Godown 7 / First Kowloon Post Office

A Post Office Notice dated 2 July 1898 confirmed that the first Kowloon Post Office was located at the Wharf and Godown Co premises. The reference to a partitioned off portion of Godown 7 came from a series of articles about the Post Offices in Hong Kong published in the local newspapers in the 1930s (I think it was the SCMP in 1934 but I am not 100% sure)

 The first post office in Kowloon opened its doors to the public on Tuesday 5 July 1898; it was located in the Wharf and Godown Co. premises, which were situated to the seaward side of the present-day Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui.  The lease originally ran for one year from 1 June 1898 for a partitioned off part of Godown No. 7 at a monthly rent of $25. The office was open to the public from 7.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on ordinary days and from 8 to 9 a.m. on Sundays and holidays.  Only ordinary letters, papers, etc. were accepted at first, registered letters were accepted from 13 July 1898.

It is thought, but not yet proven, that expanding business prompted a move to larger accommodation in a temporary office on or adjacent to the Star Ferry Pier at some unknown date.  The office then moved to permanent premises on Salisbury Road in September 1906.  The Star Ferry Pier at that time was located at the Praya (West Bund) approximately half way between present-day Peking Road and present-day Haiphong Road. This temporary office was completely destroyed in the major typhoon of 18 September 1906 that caused so much damage to shipping and onshore facilities.

The postal facilities in Kowloon were not restricted to the post office itself. An expanding number of Pillar and Letter Boxes, with regular clearance by postmen of the Kowloon PO, allowed the public to post their letters at more convenient locations if they chose to do so. The first such facility was advised by the Acting PMG, Arthur Travis, on 21 September 1889 - it was a Letter Box that had been placed in the charge room at the Police Station compound at Tsimshatsui built in 1882/83 (this later became the headquarters of the Hong Kong Marine Police until 1996) located at the junction of present-day Salisbury and Canton Roads. Collections were made at Noon and 4pm daily except Sunday.

It was not until 5 August 1892, some 14 years after they were first installed at Hong Kong Island, that the first Pillar Box started service in Tsimshatsui, near the Kowloon Wharf and Godowns – this would have been on the Praya (West Bund) on the harbour side of the present-day Canton Road. The provision of this Pillar Box was supplementary to the existent Letter Box in the Police Station compound and clearances continued at the same times as previously.

In the Post Office Guide for 1898 the first Pillar Box (referred to as Pillar Box No. 1) was still in operation near the Godown Company’s office and was used as a Night Box by the fledgling Kowloon PO that had opened on 5 July 1898  – the public were able to post their letters in the Pillar Box during hours when the Kowloon PO was closed knowing they would be collected and dealt with upon opening of the premises the following working day. The use as a Night Box seems to confirm that this first Pillar Box was located, since its erection in August 1892, on the waterfront praya, as described above, close by the Kowloon PO. The Post Office Guide for 1898 also confirmed the continuance of the Letter Box at Tsimshatsui Police Station.

Thanks David; the big question is whether the numbering changed from the 1890s to the 1940s.

I wonder whether any old photos or postcards of MacDonnel Road (later changed to Canton Road) exist showing the external facade of Godown No 7.