Ship Street Structures. (Former Tung Chi College) | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Ship Street Structures. (Former Tung Chi College)

Hi all. I was on Ship Street in Wanchai this past friday and came accross a noteworthy site. As per the photos, these sites were very overgrown. They did appear to be some sort of military structures, but not like many I had seen. Appearing as a large series of bunkers partially embedded in the site of an incline face. After standing over a construction fence to take pictures for less than a minute I was told by a construction contractor that photos were prohibited. I put up a bit of a fight since it appeared a very cool site, but aggreed to stop after some explanation on his part. 

I am very curious as to the nature of these sites. I have not seen them on any Gwulo threads and am confused about the connection they have to my HK WW2 knowledge, except for the idea that they might be an extension of the old Fortess HQ in some way {since its proximity to Pacific Place}. I have never found Nam Koo Terrace, but It must be very close to it, so I wonder if there is any connection there. 

Alot of questions I am looking to answer, as well as what the fate of the area is due to the cranes and construction activity. If anyone can help, I would be very thankful.

Regards

Ship Street Structures(2)
Ship Street Structures(2), by Iloveoldhk
Ship Street Stuctures
Ship Street Military Stuctures, by Iloveoldhk

 

Forum: 

Perhaps these are just the remnants of the property/ies that used to be on that corner - I think it was either 15 or 15 a Kennedy Road? They had access on both Kennedy Road and this lower side at the bottom of the slope.

http://gwulo.com/node/5937

Hi philk, thanks so much for the response.  It does appear to be of that location, and looks likely be an extension of that property. There was another adjacent site of a slightly different nature also under construction, which did look more civilian. Is it just me or does it look military though? In any case, I wonder the purpose of those structures specifically.

maybe storerooms or other such alcoves excavated from the hillside? 

That makes sense. Quite curious the way that they were built. You usually dont think of that as the first thought for a storage area, but it seems people thought alot differently than we do now :).

Regards

Unfortunately the building was gone long before I arrived in HK but I think there must be someone out there who visited or worked there and knows something about it...perhaps :-)

I think Phil's explanation is the likely one.

The army and navy were further west (see map), Monmouth Path runs roughly along the eastern edge of their land, so I don't think they built anything around Ship Street.

Regards, David

Thanks David. It does seem that way. Curious structures in any case. It does appear they will be demolished soon, since there was a large construction presence and they were quite stingy about photos. Quite sad.

Regards