RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 258 LIST OF MEMBERS ORDINARY MEMBERS: THOMA, Dr. R. - THOMAS, R. W. THOMAS, Mrs. S. E. THOMPSON, Mr. & Mrs. K. V. TISDALL, B. TOH, Miss E. TOMLIN, Mrs. S. TSANG, K. F. TSO, Mrs. P. TURNER, H. D. TWITCHETT, Miss Y. TYLER, Mr. & Mrs. M. R. - VEEVERS, Miss K. J. VETCH, Mr. & Mrs. H. - VINE, P. A. L. VISICK, Mrs. M. WALDEN, J. C. C., J.P. WALKER, D. C. WATERS, D. D. WATSON, Dr. J. L. WATT, James WATT, Mo-Kei WEN, Dr. Ch'ing-hsi WHOLEY, J. W. WILKINSON, Miss A. WILLIAMS, B. V. - 44 Mount Kellett Road, Mountain Lodge 3A, Hong Kong. 31 Conduit Road, 9/FL., Hong Kong. Rose Villa, Lot 369, 124 Miles Tai Po Road, Tai Po, N.T. M3B Baskerville House, 13 Duddell Street, Hong Kong. 7 Stanley Mound Road, Stanley, Hong Kong. 1903 Hang Chong Building, 5 Queen's Road C., Hong Kong. 12A Broadwood Road, 1/FL., Hong Kong. Architectural Office, P.W.D., Murray Building, Hong Kong. Dept. of Extra-Mural Studies, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. Dept. of History, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. Island School, Borrett Road Hong Kong. P.O. Box 9423, Hong Kong, Medical & Health Dept., Lee Gardens, Hysan Avenue, Hong Kong, 10A Belmont Court, 10 Kotewall Road, Hong Kong. 304 Chartered Bank Building, Hong Kong. Dept. of English, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. 1 Homestead, The Peak, Hong Kong. Price Waterhouse & Co. Prince's Building 22/F, Hong Kong. Education Dept., Lee Gardens, Hysan Ave., Hong Kong. University Services Centre, 155 Argyle Street, Kowloon. Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T. Cheong K. Co., Cheong K. Building, 84 Des Voeux Road C., 2/Fl., Hong Kong. Rhenish Church College, 30 Hereford Road, Kowloon. Agriculture & Fisheries Dept., 393 Canton Road, Kowloon. Princess Margaret Hospital, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong Housing Authority, Housing Authority Headquarters, 101 Princess Margaret Road, Kowloon. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1987 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522 the symposium was returned by nearly 130 members. This response gave the Council a better idea of our present situation and how we should move forward. Mr. Ian Deane, one of our members, did the major share of the preparatory work and wrote the draft report, greatly facilitating the Council's consideration of its contents. He is unable to be present this evening as an invited guest, but I wish to state our sincere appreciation of his work on our behalf, before and since the symposium. Following the symposium, the Council decided to strengthen our organisation by establishing a number of committees to cover the main activities and areas of concern. These will be chaired by Councillors. Membership will come partly from the Council and partly from our members, enabling more of you to share in the Society's work. In addition, the Assistant Secretary's work, which has steadily expanded, will be recognised by increasing her salary. A separate paper provides more detail and I will be happy to answer questions. Membership Last year at this time I reported that 82 people had joined the Society. During the year under review this number has further increased by the unheard of number of 192 with, Mrs. Bruce tells me, another 26 applications in hand. As President, may I extend them all a hearty welcome on your behalf. As of 1 March 1988 the Society has 580 local members and 131 overseas members, a total of 711. All indications are that membership will continue to grow, making it likely, before very long, that our membership will exceed that of the North China Branch of the RAS in Shanghai which, at its peak, had around 800 members. Finance Our Hon. Treasurer, Mr. David Gilkes, has tabled his report and will answer questions. I have to report that, after being our Treasurer for no less than twenty-one years, since 1967 in fact, Mr. Gilkes will be handing over to Mr. Robert Nield who has kindly agreed to become Hon. Treasurer in his place. Mr. Nield is a local partner of Messrs. Price, Waterhouse International and has been a Hong Kong resident since 1980. We welcome him to the ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 247 ― and Godown Company. 'Monuments' still standing include the Helena May Institute (completed 1916), Saint Andrew's Church (foundation stone laid 1904) and Church Hall, and the Peninsula Hotel (official opening 1928) which — along with the Taj Mahal in Bombay, Raffles in Singapore and a few others was classified, before World War II, as one of the 'great hotels of the East'. Another of Leigh and Orange's edifices is the main, 'Renaissance' style, building at Hong Kong University which was completed in 1912 and extended in 1952. It has been gazetted as an historical monument. The now demolished Sir Paul Chater's 'Marble Hall', generally accepted as the most luxurious residence in Hong Kong before World War II, was another example. The Colony's first, full-time, chartered accountant was Arthur Lowe, who came to Hong Kong in 1902. Joseph Bingham became his partner in 1905, and Frederick Mathews (Lowe, Bingham and Mathews) in 1909. There were other accountants in the Territory before 1902, but few had professional qualifications and auditing was usually a subsidiary activity to their main lines of business. For instance, Linstead and Davis were mainly property agents, but they also sold bicycles, and, up to 1926, they had an agency for Manila cigars. The partners audited the accounts of various companies. The senior partner of Gibb Livingston was one of the two Hong Kong Bank auditors, and so on. Lowe Bingham (Lo Bing Ham in Chinese) became part of the international firm of Price Waterhouse in 1974, Hong Kong and China Gas Company William Glen, who had no knowledge of the gas industry in 1861, obtained from the then Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson (when the population was 123,281), a concession to supply gas to the city of Victoria. The company was incorporated on May 31st 1862: most of the shareholders lived in the United Kingdom, although 500 shares were offered locally. Then, on December 3rd 1864, Hong Kong was lit with gas for the first time by about 15 miles of mains and 500 lamps, in Queen's Road extending up the hill to Upper Albert Road. Previously, the only street lights had been installed voluntarily by residents, and burned peanut oil. The residents of Caine Road complained that they --- Page 270 Page 271 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 Venues We are grateful to the Urban Council for allowing us to use the City Hall for our jointly organised lectures. The Urban Council gives additional support in the form of publicity. Other lectures have been held at the Antiquities and Monuments office and again we are most grateful. Most of our Council and committee meetings are held in Price Waterhouse's offices. Again a sincere vote of thanks is due. Acknowledgements I have already thanked lecturers and Council Members for their help. Both David St. Maur Sheil and Philip Bruce, however, have been compelled to step down from the Council because of competing claims on their time. David served as Honorary Secretary starting in 1993, and Phillip had been a Councillor since 1987. We thank them both for all they have done for our Branch. A special mention must be made here of the contribution that Philip Bruce has made regarding military history, which he has researched and written about extensively. A further thank you is necessary to Claire Hockaday who, in addition to filling her post as Assistant Secretary where she has set about bringing everything up-to-date, has also in recent months taken on the job of Honorary Secretary. Her efforts are greatly appreciated. One thing that we are not looking forward to, however, is saying goodbye to Anita Wilson this summer. Anita started serving on the Council in 1986 and she steps down tonight, although we hope to co-opt her for the next few months. Because she has always been such a willing and efficient Councillor, she will be extremely difficult to replace. We thank her sincerely for all she has done during the past 11 years. We wish her, together with her husband, John, well in their next posting. When I took over as President, one member said to me: 'You are lucky that you have good back up.' I must stress that I do indeed greatly appreciate all the support that I have been given, not only from Council and committee members but also from the membership as a whole. xviii ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1997 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579 Let me give you an idea of the amount of work involved. Over the past year we have corresponded or had links with something like 50 institutions in Hong Kong and around the world, in addition to writing or contacting countless individuals. In many cases institutions or people undertaking research write to our Branch for information about Hong Kong history or other aspects of Hong Kong life. Academics and students not infrequently contact the Branch seeking advice and information. Venues Our lectures are normally jointly organised by our Branch and the Urban Council. Such functions are usually held in the City Hall. We are grateful for this assistance. Similarly, our Council and committee meetings are usually held in the offices of Price Waterhouse and again a sincere 'thank you' is due. Overseas Our Branch has 110 members living overseas and, as one goes through name lists, one often recalls faces of old friends who were active with the RAS in the Hong Kong of days gone by. The older you get the more you like to 'tell it like it was' and it is not surprising many of those now retired overseas still think fondly of the years they spent in the Territory. Last August Keith Stevens came up with the idea of forming a 'Friends of the RASHKB in Britain' Group and for it to meet a couple of times a year, or so, over a Chinese meal, and to have a lecture about Hong Kong or some similar function. Arrangements have been made for the Group to meet possibly either at the RAS Headquarters in London or at Saint Anthony's College Oxford. Details are still being worked out. Similarly, Dr James Hayes and our Branch are now considering setting up a similar Group in Australia provided sufficient support is forthcoming. xix ================================================================================