RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1969
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9g553n20d
149

NOTES AND QUERIES

"BETHESDA" AND THE BERLINER FRAUENVEREIN FÜR CHINA

The following is an extract from a letter written on 15th August 1968 to the Hon. Editor by Pastor Albrecht Plag of the German-speaking Evangelical-Lutheran Congregation in Hong Kong.

To my knowledge, the first foundling house to be established and built in Hong Kong was the one founded by the "Berliner Frauenverein für China". This body was formed at Berlin in 1850 under the influence and through the efforts of the German Protestant pioneer missionary to China, the Rev. Dr. Karl Gützlaff whose contribution to the early history of Hong Kong is well known. He is buried at the Colonial Cemetery in Happy Valley.*

The history of that foundling house, which was named "Bethesda", is given (at least up to 1897) in the book Aus der deutschen Mission unter dem weiblichen Geschlechte in China (C. F. Winter'sche Buchdruckerei, Darmstadt, 1889, 3. Aufl. 1897) by Miss Luise Cooper. According to this source, “Bethesda” was designed and built by Mr. C. St. G. Cleverly, the then Surveyor-General for the Hong Kong Government. The dedication ceremony took place on 5th July, 1861. The site was bought for HK$720 by the "Berliner Frauenverein für China" (Hong Kong representative at that time: Mr. Ladendorff), probably in 1860 or early 1861. The size of the lot is given as 350 ft. long and 150 ft. wide and the annual crown rent is £23 and 2 sh. per year. It must have been quite a respectable building, situated on a hill overlooking the harbour somewhere in the western part of Hong Kong Island.*

In 1881, on the same property, just next to "Bethesda", the German Lutheran Congregation of the time built their own little church. A few years earlier, they had elected the Rev. E. Klitzke, the then director of "Bethesda", as their pastor. However, soon after Rev. Klitzke died (in 1883) that predecessor of our present German-speaking Evangelical-Lutheran Congregation in Hong Kong (constituted in 1965) declined and ceased to exist. Klitzke is also buried at the Colonial Cemetery.

* See Plates 16 and 17, kindly supplied by Pastor Plag.
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RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938
256

OVERSEAS LIFE MEMBERS

KNOWLES, Miss Moira G.,

3 Kirkmay House,

Marketgate,

Crail.

Fife KY10 3RF, SCOTLAND.

KNOWLES, Mrs. W. C. G.,

Wakes Colne Place,

Nr. Colchester, Essex.

UNITED KINGDOM.

KURATA, Mrs. Lucien,

478 Edison Avenue,

Ottawa,

Ontario K2A 1TQ.

CANADA.

LANCHESTER, Mrs. G. W.,

Alderfen,

Surlingham,

Norwich NR14 7AW,

UNITED KINGDOM.

LI, Dr. Choh-Ming,

81 Northampton Avenue, Berkeley,

California 94707,

U.S.A.

LINDSAY, Mr. T. J., M.B.E.,

3 Bareena Avenue,

Wahroonga,

New South Wales, AUSTRALIA.

LOTHROP, Mr. Francis B,

176 Milk Street, Boston,

Massachusetts 02109, U.S.A.

MANSFIELD, Miss M. B.,

51 Fairlawns,

Maldon Road,

Wallington,

Surrey,

UNITED KINGDOM.

MCBAIN, Mr. George,

c/o Imperial Chemical Industries

(Japan) Ltd.,

Central P.O. Box 411,

Tokyo,

JAPAN.

MCDOUALL, Mr. J. C.,

The Old School, Souldern, Bicester, Oxon,

UNITED KINGDOM.

MICHAELIONES, Miss E. O.,

The British Council, Halls Croft, Old Town,

Stratford-upon-Avon,

UNITED KINGDOM.

MILL, Capt. Charles Stuart, U.S.M.C.,

132 Greenbriar Court,

Jacksonville, N.C., 28540,

U.S.A.

MILLER, Mr. Carl Ferris O.,

c/o Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch,

C.P.O. Box 255. Seoul,

KOREA.

O'BRIEN, Mr. J. R.,

+

St. Paul's,

1 Roma Avenue,

Kensington,

New South Wales 2033, AUSTRALIA.

PLAG, Mr. Albrecht (Rev.),

7000 Stuttgart 1, Roemerstr. 41,

GERMANY (F.R.).

POLAND, Mr. T. D.,

15 Bellevue Lawns,

Delgany,

Co. Wicklow,

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND.

ROBINSON, Prof. K. E.,

The Old Rectory, Church Westcoat, Kingham,

Oxford OX7 6SF, UNITED KINGDOM.

ROTHE, Mr. Ulrich,

Wohnstift Augustinum, Apt. 778,

5483 Bad Neuenahr,

GERMANY.

SINFIELD, Mr. G. H. C.,

Hong Kong Tourist Association,

159 Bay Street,

Toronto,

CANADA.

SPERRY, Mr. H. M.,

64 Hillbrook Drive, Portola Valley,

California 94025,

U.S.A.
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RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1981
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m
216

FABER, Mrs G.A.G. FAWCETT, Mr B.C. FRASER, Mr A.P. GALVIN, Mr J.A.T.

GEORGE, Mr Timothy J.B. GIEDROYC, Mr Michael J.H. GOLDNEY, Miss C.M. HARDEN, Mrs Guy T., Jr. HAYDON, Mr E.S. HECHTEL, Mr F.O.P. HOWARTH, Mr Richard H. HUGHES, Mrs Marion HURT, Miss Evelyn J. INGLES, Miss Jean M. IRETON, Mrs Polly H. JOHNSTON, Mr James J. JORDAN, Dr David K. KIDD, Mr S.T.

7

KNOWLES, Miss Moria G. KNOWLES, Mrs W.C.G. KURATA, Mrs Lucien LANCHESTER Mrs G.W. LAUFER, Mr E.M. LAUFER, Mrs B.M. LI, DR Choh-Ming LINDSAY, Mr T.J. LOTHROP, Mr Francis B. MANSFIELD, Miss M.B. MICHAELIONES, Miss E.O. MILL, Major C.S., USMC MILLER, Mr Carl F.O. NICHOLS, The Hon. Mr E.H. O'BRIEN, Father J.R. PLAG, Rev. Albrecht POLAND, Mr Thomas D. RITCHIE, Mr Douglas J. ROBINSON, Prof. K.E. ROTHE, Mr Ulrich. SINFIELD, Mr G.HC. SPERRY, Mr Henry M. STEVENS, Mr Keith G. SWIRE, Mr A.C.

TILL, The Very Rev. Barry TURNER, Sir Michael WARD, Miss Janet E.A. WELCH, Mr Holmes H. WHITELEGGE, Mr D.S. WOLF, Mr John

ORDINARY OVERSEAS MEMBERS

ANDERSON, Dr Eugene N., Jr.

BARR, Mr J.W. BEVERIDGE, Mr R.J. BOND, Mr Michael W. CHAR, Mr Tin Yuke CHINN, Mrs Caroline Lee CLARK, Mrs A.T. COOPER, Dr Eugene

DE FAZIO, Mr & Mrs M.F. EASTON, Ms. Linda

FESSLER, Mr Loren FITZGIBBON, Mr Desmond GARD, Dr Richard A.

GILMAN, Ms Claudia

GOODRICH, Prof. L. Carrington

HARRISON, Prof, B.

HEMMING, Miss Janet M. HODGSON, Mr A.F.

HODGSON, Mrs Kirsty Hamilton HOGAN, Mr James HUYSMAN, Mr J.

KNEEBONE, Mrs Susan

KRAMERS, Dr R.P. LIU, Prof. Ts'un Yan LU, Mrs Sylvia MACLEAN, Mr Roderick MATHIAS, Dr John R.G. McCOY, Mr John

MORGAN, Mrs Carole MYERS, Mr John T. PARR, Mr M.J.

REDFERN, Mr O'Donnell S. REID, Mr A.J.H. SCHWARZER, Mr C.A. SELWYN, Mr J.B. SMITH, Dr Ralph B. STEEDS, Mr David

STOKES, Mr John

STRAUCH, Dr Judith STURM, Prof. Fred Gillette VILLIERS, Dr John WATSON, Dr James L. WICKBERG, Professor Edgar
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