1961 Maryknoll Convent School in background | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

1961 Maryknoll Convent School in background

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1961 Maryknoll Convent School in background
Submitted by Toishan ABC
Authors: 
1950s 1960s Susan Yu Photos
Gallery: 
1960s Hong Kong
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Comments

Submitted by OldTimer on Tue, 2021-01-12 09:11.

Greetings, and my suggestion - The terrain just beyond the playground appears to rise from right to left, and given its elevation relative to the roof just beyond it, it is an elevated train route. The building in the background looks very similar to the west side of the Maryknoll Convent School located at the Boundary Street and Waterloo Road junction. I believe the original building was smaller until they added the section to the right (south), and the design and different bricks used seem to support this idea.

If correct, this photo was likely taken from the west side of the train tracks and south of Boundary Street. Regards, Peter

Submitted by tkjho on Tue, 2021-01-12 02:58.

Judging from the topography of the place, the railway track probably ran just behind the fences of the playground.

Submitted by Toishan ABC on Tue, 2021-01-12 08:41.

Thanks so much for your insight Peter.  I couldn't get my head around where this was actually taken and how  the convent came to be  in the background  with the elevation of the ground as you highlighted. The angle didn't seem right to me but after your explanation, it all makes sense now with the railroad track!  oodeh oodeh  :-)

Submitted by Toishan ABC on Tue, 2021-01-12 03:01.

So interesting. I didn't realise it woud be that close to the playground. Thank you for your help.

Submitted by OldTimer on Tue, 2021-01-12 06:00.

Thank you both for the feedback.  I have not been able to find information confirming the structural expansion and the year.  Regards,  Peter

PS.   I forgot to say "You are very welcome!" after your "oodeh oodeh" which translates to "Thank you - Thank you!"  in Taishan dialect.

Submitted by moddsey on Tue, 2021-01-12 08:53.

I think the railway embankment is beyond the concrete pitch and above the railway fence. Looks like the photo was taken from a knoll in Fa Hui Park.

Submitted by OldTimer on Tue, 2021-01-12 10:11.

Thanks moddsey for your timely assistance.  I think I've lost my 2020 vision.  On closer look at the photo, I realized the line of sight to Maryknoll Convent School was due east (90 degrees) and not east north-northeast as I first thought.  Yes, Fa Hui Park it was .  Regards,  Peter

Submitted by tngan on Tue, 2021-01-12 13:54.

Hi There,

It is close.  From the street level we would be unable to see the school today.  But thanks to Google Earth, we could have an estimated view.

T

Fa_Hui_playground.jpg
Fa_Hui_playground.jpg, by tngan

Submitted by tkjho on Wed, 2021-01-13 02:27.

This is a view from the end of Dianthus Rd. in Yau Yat Chuen. The track is slightly below the street level and the Kowloon Tong School on the other side is below the track level. MKC is on the top just left of the center.

Dianthus Rd view.JPG
Dianthus Rd view.JPG, by tkjho

 

This is from a train looking over KLT School's (my kindergarten's) rooftop. It looks like the rooftop half-hidden in the bushes on the left front of the photo.

klt school.JPG
klt school.JPG, by tkjho

 

I think this was the location where the photo was taken.

cameraview.JPG
cameraview.JPG, by tkjho

 

Submitted by Toishan ABC on Tue, 2021-01-12 19:33.

Thanks TKJHO for your excellent sleuthing anduploading these photos. It certainly does confirm the photo was taken from Fa Hui Park in Mongkok. All the information is helpful for me in identifying old family photos in Hong Kong and understanding what was going on at that time. I have learned online that apparently  Fa Hui Park used to be home of a big squatter settllement camp and there were terrible fires in 1955 and 1956 that lead to thousands having to be rehoused elsewhere and that the children's playground was hastily established there. I think this explains why the playground looks so spartan. Thanks again.

Submitted by OldTimer on Tue, 2021-01-12 23:19.

Very impression work, thank you all.

1. Army Sports Ground, Mongkok (3) – photo by Tom Hutchinson (1937)

Army Sports Ground, Mongkok (3) 1937 - photo by Tom Hutchinson
Army Sports Ground, Mongkok (3) 1937 - photo by Tom Hutchinson , by barbaramerchant

 

2. Army Sports Ground, Mongkok (2) – photo by Tom Hutchinson (1937)

Army Sports Ground, Mongkok (2) 1937 - photo by Tom Hutchinson
Army Sports Ground, Mongkok (2) 1937 - photo by Tom Hutchinson , by barbaramerchant

To avoid confusion, the Army Sports Ground was on the south side of Boundary Road, and the current Fa Hui Park on the north side. That low hill was still there in 1951 when I walked by.

I don’t know exactly when the squatters moved in, nor the year the fire took place. But I remember the huge plume of smoke visible from my Ki Lung Street home. The following day, I went there, and from the road saw smoke still coming out of several burnt-and-collapsed houses.  After the fire, the place was neglected for a short time, and thick and tall grass moved in. Grasshoppers were big and they were always two steps (more like wings) ahead of me when I tried to catch them.

I walked up the embankment a few times; the usual starting point was right next to the overpass and continued northward. After about 5 minutes walk on the track with my pet bird, I visited my friend who was guarding his farm from a tiny guardhouse. The vegetation on the west slope facing Fa Hui Park was very short in those days (as in these 1937 photos), whereas that on the east side was much higher as shown in ABC’s photo. Regards, Peter