unknown

Definitely Aberdeen Bay!

yes, looks like Ap Lei Chau in the background.

I'm having trouble working out where the photographer would have been standing.

First I thought they could be at about the place of the red marker, looking in the direction of the blue line:

That would give a beach on the right, but then Ap Lei Chau looks wrong as the higher hill should be on the left. Maybe the photo has been printed switched left-right, which sometimes happens.

Any ideas?

Hi there,

I guess that might also be somewhere near the present day junction of the Apleichau Bridge and Wong Chuk Hang Road, ie, somewhere along the Shell Gas station and the technical school.

I guess we would need other older photos or maps for reference.  I'll dig out my 1964 arial photo book and see if it could get me somewhere. 

The other photo of the girl has some huts in the near background.  I wonder if any of the existing Aberdeen photos on-site has anything like that.

Best Regards,

T

I initially thought it would have been from further south (around where Ocean Park starts) so the small hill on the left would be Ap Lei Pai. But now I can see that the larger hill is actually in front.

Perhaps it is Ap Lei Pai on the left but seen directly from the north?

edit: Just seen T's response and I think he is right.

Hi there,

I guess a first glance of the previous comment I have mixed it up with the other photo with a girl vege merchant.

The more I look at this 'unknown' photo the more I doubt it as the hill does not seem to match Yuk Kwai Shan.  Now I wish we could blow up the photo for more details.

Best Regards,

T

Hi there,

I have a suggestion.  Try to save the photo and flip it horizontally.  That's more like it.  The view angle would be more or less the same as the girl merchant.

Best Regards,

T

When I looked at the photo again, I had the same impression that the original photo should be flipped horizontally.

Here is the comparison.

Hi there,

The view angle looked right, but the elevation and the lens in use is to be considered as well. The older photo seemed to be taken closer to the sea level while the photographer was elevated in the later one.

The exact location of the photographer is yet to be determined.  It would be very difficult as the landscape and the environment had changed a lot.  Land had been reclaimed, fields levelled and filled up.......  Without old maps and aerial photos it would simply be speculation.

Best Regards,

T

if it is the same location (it looks likely) then the angle is definitely wrong because the mountains don't quite match up. The general shape is the same but when you look closer the ridgelines don't match. I'm not sure whether that means a move to the left/right/up/down etc.

Hi there,

After checking the Aberdeen Aerial on page 38 I believe it fits.  Back in the early 1960's the reclamation in the Aberdeen/Apleichau harbour had not even started yet. 

My approximation of the location of the photographer of the older photo would be somewhere near the water front at the curve of the Old Aberdeen Main Street, just in front of the slope up to the former Marine Police Station.  The newer photo might be taken somewhere near the Marian Police Station.

My 2 cents.

T

Moddsey, nice work with the flip & matching. The newer view looks as though it was taken from higher up the hill, but otherwise it's a good match.

T, I agree with your place for the photographer's location. Here's the layout of the original coastline:

HF, I love looking at these old Albumen prints, though I think they typically cost several hundred US$ each, is that about right? A bit too expensive for me to think about collecting.

Regards, David

Picture this suggests that the area is Shau Kei Wan!

http://www.picturethiscollection.com/exhibitions/detail/000001495/page1/

1920s Shau Kei Wan. I think the Aberdeen comparison matches closer. Any ideas?

I think your Aberdeen postcard is a better match.

It's a shame the albumen isn't clearer - if the land stretches from the beach unbroken to the hill in the background, Shau Kei Wan makes more sense. If there is sea between them (eg signs of masts), that points to Aberdeen.

HF, The enlargement certainly shows the land continues to the hills, which should rule out the Aberdeen view we saw earlier.

There aren't any landmarks that I recognise. One thing that's unusual in the enlargement is that I can't see any permanent buildings - everything is a matshed. So maybe somewhere where development is just beginning?

Regards, David

I think the best way to describe HF's photo is to disregard the hills in the background in the photo below. The outline of the hills in the foreground is similar to the albumen photo.

The view I believe is of Ap Lei Chau. The small hillock in the centre is also similar to the albumen photo.

1950s Ap Lei Chau 'or earlier'

grries of shots from aldrich bay in 1980 (confusingly called aberdeen in photos here). May help:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwdemery/5037890239/in/set-72157613802780399/

HF,

Are you talking about your unknown photo at the very top of this thread?  If so, it would be a bit odd to say it was Cheung Chau because the skyline didn't seem to match.  I will take a second look the next time I go there.

Best Regards,

T

I had a hunch I would find your photo in the UK Archives as seen here

Location given as Chik Wan, Deep Bay. Date: 1898

excellent find by moddsey. The question now is - where is Chik Wan? It's not a name I recognise. I assume Deep Bay refers to Shum Wan at Aberdeen?

Hi there,

Chik Wan  赤灣  is over in Shenzhen, across the water from the CLP Lung Kwu Tan Power Plant on the coast, NW of Castle Peak.

Best Regards,

T

psOn Google Maps today, Chik Wan is known as Chiwan.

Looking at the photo sequence. It is from a series of photos depicting the acquisition of the NT and the demarcation of the new border in 1898. Perhaps Deep Bay, NT.

ah I see. Many thanks T and Moddsey.