European House #30, Cheung Chau [????-????] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

European House #30, Cheung Chau [????-????]

Primary tabs

Submitted by David on Fri, 2012-07-06 15:34
Current condition: 
Demolished / No longer exists

I believe this is the site of house #30 on the 1938 map.

Today there's the Cheung Chau meteorlogical station on this site. I think it's a newer building than house #30.

The 1938 map shows house #30 on an "Admiralty Lot", where the lot was marked out with boundary stones. It'd be interesting to see if any of those stones are left.

  • Log in or register to post comments

Photos that show this place

Comments

Submitted by fivestar on Sat, 2012-07-07 15:52.

Anybody have a photo of #27?, is it still standing?

Submitted by tung lin on Sun, 2013-03-31 14:17.

A 1959 photo of cheung chau has the House #27 right in the picture centre, as it was the only building situated on top of the  small hill surrounded by a forest of pine trees.  ie

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/47038431

Nearby and partially hidden from the sight, there is also a new, and much larger building ,supposed to be an expansion of the #27's institute. By the way, House #30 ( just outside the right edge of this photo on the hill) was known as the Radar Station and had staffs in military uniform visiting regularly. Upper part of this photo was also the flight path for the air traffic flying to Kai Tak. Most of the planes would lower the landing gears from above the north-side of House #30 and # 27, on a would-be landing descent toward the Police Station ,  passing over some places so low like less than two hundred feet. 

Usually from my backyard, I saw the airplane  coming down towards me from the same direction where House# 27 stood.  Almost like going to crash on our village !! Then the airplane  flew  directly over my house . It went on for  many times daily for many years even after I moved to oversea in the early 1970s.

Once the plane left the island airspace, it would retract the landing gear and climb up for a normal flight at a much higher altitute to the Stonecutter Island, then to the  Kai Tak Airport. Probably this flight practice was in use when House#30 operated a NDB facility for incoming airplanes.

From 1974 (?) a different flight route over the sparsely populated  north-island was adopted when a VOR station was set up on one of the hill-top there . And there was no more runway-in-slight descent for those air traffic.

House#27 reminds me of those descending air traffic over my house! It was a terrific experience. Thanks Heaven!!!

Tung

 

Submitted by tung lin on Sun, 2014-07-13 00:08.

Hi folk,

I am so thankful for the photos from gwulo which allow us to research and and identify some of the old European Houses on Cheung Chau.  I am happy that one can find answer much easy now.

Tea please.

Tung