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Cheung Chau

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Cheung Chau
Submitted by Andrew Suddaby
Authors: 
Andrew Suddaby

Beached sampans.  This area was eventually developed to make way for the Chai Wan road

Date picture taken (may be approximate): 
Wednesday, January 1, 1958
Gallery: 
Suddaby, Andrew (1957-58)
Connections: 
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Comments

Submitted by Andrew Suddaby on Fri, 2015-10-23 21:33.

 

Submitted by tung lin on Sat, 2016-10-15 19:53.

Hello Andrew,

Back in 1958. the paved street or alley alongside the west of CC harbour would end up at Tai Shek Hau ( means Huge Boulder Basin ) , which is a concentrated fisherman village. Although there is a beach, it is not for pleasure at all because hundreds of junks and sampans are mooring there most of the times. The retired vessels would simply be re-settled at the hillside as a new family home.

Walking further up in the photo's right, there is a T- intersection. Going westward will lead to Sai Wan and Cave of Cheung Po Tsai in about 15 minute;s trek. Not only the landscape and the harbour, one would also enjoy, at some locations, the close-by merry passing of HK- Macau ferry as well as the Hydrofoil dozen times during the day.

Going eastward at the T junction you probably would be met with many barking dogs. I think this area is the Shiu Hang Tau ( means Creek Basin ). It contains a small farming village too.

Tung

Submitted by Andrew Suddaby on Sun, 2016-10-16 00:06.
harbour SW side 2005

harbour SW side 2005, by Andrew Suddaby.
Thank you for your interesting comments.  This photograph was taken from more or less the same spot as the 1958 one.  Andrew

Submitted by tung lin on Mon, 2016-10-17 04:58.

Good day Andrew,

Yes, that's right. And the entire shoreline of Tai Shek Hau had been changed due to the massive reclamation land created for residential, high school, and recreational development..etc. Quite nice now!!

Thanks for the photo!

Regards

Tung

 

Submitted by Andrew Suddaby on Mon, 2016-10-17 20:24.

Hi Tung,

I took this photograph (now in my 1957-8 folder) of this little girl near the beached sampan homes.  My Agfa camera had a minimum focal length of 3 feet, so she cannot have been more than 3 feet tall. I guess that her age must have been about 5 or 6 and she was carrying her small brother or sister in the sling on her back.  What a responsibility it must have been for a child of that age to look after her baby brother or sister.  Now that little girl will be something like 68 years of age!  As with many of my old photographs, I wonder if she would recognise herself now and whether she remembers a young gwuilo giving her a few coppers.  I get the impression that you live on Cheung Chau or visit it sometimes.

Best wishes

Andrew

Cheung Chau
Cheung Chau, by Andrew Suddaby

 

Submitted by tung lin on Tue, 2016-10-25 09:59.

Hello A,

In summer of 1960, Typhoon Mary did horrible damages and destructions on this CC island. The fisherman families had the hardest hit. Many fatalities. So if those kids in the picture survived, they would be about 60s years old.

After the typhoon, many CC residents who suffered house damages, were allowed to move in the newly-developed Housing of Wah Fu Chuen near Abadeen, without strict regulations. That was a real good chance for them to tap all the advantages only a city can offer. Advance education. Jobs. Friends. Better transports....etc.

My guess is maybe she is a retired school principal.

Why not!

Tung

 

Submitted by Andrew Suddaby on Tue, 2016-10-25 18:33.

Hello Tung

In 1960 I was back in England and studying at university.  I'm afraid that events in Hong Kong were not extensively reported and your message was the first that I had heard of the terrible typhoon in 1960.  In my brief year in HK during 1957 and 8, I was lucky not to experience a typhoon.  In September 1957 Typhoon Gloria struck just before my arrival at the end of October that year.  I believe the death toll wa only about 3 unfortunate men.  It cannot have been such a severe typhoon as the only sign of its aftermath was a Dutch freighter, the Tjibantjet, that had run aground on the rocks below Devil's peak in the Lyemun channel - well in sight of R.A.F. Little Sai Wan.  With the good eyesight that we had as young men we were able to watch the preparations for her to be refloated sometime in the first half of 1958.

Now, when I look at my old photographs I can still recall the brief meetings that I had with the children who were happy to have their pictures taken - in exchange for a few coppers, sweets or fruit and I have often wondered how they got on  in later life.  I really do hope that, in spite of the huge difficulties poor families must have experienced in the 1950s, those children went on to benefit from a good education and acquire some degree of security and even prosperity in this very competitive world.  Your comment about the re-housing of some of the people made homeless by Typhoon Mary suggests that in that way the typhoon might have brought some benefits to those children.

Best wishes,  Andrew