c.1963 Tai Hang | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

c.1963 Tai Hang

c.1963 Tai Hang
Authors: 

Any guesses on dates? There's discussion on the Flickr page about whether it should be 1960s or 70s. (Click through to Flickr to see the larger version too)

Also look at the terraces behind the Tiger Balm Gardens. Were those hills farmed as recently as this, or is it just a cleared squatter area?

Date picture taken (may be approximate): 
Tuesday, January 1, 1963
Connections: 

Comments

Hi there,

I just downloaded the photo and is going over it slightly blown up for clues.  After a brief glance I decided it should be of the early 1960's instead of anything 1970's because:

1.   The Daimaru  neon sign is already in place.  They are the round green smudge and the blurred red characters on top of the white block building on the upper right;

2.   the triangular block Hong Kong Mansion wasn't seen in the photo.  Thus it should be sometime before 1964.  I was a toddler back in 1964 and I lived in Paterson Street back then.  Hong Kong Mansion was already there as one of my kindergarten classmates lived there;

3.  The photo isn't clear but I think I saw the Lee Garden Hills still standing in the photo.

4.  We have identified the Walden (is the spelling correct) quite a while ago and in this photo, it seemed to be in scaffoldings.  It also obscured the Roxy Theatre;

5.  The Dairy Farm/Ice House depot could be seen in the photo as well, also at the upper right, in front of the white block hosting the Diamaru neon sign;

6.  Looking toward Central you should be able to see the Hilton and the Mandarin Oriental, another two well known landmarks which provided clues of the approximate period.  The Prince's building looks like the old one in this photo;

7.  The current version of City Hall is visible;

My 2 cents;

T

Hi there,

The greenish and brownish terraces behind the Tiger Balm garden are fields.  Most likely vegetable fields.  Those are typical for older villages along a valley on the slopes around.  Tai Hang Village was one of those already exist before the Brits.

Best Regards,

T

As Prince's Building (2nd generation) was completed in 1965 and from the photo appears to be in the process of construction, I think the photo can be dated to 1964 or thereabouts. Definitely not from the 1970s.

 

Thanks Gents. I could make out the Mandarin, but you've picked out a lot more detail.

In other shots of the area, the hills around the Tiger Balm Gardens (on the side the photographer was standing) had a lot of squatter huts. Was there any reason that one area would have huts, and one area wouldn't? eg would villagers have been able to keep people off their land?

flickr link broken

Hi Phil,

The photo no longer shows because the Flickr user "AC Studio" has disabled downloading of their photos.

The "View the original image on Flickr." below the photo still works though, so I'll leave it up for now.

Regards, David

understood. Big shame because he has some good pictures. He follows me on FLICKR - might be worth popping him a message?

Yes please, if you have a contact please could you ask? If he turns on download I can update the photos.

Regards, David