New on Gwulo: 2020, week 52

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Submitted by David on Sun, 2020-12-27 11:28

This is the last "New on Gwulo" roundup for 2020, but I've got one more newsletter to send out before the end of the year. Until then I hope you're enjoying the holiday break, even if so many of the usual Christmas activities are on hold this year.

Best wishes,

David

General

We first heard about this Austin 7 last year, when its current owner was trying to learn more about its time in Hong Kong (the car started life in the UK, spent several years in Hong Kong and then the USA, and is now back in the UK). Here's the full story, which ends with the car looking very smart after its recent restoration:

Austin 7 Car used in Hong Kong (1960's) Restored (1), by Chinarail
H Lo has found three old pavilions in the undergrowth on the hillside above the old Tiger Balm Gardens (see the pages for the upper, middle, and lower pavilions). Does anyone remember visiting them and / or have close-up photos of them when they were in better shape?

IMG_20201218_TaiHangPavilion1.jpg, by H.Lo

Lady robbed - BROADWOOD ROAD INCIDENT
Chinarail introduces the tramway system for Kowloon that was proposed in the 1920s.
And if you're still in the Christmas mood, here are all the photos on Gwulo that have the tag Christmas, spanning over 100 years of Christmas in Hong Kong.

Places

Kowloon
- Che Cheong Pawn Shop [????-????]
- HSBC Mong Kok Branch (1st Location) [????-????]
- HSBC Mong Kok Branch (2nd Location) [1969- ]
- KMB Head Office (Pioneer Building) & Depot, Mong Kok [1928-1973]
- Lee Kwan Building [1961- ]
- Lee On Building [1959- ]
- Shanghai Commercial Bank, Mong Kok Branch (1st Generation) [????-????]
- Sincere House [1963- ]
- Temporary Buildings near Signal Hill [c.1920-c.1927]
- Kowloon Bars & restaurants
  - Austin Restaurant & Bar [????-????]
  - Bunny Club / Oriental Bunny Club (TST) [????-????]
  - Good Luck Cafe & Bar [????-????]
  - Miami Bar & Night Club [????-????]
  - Play Girl Bar & Night Club, TST [????-????]
  - Savoy Bar & Night Club, TST / Piccolo Bar & Night Club [????-????]
  - Sky Room Night Club & Bar, TST [????-????]
  - Wiseman Bar [????-????]
New Territories
- Beacon - Tai Po Tau 大步頭墩臺 [????- ]
- Tat Tak [????- ], aka Ta Te Institute達德學院
Hong Kong
- Aberdeen Harbour Master's Office Building [c.1874-????]
- Cable Car at Ocean Park [????- ]
- Concordia Lutheran School (North Point) [1969- ]
- Cox's Road Children's Playground [1933- ]
- Crow's Nest (1st generation), 9 Headland Road [????-????] - Stu is looking for photos of this, the original building
- Diamond's Kitchen [????-????]
- Douglas Villa - IL 151 [1880-????]
- Eastern Water Treatment Works [????- ]
- The Falls (1st generation) [1878-1927]
- Kiu Hing Mansion [1966- ]
- Lee Gardens [1925-????]
- Mystery building near Deep Water Bay
- Pak Lee Building [1961- ]
- R.A.F. Unit Billets, No. 1 Calder Path [????-????]
- Shau Kei Wan Tram Terminus [????- ]
- Stanley Post Office [1937- ]
- Tim Nam Teahouse [????-????]
- Victoria Court [1964- ]
- Bars & restaurants on HK island
  - Bunny Club Night Club & Bar (Wanchai) [????-????]
  - Carrie Bar & Restaurant [????-????]
  - Diamond Horse Shoe Steak House (1st Location) [????-????]
  - Dily Bar [????-????]
  - King's Bar (1st Location) [????-????]
  - King Star Restaurant & Bar [????-????]
  - Manhattan Night Club & Bar (1st Location) [????-????]
  - Rose Marie Bar [????-????]
  - Sky Room Bar & Restaurant, Wanchai [????-????]
  - Top Gear Discotheque [????-????]

Book news

Good and bad news for UK readers. The bad news is that airmail services from HK to UK have been suspended again, BUT ... the new Volume 4 is now in stock at Amazon UK (affiliate link), so that's the quickest way to order a copy at the moment.

In other good news, we passed a happy milestone just before Christmas, with the 4,000th Gwulo book sold. Most of the recent sales have been of the new Volume 4, but it's been great to see so many orders for the full set of all four volumes - I guess they have been given as Christmas gifts, and I hope they were well received.

Yesterday the first rating for Volume 4 appeared on Goodreads.com, with a generous five star rating from reader Jeannie Hau. Thanks Jeannie!

Then some other good pre-Christmas news was the arrival of Patricia's new book, Women, Crime and the Courts, Hong Kong 1841-1941, from the publisher Blacksmith Books. Copies are available to order direct from Gwulo.