite and concrete with a spiral staircase. The steel lantern on top of the tower is painted white.19", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215564, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2001", "page_number": 341, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "291\n\nPART TWO\n\nShips that pass in the night, and speak to each other in passing;\n\nOnly a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness:\n\nSo on the ocean of life we pass and speak to one another,\n\nOnly a look and a voice; then darkness again and a silence.\n\nIntroduction and aims of Part Two\n\nWith 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\n\nThe 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.\n\nHong 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\n\nThe 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):", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215565, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2001", "page_number": 342, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "292\n\nI am sorry I cannot tell you much about the life of the keepers. If you have not been able to question Charlie Thirlwell (and people like him) then it is likely their story has gone forever. Sad, but so many stories are already lost.\n\nThe good news however is that, over a period spanning approaching half a century, the author has been able to question, off and on, some of Hong Kong's lighthouse keepers, together with seafarers and Government Marine Department staff. Accounts given by them and the life keepers led are detailed in this paper. Much of the material is based on oral history gleaned in discussions with Government Marine Department staff, both serving and retired, as well as other persons. Both authors have made several visits to Hong Kong's lighthouses and have appeared on television programmes about them (Video; 2001).\n\nEmphasis in this paper has been placed on Waglan Lighthouse because, situated approaching five kilometres from and to the south of Cape D'Aguilar, and nearly 13 kilometres from Lei Yue Mun, Waglan is the most isolated lighthouse in the Territory (Banister; 1932, 50) (Lee, HC). Other lighthouses include those at Cape D'Aguilar and Cape Collinson, both on Hong Kong Island. Others at Green Island and Kap Sing lighthouse are both within harbour limits.\n\nClimatic conditions\n\nThe author recalls visiting Waglan Lighthouse with the Royal Asiatic Society (Hong Kong Branch) by boat on a lovely afternoon on Saturday 9th June 1990. Indeed on some days out there in the South China Sea it can be idyllic - a not-to-be-forgotten experience. Terrence Courtney, an Australian who served as Superintendent of Lights in the late 1950s and '60s, used to stay overnight on the island because he found it ‘enchanting.' He slept in an isolated, small, brick building which is still standing.\n\nBut the helipad, constructed in mid-1982, destroyed much of the romance although helicopters do of course provide a vital service - if a keeper fell seriously ill for example. Also, they were useful for getting keepers on and off Waglan in bad weather. Previously, it had sometimes meant their being hauled up or lowered in a basket which served the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215581, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2001", "page_number": 358, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "308\n\nThe Gula Lighthouse, situated at Longitude East 113°35,' Latitude North 21°11.' is 52 1/2 feet (13.3 m) high. Its light, originally lit by paraffin as an unclassed light, was modernised in 1910 by the installation of a group-flashing apparatus of the Third Order which can be seen for 20 miles in clear weather.\n\nOn 20th March 1875.\n\nCape D'Aguilar is at Latitude 22°12' 14\" N. Longitude 114°15' 44\" E.\n\n10 T. Roger Banister (1932). The Coastwise Lights of China, Shanghai: Inspectorate General of Customs, Statistical Department, p. xiii.\n\nAn example provided by the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1957, Vol.14, p. 88 shows that a lighthouse of 200 ft. in elevation is visible at a distance of 16.22 nautical miles. It can be seen by an observer at an elevation of 30 ft., which by itself has a visible distance of 6.28 nautical miles, within 16.22 + 6.28 = 22.50 nautical miles.\n\n12 CO129/166 pp.351-357 Letter from Earl of Kimberley to Hong Kong Governor Arthur Kennedy, 11 July 1873.\n\n13 The corporation of Trinity House is said to have developed from the Trinity Guild formed by Archbishop S. Langton in the 13th century. The Guild owned a hall and alms-houses at Deptford for the benefit of seamen and their families. It also checked the pillaging of wrecked ships on the English coast. Trinity House, located at a place overlooking Trinity Square in London, has been the headquarters of the Lighthouse Service in U.K. since 1796. At present it owns 72 Lighthouses, 13 Major Floating Aids, 18 Beacons, 429 Buoys, 48 Radar Beacons and 7 DGPS Reference Stations. http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/\n\n14 CO129/172 pp.17-22. 1974/06/03\n\n15 CO129/172 pp.17-22. 1974/06/03\n\n16 HKGG, 12 June, 1875. P. 242.\n\n17 CO129/167 pp.124-128.\n\n18 Sessional Papers of 1901.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 } ]