Uprooted trees - 1923 | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Uprooted trees - 1923

Uprooted trees - 1923
Submitted by cmshun
Tags: 
typhoon
Date picture taken (may be approximate): 
Tuesday, September 18, 1923
Gallery: 
1920s Hong Kong
Connections: 
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Submitted by moddsey on Sat, 2012-06-09 06:11.

Hong Kong Daily Press 20 August 1923

This would be the typhoon of 18 August 1923. I guess the location shows the entrance of the Victoria View on Nathan Road behind the Kowloon Hotel where several large trees had fallen.

Submitted by cmshun on Mon, 2012-06-11 22:52.

Thanks a lot Moddsey!

Looking at the photo of Victoria View and Kowloon Hotel at: http://gwulo.com/node/7479, are we facing towards the west (southwest to be exact) on this photo, with Kowloon Hotel to the left outside the photo?

The ESE winds brought by the typhoon passing to the south of Hong Kong are consistent with the trees falling towards the west (shown in this photo as well as the other one at: http://gwulo.com/node/12471).

Submitted by moddsey on Tue, 2012-06-12 05:44.

The general direction that you describe the photographer was facing appears to be right. The Kowloon Hotel would be out of camera shot. Victoria View appears to have been located on the south side of today's Peking Road. I will aee if I can get an address of it to match up. Unfortunately, there are not many photos from the 1920s of Nathan/Peking/Hankow Roads to compare.

Submitted by cmshun on Tue, 2012-06-12 23:58.

Location of Victoria View Terrace Today?
Thanks again Moddsey!

Would it be the "Alpha House" just located at the intersection between Nathan Road and Peking Road today?

Cheers, CM

Submitted by moddsey on Wed, 2012-06-13 04:58.

The Victoria View was also accessible via Hankow Road. At this point in time, I think it was located on a strip of land on the south side of Peking Road between Hankow and Nathan Roads. The comment about the fallen trees blocking the Victoria View entrance from the Nathan Road side comes from the Hong Kong Daily Press.

If reference is made to the 1924 Kowloon Quadrant 8 Map in

http://gwulo.com/node/7501

one will note the general area that is being described. The photo in

http://gwulo.com/node/7479

shows the Victoria View to the left of the Kowloon Hotel and appears to confirm the location. As for the typhoon photo, one may be looking at the rear of the building facing Peking Road.

Submitted by David on Wed, 2012-06-13 12:13.

If the old photo shows Victoria View, I think the photographer was facing north-west, with the Kowloon Hotel just out of sight to the left.

If you look at the old map, the front of the houses (shown in the photo) faced south towards the old Kowloon Hotel, with the kitchens, etc facing north onto Peking Road.

Hopefully a better view of Victoria View will turn up at some point, so we can make a firm match.

Regards, David

Submitted by cmshun on Wed, 2012-06-13 16:29.
Hi David, Thanks for your different view, which now suggests that the fallen trees were not on Nathan Road, but on the street between Kowloon Hotel and Victoria View, which (I mean the street) no longer exists today. Am I right? However if this view is correct, the direction of the fallen trees would be towards the North. This seems not entirely consistent with: (1) the strongest wind direction from ESE; (2) the possible blocking of winds from the South by the rather tall Kowloon Hotel. Considering the wind factor, maybe the scenario of the photographer standing on Nathan Road facing SW is still a good guess? Cheers, CM

Submitted by cmshun on Wed, 2012-06-13 16:34.
Hi Moddsey, Many thanks! It seems that there is still uncertainty with the exact location of the photographer in the typhoon photo. But are we pretty sure about the reference to Victoria View? Do you have a copy of the China Daily Mail on 20 September 1923? Cheers, CM

Submitted by philk on Wed, 2012-06-13 17:08.

There is an alleyway that runs along the back of the Kowloon hotel from Nathan to Hankow. Its no where near wide enough to be considered a road but it's probably the only thing left to remind us that a road was once there.

Submitted by tngan on Wed, 2012-06-13 17:33.

Hi there,

If there was a road there, it would have to exist before the then Shui Hing Department store block & Kai Sang Commercial Building were built.  The Shui Hing block is still there, but is now called Prestige Tower.

Best Regards,

T

Submitted by David on Fri, 2012-06-15 13:01.

Hi CM,

Yes, the street between Victoria View and the Kowloon Hotel no longer exists, but its location & path should be similar to the alleyway that Phil described.

You're right that it doesn't match up with the direction that trees should have fallen. I took another look at the photo, but can't see any building names or numbers that could help us identify them.

You can read the old newspapers online at the HKPL website.

Regards, David