Government House (1st generation) [1855-1942]
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Submitted by David on Mon, 2012-06-25 14:43
Current condition:
Demolished / No longer exists
Date Place completed:
1855-12-31
Date Place demolished:
1942-12-31
Dates from the AMO's website:
[...] Construction works started in 1851 and took four years to complete. At that time it enjoyed a fine harbour view. It was originally built in the Georgian style and bore rich colonial characteristics. It underwent a number of large-scale renovations, with the latest undertaken in 1942, during the Japanese Occupation, by a Japanese engineer, Siechi Fujimura [...]
Photos that show this place
 1857 |
 1860 |
 1860 |
Comments
Judging by old records, this
Judging by old records, this first Government House stood in what we now know as Wanchai, on a slight elevation about the level of the eastern end of Kennedy Road. It was in a suburb known as Spring Gardens - hence the present Spring Garden Lane. The General's House, built about 1844, was marked in some maps as the Governor's house - actually, it was the house of the Lieutenant-Governor, a post existing at that time and held by Major-General D'Aguilar. The present Government domain was not built upon until 1850-53, when it would seem a new gubernatorial residence was erected. This stood, according to an old Admiralty chart, where the present Government Offices are. The Government House as we know it to-day was completed in 1856.
Source: Old Hong Kong by Colonial Vol 1