Thursday, October 29, 2009 | By: rudi butt

Medical Services Development Timeline

Updated on November 13, 2009
The 19th Century

1841
► British troops occupy Hong Kong in January and establish the first ever hospital in the colony – the Naval and Military Hospital - to take care of their own personnel, the hospital is destroyed in July by a typhoon.

1843
► Dr. Alex Anderson is appointed Hong Kong's first Colonial Surgeon.
► HMS Minden arrives in Hong Kong, becomes the first hospital ship in the colony.
► The Medical Missionary Society Hospital (傳道會醫院) opens in Morrison Hill, managed by Rev./Dr. Benjamin Hobson, becomes the first hospital opens to the populace.
► The Seamen's Hospital opens in Wanchai to take care of non-Chinese seamen, headed by Dr. Peter Green.

1845
► The China Medico-Chirurgical Society is founded in Hong Kong, Dr. Alfred Tucker - surgeon of HMS Minden – becomes the Society's inaugural President.

1848
► Dr. William Aurelius Harland of the Seamen's Hospital performs the first surgical operation in Hong Kong with the use of chloroform.

1849
► The Government Civil Hospital (政府公立醫院, also known as 國家醫院) opens as Hong Kong's first government hospital.

1858
► The Lock Hospital (性病醫院) opens as Hong Kong's first venereal diseases hospital.

1871
► The Smallpox Hospital opens on Stonecutters Island, becomes Hong Kong's first epidemical hospital.

1872
► The Tung Wah Hospital (東華醫院) opens, becomes Hong Kong's first Chinese medicine hospital servicing the Chinese populace.



Philip B. C. Ayres
1873
► The Samllpox Hospital closes, and the patients are thenceforth accommodated at the Government Civil Hospital.
► Dr. Philip Burnard Chenery Ayres is appointed Colonial Surgeon and Inspector of Hospitals, a post he holds for twenty-four years and becomes the longest serving Colonial Surgeon ever.

1875
► The Lunatic Asylum opens as Hong Kong's first institution for psychiatric patients, admitting non-Chinese patients, whom were sent to gaol before the opening of the asylum. Chinese patients are sent to the Tung Wah Hospital.

1885
► The European Lunatic Asylum opens to replace the ten-years-old Lunatic Asylum, the new facility is purposely designed and built.


James Cantlie
1887
► Dr. James Cantlie (康得黎), Dr. Patrick Manson (梅森) and Prof. G. P. Jordan (佐頓), together with Aberdeen graduate Dr. Ho Kai (何啟), establish the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (香港華人西醫書院), the first college of Western medicine in the city.
► Establised and managed by the London Missionary Society, the Alice Memorial Hospital (雅麗氏紀念醫院) opens in 1887 and provides free medical services to the Chinese populace. The consturction of the hospital is funded largely by Ho Kai in memory of his wife, Alice (Walkden)(1852, London-1884, Hong Kong), who died of typhoid fever three year after she arrived in Hong Kong.

1889
► The Government Civil Hospital hires a nursing staff of trained nurses from the London Hospital, the matron is Clara Eastmond.

1890
► The British Medical Association (Hong Kong Branch) is founded on November 15, 1890. Founding members include Dr. James Cantlie, Dr. Patrick Manson and Prof. G. P. Jordan.

1891
► The Chinese Lunatic Asylum opens, henceforth the Tung Wah Hospital stops admitting mental patients.

1893
The Alice Memorial Hospital becmes the first hospital in Hong Kong to provide nurse training.

1894
► A bubonic plague epidemic that started in Yunnan in the 1860s was spreading throughout southern China in the 1890s and, Hong Kong is hit in May, 1894 and on May 10, Hong Kong is declared an infected port. From May through December the same year, 2,679 cases are recorded with 2,552 deaths. The epidemic will continue until 1923 and claims 20,489 lives in all.


Shibasaburo Kitasato
(北里 柴三郎)


Alexandre Yersin
► Swiss-born French physician and bacteriologist - Alexandre Yersin, in concert with eminent Japanese physician and bacteriologist - Shibasaburo Kitasato (北里 柴三郎) identify the bacterial cause of bubonic plague.
1897

► A maternity block was added as an annexe to the Government Civil Hospital.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 | By: rudi butt

Hospitals In The Nineteenth Century


Updated (partial) August 29, 2013

The Naval and Military Hospital (January-July 1841) - the very first

When British troops occupied Hong Kong in 1841, they promptly established medical services for their own personnel. The Naval and Military Hospital was built in January 1841 and was located on the site of the Wellington Barracks [1]. Since the hospital buildings were hastily constructed applying only meshed structure, they were destroyed by the first (recorded) typhoon that struck Hong Kong after the completion of the hospital. The date was July 22, 1941, the hospital lasted only six months and was never rebuilt.

Wellington Barracks ca.1950
[1] Wellington Barracks 威靈頓兵房 was a British Army barracks in Admiralty. The three-story Classical architecture building was built in 1854 and were closed in 1979 and demolished in 1992. The site was later rebuilt: north of the Queensway became Pacific Place and south the Harcourt Garden.

Hospital Ship HMS Minden (1843-1844) - the first hospital ship

HMS Minden, Chesapeake Bay [1]
A 74-gun third-rate man-o-war of the British Royal Navy, HMS Minden (1810-1861) was named after the German town Minden and the Battle of Minden of 1759, a decisive victory of British and Prussian forces over France in the Seven Years' War. It was built by the Indian company Jamshedji Bomanji Wadia [2] in 1810. Christened and launched from the Duncan docks in Bombay on June 23 of that year, she was the first Royal Navy ship built outside of Britain. The Minden arrived in Hong Kong on June 7, 1843 from Chusan 舟山, and became the first military hospital here. It ceased to be a hospital ship in June 1844, with all of its medical staff reassigned (most probably to shore), and became the military stationary ship for the China and India Station and from December 20, 1848 served as a store ship until it was sold by auction for scrapping in August 1861. HMS Aligator (1821-1865) arrived in Hong Kong in December 1846 to replace Minden both as a medical ship and a store ship. The Aligator was sold in Hong Kong in October 1865. I do not know to whom and for what purpose. HMS Minden was remembered by Minden Row 緬甸台, and Minden Avenue 棉登徑, located behind Signal Hill of Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon.

I was able to find information on some of the medical staff of Minden:

Royal Navy surgeons and assistant surgeons who served on HMS Minden after 1840
Alfred Green G. Tucker Tucker was promoted to the position of Surgeon on November 23, 1841. He was assigned to the Minden on December 10, 1841 and reassigned in June 1844. He was a founders and the Inaugural President of the China Medico-Chirurgical Society established in Hong Kong. Tucker died on September 10, 1845 on board the Minden.
James Allen Allen was promoted to the position of Surgeon on January 30, 1842. He was assigned to the Minden on June 8 1842 at Dover Station (Reserve Squadron) and reassigned in December 1843.
Guernsey St. George Bowen Bowen was promoted to the position of Assistant Surgeon on March 29, 1838 and was assigned to HMS Hornet on the same day, stationed at West Indies. He was reassigned to the Minden on November 19, 1842 and reassigned in June 1844.
Richard Davison Pritchard Pritchard was promoted to the position of Assistant Surgeon on November 27, 1841. He was assigned to the Minden November 30, 1843 and reassigned in June 1844.
William Rogers Rogers was promoted to the position of Assistant Surgeon on November 20, 1839. He was assigned to the Minden on January 17, 1842 reassigned in December 1843.
Frederick W.R. Sadler Sadler was promoted to the position of Assistant Surgeon on December 29, 1841. He was assigned to the Minden on December 29, 1841 and reassigned in June 1844.
The list may not be exhaustive
Francis S. Key
[1] American lawyer and poet, Francis Scott Key, was on board the Minden during the war of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay and saw the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British navy. He was touched seeing that the American flag was flying high despite the heavy attack and in 1814 wrote the poem "The Defense of Ft. McHenry", later renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner". It was made the United States national anthem on March 3, 1931.

Present day Duncan Dock, Bombay
[2] The Bombay Courier of June 23, 1810 carried this report:
"On Tuesday last His Majesty’s Ship, the "Minden" built in the new docks (Bombay)(known as "the Duncan Dock" that was named after Jonathan Duncan) by Jamshedji Bomanji Wadia was floated into the stream at high water, after the usual ceremony of breaking the bottle had been performed by the Honorable Governor Jonathan Duncan.

"In having produced the "Minden", Bombay is entitled to the distinguished praise of providing the first and only British ship of the line built out of the limits of the Mother Country; and in the opinion of very competent judges, the "Minden", for beauty of construction and strength of frame, may stand in competition with any man-o-war that has come out of the most celebrated Dockyards of Great Britain. For the skill of its architects, for the superiority of its timber, and for the excellence of its docks, Bombay may now claim a distinguished place among naval arsenals."
The Hospital of the Medical Missionary Society 傳道會醫院 (June 6, 1843 – ca.1853) - the first missionary hospital and the first hospital open to the populace

Founders of the Medical Missionary Society in Canton
Alexander Anderson Joseph ArcherElijah Coleman Bridgman 裨治文
H.M. Clarke Thomas Richardson Colledge 郭雷樞John Cleve Green
John Hine Robert Hugh InglisWilliam Jardine
Charkes William King George Tradescant Lay 李太郭Temple Hillyard Layton
A.C. Maclean Alexander MathesonJames Matheson
Peter Parker John Robert Morrison 馬儒翰Edmund Moller 慕勒
Richard Turner   

The Medical Missionary Society Hospital was situated on Morrison Hill where a school, the Morrison Education Society, was also established by the Missionary Society. The Hospital was organized by the London Missionary Society and built in 1842 under the supervision of William Lockhart 雒魏林, the first medical missionary to set foot in Hong Kong. In the same year, Benjamin Hobson 合信 was instructed by the Missionary Society to close their hospital in Macau [1] and move the facilities over to Hong Kong for the purpose to fit out the hospital here. The hospital would be under the charge of Hobson until he left for England in 1845.

The hospital's establishment cost of $5,000 was benevolently subscribed by English and American merchants residing in Hong Kong. Generally known as the "Benevolent Healing Hospital", it was opened to the entire populace, chiefly targeting the Chinese population as a mean to carry out missionary works. Charges were waived for those who couldn't afford them. Accident and emergencies were attended to at any time, others were admitted between 8am - 11am. The wards were designed for 42 beds, but at peak, the Hospital had recroded a total of 85 inpatients, more than double the planned capacity. In the first year of its existence, 3,348 outpatients and 556 inpatients had been seen. The Hospital was closed ten years after its opening when no more doctors were willing to serve on a noncommercial basis.

Treatise on Midwifery and Diseases of Children
(Fuying xinshuo 婦嬰新說, 1858)
During his tenure in China, Hobson produced four texts designed to introduce Western medical knowledge to the Chinese: Outline of Anatomy and Physiology (Quanti xin lun) 全體新論, 1850; First Lines of the Practice of Surgery in the West (Xiyi lüelun) 西醫略論, 1857; Practice of Medicine and Materia Medica (Neike xinshuo) 內科新說, 1858; Treatise on Midwifery and Diseases of Children (Fuying xinshuo) 婦嬰新說, 1858. These seminal texts were not translations of pre-existing Western works, but rather represented Hobson’s distillation of what he considered to be the flower of British medical science, and he and his Chinese collaborators composed them directly in Chinese. The resulting works were widely used as medical textbooks in medical missionary schools in China. Additionally, Hobson introduced smallpox vaccination into Hong Kong in 1844 while he was heading the Hospital.
[1] The Medical Missionary Society Hospital in Macao was the predecessor of the one in Hong Kong. The Macao hospital was first opened in 1838 by Peter Parker 伯駕 [2] and was closed only after a few months when Parker relocated to Canton. It was reopened when William Lockhart [3] arrived in Macao in 1839 and was closed again also after a a few months when British subjects were ordered to evacuate during the first phase of the Opium War. Benjamin Hobson [4] arrived in Macao in 1839 and in December of the same year reopened the hospital and continued its operation until he closed down the ill-fated hospital for good in 1842 and moved all the facilities over to Hong Kong.

Dr. Peter Parker
by Lam Qua ca.1840
Oil on Canvas
[2] Peter Parker (b.1804-d.1888) was the first medical missionary in history to arrive in the Far East. He was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, and after reading divinity and medicine at Yale University, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister and received his degree of doctor of medicine in 1834. Sponsored by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Parker arrived in Macao in 1834, but soon went to Singapore for intensive language studies. Returning to China in 1835, he established the first mission hospital in the Far East, in Canton, named Pu Ai Hospital 普愛醫院, but it was better known as the Ophthalmic Hospital 眼科醫局, which later became the Canton Hospital 博濟醫院. The hospital exists today as the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhongshan University 中山大學附屬第二醫院.

William Lockhart, founder
of the Chinese Hospital
[3] William Lockhart (b.1811-d.1896) was born in Liverpool and trained at the Guy's Hospital, London. He was the first British medical missionary to work in China – arrived in China in 1839, and the the first medical missionary to set foot in Hong Kong. In 1844, he founded the first western hospital in Shanghai, which was known as the Chinese Hospital 中國醫館. The hospital exists today as the Renji Hospital 上海仁濟醫院, which is among the most famous hospitals in China. Lockhart worked in Canton, Shanghai, Macao in addition to Hong Kong.

[4] Benjamin Hobson (b.1816-d.1873) was born in Welford, Northampton. He took a degree of bachelor of medicine from the University of London in ca.1836. He was sent to China by the London Missionary Society and arrived in Macao in 1839. Honson's first wife, Jane Abbay, died on a ship homebound to England in 1845. He remarried in 1847 to Mary Rebecca Morrison, daughter of Robert Morrison, the first Protestant Missionary to have come to China. As in the case of Lockhart, Hobson worked in Canton, Shanghai, Macao and Hong Kong and, in 1859 he left China for the last time. Hobson was very well known for his works and studies relating to child birth.
The Hong Kong Seamen's Hospital (August, 1843 - March, 1873) - the first private hospital

The Seamen’s Hospital was located in Wanchai, where the Ruttonjee Hospital is currently situated - between Wanchai Road and Queen's Road East. Plans to establish a hospital for non-military sailors got started at the instigation of a promise of a $12,000 donation by Herjeebhoy Rustomjee. A committee was quickly formed to move forward the hospital project. In the committee were Alex Anderson, Assistant Surgeon to the British Superintendent of Trade in China, and who later became Hong Kong’s first Colonial Surgeon; James Matheson, Senior Partner and co-founder of Jardine, Matheson and Co.; and John Robert Morrison, son of Robert Morrison, interpreter for the Superintendent of Trade. Rustomjee, however, never made good his promise, the hospital was finally built with a public subscription of $6,000 plus additional funds advanced by Matheson’s partner Dr. William Jardine, who himself was formerly a ship's surgeon. Opened in August 1843, the hospital was placed under the charge of Dr. Peter Young of the Hong Kong Dispensary, who had been surgeon in the British East India Company's iron steamship Nemesis. Hong Kong Dispensary would later became A.S. Watson; and Young, the Colonial Surgeon - in succession to Francis Dill on the latter's death in 1846. Herjeebhoy Rustomjee was a Parsee opium trader and ship-owner; he was previously based in Canton. The hospital's trustees in 1846 included Alexander Matheson (nephew of James Matheson), Alexander Anderson (former Colonial Surgeon 1843-44), Donald Matheson (this minght be James Matheson's father, but I am not 100% sure), Peter Young, Gilbert Smith (partner of the opium firm MacVicar & Co.) and Frederic T. Bush (merchant and U.S. Consul to Hog Kong). Alexander Matheson and Alexander Anderson dropped out from the list the following year.

Non-Chinese seamen were treated here and expenses were to be paid by their employers. The hospital could treat up to 50 in-patients, at a daily rate of $1.5 for officers and 75¢ for seamen – inclusive of board and lodging, medicines and consultation. Out-patients were attended by Dr. Young daily between 8pm and 9pm, except on Sundays. On March 8, 1848, Dr. William Aurelius Harland (b.1822-d.1858) house surgeon of the Seamen's Hospital performed the first surgical operation in Hong Kong with the use of chloroform. The news was reported with a great novelty. Dr. Balfour was house surgeon in 1846 and Dr. W.A. Haeland in 1847.

The hospital, running at a loss, was bought by the British Navy in 1873 using the money obtained by selling the hospital ship, HMS Melville.The Seaman's Hospital was renamed the Royal Naval Hospital, and the hill where the hospital stood was named Mount Shadwell, after Vice-Admiral Charles Frederick Alexander Shadwell, the Commander-in-Chief on the China Station. The Royal Naval Hospital was severely damaged during WWII and with the efforts and funding of Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee, the hospital was relaunched in 1949 as the Ruttonjee Sanatorium 律敦治療養院, which was in memory of his daughter, Tehmi Ruttonjee-Desai, who died of tuberculosis in 1943. It was one of the main institutions specifically treating tuberculosis in Hong Kong. Following a redevelopment that doubled the size of the sanatorium, it was renamed Ruttonjee Hospital in 1991. On April 1, 1998, the management of Ruttonjee Hospital and Tang Shiu Kin Hospital was integrated for the purpose to increase efficiency and to optimize the health care resource utilization.

Victoria Hospital (ca.1843-?)

The Victoria Hospital, situated at No. 1, 2 and 3 Queen's Road, was running in 1843 under the direction of two doctors - James Satchell and Richard Jones. The hospital was established to take care of foreign seamen, at the rate of $2 for officers and $1 for seamen. (This is not to be confused with the Victoria Hospital for Women and Children that existed on Barker Road between 1897 and 1947). Dr. Satchell was also the second editor of the Friend of China, who died from opium deprivation soon after taking over the newspaper.

The Government Civil Hospital 政府公立醫院, also known as 國家醫院 (ca.1849-1937) - the first government hospital

Government Civil Hospital ca.1890
(updated August 29, 2013) Despite the repeated appeals by Alex Anderson, the first Colonial Surgeon (1843- 1844), for a colonial hospital, the first government hospital would not appear until around 1849. The hospital was housed in a poorly constructed-and-maintained two-storied bungalow and was destroyed by a typhoon in 1874. The government then hired a building which was formerly a hotel named Hotel d'Europe in Hollywood Road, adjoining the Central Police Barracks for use as a hospital. The hospital moved in and start running on November 13, 1874. In the first year of operation, 195 cases were treated and there were 18 deaths.

John Ivoy Murray, the Colonial Surgeon (1859-1869) wrote, in his 1860 report, " The hospital system has always appeared to me very inadequate to the population. In fact it may be broadly stated that there is no hospital for Chinese, who form such a vast majority of our population."
At that time, most of the patients who were admitted to the Government Civil Hospital were Europeans, Chinese civil servants and members of the police force. Very few indigenous people were admitted. It may be said that traditional beliefs in Chinese medicine deterred the Chinese community from accepting Western medical treatment. (Not a very valid argument, ... The Medical Missionary Society Hospital in its first year of operation (1843) treated 3,348 outpatients and 556 inpatients – almost all of them were Chinese.) The true reason was probably that Chinese could not afford the hospital charges, or that, as one resource reveals during my research, Chinese from the populace were not admitted until 1864, fifteen years after the Hospital's establishment.

On Christmas Day, 1878, the Hospital (housed in the hotel building) was completely burnt down. The Hospital took over the premises of the old Lock Hospital for its operation and when the new Lock Hospital was completed in 1879, it became the new Government Civil Hospital. It was built on Hospital Road and contained four blocks. It was properly designed and equipped with wards that accommodated 225 beds. A handbook of Hong Kong in 1908 stated "The Civil Hospital is one of the most worthy institutions under the control of the Government.” From then on, the Government Civil Hospital was the main medical institution in Hong Kong functioned continually until 1937, when Queen Mary Hospital was opened. The old buildings then became an infectious disease hospital known as Sai Ying Pun Hospital 西營槃醫院 and were eventually demolished and replaced on the same site by Prince Philip Dental Hospital in 1981.

I wish to track down the names of all the Medical Superintendents of the Government Civil Hospital. This is what I ahve so far.

Medical superintendents of the Government Civil Hospital
Dollman unk. - June 1864Dollman became the Port Health Officer
J.A. Yule June 1864 - 1866Yule succeeded Dollman
R. Young bef. September 1872 - unk. 
Scanlan aft. 1872 and bef. 1878 - unk.acting
Drew aft. 1872 and bef. 1878 - unk.acting
Charles John Wharry 1878 - at least 1884 
John Mifford Atkinson ca.1887 - 1894 
James Alfred Lowson 1894 - unk. 
John Bell 1903 - unk.acting from 1896-1903
Wilfred Vincent Miler Koch 1914-1917 
John Roche Rice unk.-unk. 

References:
- Evans, Dafydd Emrys (Ed.), Constancy of Purpose, Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1987.

The Lock Hospital 性病醫院 (1858-1894) - the first venereal diseases hospital

The first venereal diseases hospital was a makeshift Lock Hospital established in 1845 and was supported by voluntary contributions from the prostitutes and governed by officers elected by themselves. The officers, consisting of a matron, steward, native doctor and interpreter, two nurses, a coolie and six watchmen (hired from the Police Force), were made available. The expenses of the establishment amounted to $163 per month.

By the 1850s, Hong Kong was known as a center for prostitution and venereal disease, especially syphilis. The increasing number of infection among seamen and soldiers became problematic and calls for regulating prostitution and the detainment of infected prostitutes were soon met with actions. The building and maintaining of the Lock Hospital, opened in 1858, was funded by taxes paid by brothels and prostitutes ($4 per month per establishment, and $1.5 per person) and payments collected from foreign seamen for health certificates they require upon departing Hong Kong ($0.5 per certificate), both charges were regulated under the Venereal Diseases Ordinance (No. 12 of 1857, dated November 24, 1857).

The hospital was for the purpose for the reception and treatment of women affected with venereal diseases. Under the above named Ordinance, prostitutes were required by law to undertake medical examination on a regular basis. The naming of Lock is believed to be a reference to the practice of locking up the prostitutes who were found to be suffering from a venereal disease. In the first year of operation, 124 women were treated, the following year, 162.

In 1874, plans to expand the Lock Hospital were approved and a new facility would be built on the old site of the Government Civil Hospital which was destroyed by a typhoon earlier in the same year. When the Government Civil Hospital, then temporarily housed in a hotel in Hollywood Road, was completely burnt down in 1878, the Lock Hospital gave up its premises to the Government Civil Hospital for temporary use, and the VD hospital moved to an old school and two adjacent private houses rented by the government. When the new Lock Hospital was completed in 1879, the Government Civil Hospital took it over as its own premises, the Lock Hospital remained in the old school site.

On September 1, 1887, the Contagious Diseases Ordinance, 1867 (enacted on July 23, 1867 to replace the Venereal Diseases Ordinance) was abolished, and the medical examination of prostitutes was no longer compulsory. The Lock Hospital remained in operation exclusively for the reception and treatment of women. In 1892, it was renamed the Women's Hospital for Venereal Disease and was finally closed on June 1, 1894. Female venereal wards were opened in the Government Civil Hospital.

The Sanatorium (1863-ca.1865) - a failed experiment

The Sanatorium was a small military hospital built in 1863 as an experiment, on a flat area below the signal station and facing toward Mt. Kellett. The hospital had admitted 17 patients but, probably due to difficulties in access, was closed before long. Hong Kong residents Granville Sharp (who was the agent for Commercial Bank of India) and wife Matilda (after whom Matilda International Hospital is named) took a lease of the property from the Military and used it as their residence in 1866. A year later, the 6th Governor Richard Graves MacDonnell obtained the site from the Military, had the Sharps thrown out and built the first Mountain Lodge on the site of the Sanatorium, which became the summer residence for himself and future governors. The Lodge was rebuilt in 1900 and by 1938, it was on longer in use. After its demolition in 1946, the site became a part of the Victoria Peak Garden.

The Smallpox Hospital (January, 1871 – Arpil, 1873) - the first hospital specialized in epidemiological diseases

Old Colonial Gaol on Stonecutters Island
present day photo
An epidemic of smallpox broke put towards the end of 1870 and to cope with the surge in number of patients, temporary matsheds were erected near the Government Civil Hospital. In January 1871, as the matsheds were overcrowded, the deserted gaol-building (erection of the gaol commenced in 1861 and was completed in 1864) on Stonecutters Island [1] 昂船洲 were converted into a smallpox hospital. Among 101 cases treated (73 civilians and 28 soldiers), there were only 9 deaths. The Smallpox Hospital was closed in April, 1873 as the number of patients decreased, and the patients were thenceforth accommodated at the Government Civil Hospital. In 1874 the Civil Hospital was destroyed in a typhoon. A year later the gaol-building that housed the Smallpox Hospital met the same fate.
[1] The Stonecutters Island lost its island status when it was connected to the Kowloon peninsula by the West Kowloon Reclamation in the 1990s to provide land for the construction of the road and railway network to the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, and for the Container Terminal 8 of Kwai Tsing Container Terminals.

The Tung Wah Hospital 東華醫院 (February 14, 1872 -present) - the first Chinese medicine hospital

Lunatic Asylum (1875-1885) - the first psychiatric hospital

Before the opening of the Lunatic Asylum in 1875, Chinese psychiatric patients were sent to Tung Wah Hospital and, non-Chinese were sent to gaol. The asylum, housed in half of a building consisting two semi-detached houses was situated in Hollywood Road which occupied the present site of Police Married Quarters. Admissions were restricted to non-Chinese patients. Chinese patients continued to be sent to Tung Wah Hospital where they were. In ca.1880, the building where the asylum was located had to be pulled down and the asylum was relocated to half of a deserted old Chinese school house in Hospital Road, on the site which later became the new wing of the Government Civil Hospital. This asylum remained in use until 1885.

The Chinese Lunatic Asylum was opened in 1891
This asylum was replaced in 1885 by the European Lunatic Asylum, which was a purpose-built institution, at the present site of the David Trench Rehabilitation Center in Bonham Road. It had a bed complement of 8, consisting of 4 for men and 4 for women. At its lower site and extending to High Street was the Chinese Lunatic Asylum, which is now used as the Eastern Street Methadone Center. It had 16 beds, 8 for each sex. With its opening in 1891, Tung Wah Hospital ceased admitting violent 'lunatics’. In 1895, the two asylums merged into one and in terms of medical cover, the asylum was treated as an annex to the Government Civil Hospital.
There was consistent overcrowding of the asylum and, in 1894, the Hong Kong Government arranged with the authorities in Canton to accept transfers of Chinese patients to the John Kerr Refuge for the Insane in Fong Tsuen. Non-Chinese patients were repatriated to their own countries.

1977 photo of the Victoria Mental Hospital at High Street
The asylum era ended in 1928 when the term ‘lunatic asylum’ was substituted with 'mental hospital' – the Victoria Mental Hospital. The hospital had 23 beds. In 1938, part of the staff quarters in High Street were converted to treat women at the mental hospital, increasing the number of beds to 84. The main function of the hospital was to provide custodial care for disturbed mental patients until their transfer to China or repatriation to their own countries. The High Street Mental Hospital closed down with the 1961 opening of the Castle Peak Hospital. Unoccupied since 1970s, poorly maintained and badly damaged by two fires, the building, at that time generally known as the High Street Ghost Hosue 高街鬼屋, was pulled down, except the façade, in 1990s for the development of the Sai Ying Pun Community Complex 西營盤社區綜合大樓.

The Alice Memorial Hospital 雅麗氏紀念醫院 (1887-present) and The Nethersole Hospital 那打素醫院 (1893-present) - the first teaching hospitals

Kennedy Town Glass Works Hospital (1894)

Victoria Hospital for Women and Children (1897-1947)

- TO BE COMPLETED -


Wednesday, October 7, 2009 | By: rudi butt

Aloha Royale

Updated (partial) on October 17, 2012

King David Kalakaua (b.1836-d.1891), the 7th and last King of Hawaii (reigned 1874-1891), arrived Hong Kong on April 12, 1881 from Shanghai on steamship Thibet. Governor John Pope-Hennessy offered his twelve-oared barge to ferry the King to shore, and extended an invitation for a royal reception in the Government House in the name of Queen Victoria [1]. The usual salute of twenty-one guns were fired from the forts and seven warships anchored in the Victoria Harbor in the following morning. The nine-day visit was filled with receptions and banquets, including those given by Jardine Matheson Taipan, William Keswick, who was also Hawaiian Consul General in Hong Kong. A luncheon was given by property tycoon Paul Chater where the invited guests were the most prominent business personages in the colony.

King Kalakaua, in a straw hat, was seated in the center;
on his left, wearing an Astor top hat, was John Pope-Hennessy
Masonic Brotherhood

China Mail reported on April 14, 1881,
"Last night His Majesty the King Kalakaua, of Hawaii, visited the Victoria Lodge and was received with honors due to his exalted rank and high position in Masonry."
King Kalakaua was a 32nd Degree Mason in the Freemasonry, the title of a 32nd Degree Mason is "Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret", under the Scottish Rite Degrees system.

Kitty Pope-Hennessy
Zzz

At the last State banquet in Hong Kong, King Kalakaua had become very tired and his doze started to deepen. When asked by Hawaiian Attorney General William Armstrong to aid in preventing a loss of royal dignity, the Governor's wife - Catherine Pope-Hennessy, arranged for the military band in the balcony to play the music of "Hawai'i Pono'i" (the Hawaiian National Anthem). The King woke up and the banquet ended.
On April 21, 1881, the Royal group left Hong Kong on the steamship The Killarney for Bangkok. The King had a good impression of governor Pope-Hennessy and was also thankful for the latter's arrangement with the British government in providing assistance while en route his round-the-world trip [2]. A Grand Cross of Kalakaua was later conferred on Pope-Hennessy.

Grand Cross of Kalakaua

The purpose of King Kalakaua's around the world trip were to study the matter of immigration (the country was facing the calamitous decline of Hawaii's native population, who were being lost to disease) and to improve foreign relations. He also wanted to study how other rulers ruled. The ending of the American Civil War affected the sugar market favorably for Hawaii, and the King is looking for labor supplies for Hawaii's agricultural development, hopefully to replace some of the Chinese labor immigrants already living and working in the country. The Hawaiian government's view on Chinese labor immigrants was that 'Chinese did not bring their women and that it was dangerous to give them franchise because their numbers would be a threat to the Kingdom.' As a result of this trip, the Hawaii was successful in getting a constant stream of labor immigrants from Japan, starting with the first group (676 men, 159 women, and 108 children) that left for Hawaii on February 8, 1885. Although no details were given, it was also reported that William Keswick was able to obtain a good class of Chinese immigrants to be accompanied by wives and children.

Whilst in Shanghai and Tianjin, King Kalakaua was not received as a head of state, but despite the general lack of attention accorded the King, Li Hongzhang 李鴻章 did hold a banquet for him in Tianjin. The King had two purposes wanting to meet with Li: firstly, to stop further immigration of Chinese to Hawaii, and secondly to secure the right at anytime to restrict, return, or remove, the large influx of Chinese. According to later letters written by the King referring to the meeting with Li, he said, “On these two subjects our mission has been successful”.

King Kalakaua died in 1891, seven years later, in 1898, Hawaii was annexed by United States as a US Territory. The Kingdom became the fiftieth state of the American Union in 1959.

[1] The Hong Kong Government Gazette of April 16, 1881, published this announcement:

GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION— No. 131.
His Majesty the King of HAWAII arrived in Hongkong on Tuesday evening, the 12th instant, and was welcome to the Colony by the Governor, in the name of Her Majesty Queen VICTORIA. His Majesty, the King KALAKAUA, was accompanied by His Excellency W. N. ARMSTRONG, Minister of State, and Colonel JUDD, Chamberlain.
By His Excellency's Command,
FREDERICK STEWART, Acting Colonial Secretary. Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 16th April, 1881.

[2] Honolulu (January 20, 1881), Sydney, San Franciso, Tokyo (March 4- ), Shanghai, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hong Kong (April 12- 21), Bangkok, Singapore, Penang, Calcutta, Suez, Cairo, Rome, London, Brussels, Vienna, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., California, Honolulu (October 29). Around the world in 282 days.

The Monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii (ca.1782-1895)
Kamehameha I b.1758-d.1819; reigned ca.1782–1819; also known as Kamehameha the Great
Kamehameha II born Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu `Iolani; b.1797-d.1824; reigned 1819-1824;
Kamehameha III born Kauikeaouli; b.1813–d.854); reigned 1824-1854
Kamehameha IV born Alexander `Iolani Liholiho Keawenui; b.1834-d.1863; reigned 1855-1863
Kamehameha V born Lot Kapuaiwa; b.1830-d.1872); reigned 1863-1872
Lunalilo I born William Charles Lunalilo; b.1835-d.1874; reigned 1873-1874
Kalakaua I born David La'amea Kamanakapu'u Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalakaua; b.1836-d.1891; reigned 1874-1891; because he did not have any children, he was succeeded by his sister Lili'uokalani
Lili'uokalani born Lydia Lili'u Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamaka'eha; b.1838-d.1917; the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii; the Queen was overthrown on Janury 17, 1893 by a group of Americans and Europeans self-styled as a Committee of Safety; Queen Lili'uokalani abdicated in 1895; 3 years later Hawaii became an incorporated territory of the United States

I have this “questionable” recollection of another royal visit to Hong Kong at a time when I was very small: Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. He actually came to my alma mater, Pui Ching Middle School, and I was a part of the welcoming party, lining up at the steps to waive to the king – the first I have ever met. Why questionable? my bother and sister who went to the same school remember nothing of the sort. Am I imagining this? If so, why Selassie and why Ethiopia of all kings and kingdoms in the world? (10/7/2009)

I have checked and can confirmed that Selassie did in fact visit Hong Kong in 1970 before flying off to Osaka to open the Ethiopia Day of the 1970 World Exposition. Did I see him, I leave this to another day... (10/17/2012)

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 | By: rudi butt

Dogs And Cats

According to Ordinance #5 of 1893, that became effective on June 26, 1893, all dog owners are required to obtain licenses for their dogs, except for “such dog kept by an agriculturist solely as a watch dog and is necessary for that purpose”.

The “Dogs and Cats Regulation”, effective from January 13, 1950, made the slaughter or sale of dogs and cats, for food, illegal – Cap 167, section 3, Ordinance #1 of 1950; contravention is liable to a fine of one thousand dollars and to imprisonment for six months.

Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Founded on August 28, 1903, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) [1] remained inactive until re-established on June 24, 1921 where the 16th Governor Reginald Edward Stubbs accepted positions as President and Patron of the society. The following year saw the society's first event – a fancy dress fund-raising ball held in the old City Hall on February 20, 1922. Margaret (Maclean) Ho-tung [2], wife of Robert Ho-tung, funded the establishment of the first dog's home, opened in June 1923 and was located on Waterloo Road. Queen Elizabeth II granted the society the royal nomenclature in 1978; the title was dropped in 1997.
[1] This is what was written in the Hong Kong Telegraph August 28, 1903, “From the Editorial: Before the following lines appear in print, the inaugural meeting of the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will have been held this afternoon.”
[2] R. Ho-tung (sitting in middle in the photo) had two wives (2 co-wives). He married Margaret Maclean (usually known as Lady Ho-tung)(right in the photo) first and, for the reason that Maclean did not produce a child, he married Clara, Cheung Lin-kok (usally known as the Lady Clara)(left). Donating to the SPCA seemed more a Lady Clara's kind of thing, but since the SPCA website explicitly mentions Lady Ho-tung, I therefore put her name here.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 | By: rudi butt

Opium Hall Of Fame



Updated (partial) on March 22, 2013


Opium Storage Ship
source: Okinawa Soba, flickr
The Shameless

The Monopoly

British East India Company: Licensed to Traffic in Contraband



Free Traders - before 1830s

John Jacob Astor
The US Pioneer Opium Shipper, John Jacob Astor

American fur merchant John Jacob Astor (b.1763-d.1848) probably was the first opium free trader from the West (notes must be taken however that Turks and Indians had been shipping opium to China for centuries), and certainly the first American to trade opium in China. He began shipping opium from Turkey to China in 1816 but abruptly stopped in 1819. With the fortune he fast-tracked from dealing in opium, he started heavily investing in lands in New York City and became America's first multi-millionaire before long. According to Forbes Magazine's studies in 2006, he was the fourth all-time wealthiest American [1]. J.J. Astor's great-granddaughter, Helen Schermerhorn Astor married James “Rosy” Roosevelt, the half-brother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Incidentally, F.D.R's maternal grandfather, Warren Delano, Jr., also made his fortune in opium, working for the leading American opium trader – Russell and Co.

[1] All-time Wealthest American
1. John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), Estimated 2006 Net Worth: $305.3 billion
2. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), Estimated 2006 Net Worth: $281.2 billion
3. Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), Estimated 2006 Net Worth: $168.4 billion
4. John Jacob Astor (1763-1848), Estimated 2006 Net Worth: $110.1 billion
Bill Gates' 2006 Net Worth was at $52 billion and, Li Ka-Shing (not American, but just for the fun of comparing) $19 billion

Free Traders - 1830 to 1842

Name
Nal
Key Events
Fn
Company   
Bell and Co.UK1844: Joseph Mackrill Smith, partner since 1840, was appointed a JP.[1][2][3][5(40)][6]
Bibby Adam & Co.UK1840: Withdrew from China.1, 2, 3, 4, 5(5), 6
K. H. Cama & Co.Parsi [4]
P. F. Cama & Co. Parsi [4]
P. D. N. Casmaji & Co.Parsi [4]
Joseph and William Cragg & Co.UK1839: Dissolved, Gibb Livington & Co. was charge to take care of all outstanding matters.[1][2][5(53)]
Daniell & Co.UK [1][2][3][5(1,466)][6]
Dent & Co. 寶順洋行UK1823: Company founder Thomas Dent arrived Canton
-
1839: Senior partner Lancelot Dent arrested by Canton authorities on opium smuggling charges, which fused the First Opium War
-
1841: Moved to Hong Kong exodus of British firms from Canton; became the third leading opium firms after the houses of Jardine and Russell.
-
1844: Senior partner John Dent was appointed a JP.
-
1863: John Dent was elected chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce.
-
1865: Partner Francis Chomley was elected the first chairman of HSBC.
-
1866: John Dent was appointed Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council.
-
1867: Hong Kong operation collapsed amidst worldwide financial crisis originated in London in 1866; headquarters removed to Shanghai; the Dent building in Hong Kong was sold to the Hong Kong Hotel Co.
[1][2][3][4][5(1,723)][6]
Dirom & Co.UK [1][2][3][6]
Abdoolally Ebrahim and Co. 鴨都剌利洋行Parsi1842: Ran Hong Kong's first cross-harbor ferry service.
-
1864: Received compensations from the British Government for its opium confiscated by the Qing government in 1839.
-
Present day: Remains active in Hong Kong under the name of Abdoolally Ebrahim Group.
[5]
Habibbhoy Ebrahim Sons and Co.IN [5(30)]
Eglinton Maclean & Co.UK [2][3][5(30)]
Fox, Rawson and Co.UK [1][2]
W. and J. Gemmell and Co.UK [1][2][3][5(266)][6]
Gibb, Livingston and Co.UK [1][2][3][4][5(29)][6]
Ameroodin Jaffeerbhoy Co.IN [2][3][4][6]
Jamieson & HowUKScottish origin[5(10)]
Jardine, Matheson and Co.UK [1][2][3][5(7.341)*]
Layton and Co.UK [2]
Lindsay and Co.UK [1][2][3][4][5(314)][6]
MacVicar and Co.UK [1][2][3][5(1,146)][6]
D. N. Mody and Co.Parsi [4]
Hadjee Mohomed and M. M. HosseinParsi  
Cassumbhoy Nathabhoy Sons and Co.IN [4]
Nowrojee and Co. Parsi [4]
Cawasjee Pallanjee and Co. Parsi [6]
Robert Wise Holliday, and Co.UK [1][2][3][4][6]
Russell and Co.USA [1][2][4][5(1,437)]
Russell, Sturgis, and Co.USA [1][2]
Rustomjee Ruttonjee and Co. Parsi [5(14)]
David Sassoon Sons, and Co. UK
David Sassoon was a Baghdadi Indian Jew and a naturalised British subject.
[1][2][4]
Turner and Co.UK [1][2][3][4][5(71)][6]
Wetmore and Co.USA1842: Ceased to deal in opium.[1][2][4][5(103)]
Individual   
Amerally AbdoolallyParsi  
Adam AllarakiaParsi1859: Listed as a partner of Allarkia, Noor Mohamed, Sons, & Co. 
Vully Mohommed AllobhoyParsi  
D.J. BarradasPT1859: Listed as a clerk and having his residence at Shelley Street. 
B.C. BhabbaParsi  
Cursetjee BomanjeeParsi [1][2]
Sackhuson BurdroodenUK [1][2][3][6]
Alexander CalderUSA1843: Joined the Macau based firm of Hughesdon Brothers of China; the firm changed its name to Hughesdon Calder & Co., and moved to Hong Kong; the firm handled, among other things, the sale of China sycee silver.[5(15)]
Hormuzjee ByramjeeParsi [1][2][5(4)]
Charles Spencer Compton UKowner of C.S. Compton and Co.; fined $200 by the British Consul in Canton for causing a riot by kicking over a Chinese stall and beating its owner with his stick; appointed a JP in 1844[3][6]
Framjee DadabhoyParsi 1/2/6
J. de SouzaPT 1/2/5(183)
Dassabhoy Hormutzjee DollakacParsi 5(67)
Nasserwanjee DorabjeeParsi 1/2/5(127)/6
Pallonjee DorabjeeParsi 5(51)
Mohommedbhoy DossabhoyParsi  
Solomon EbrahimParsi  
Cowasjee EdulgeeParsi 5(232)/6
Ahmad Hadjee EsaacParsi  
Hormuzjee FramjeeParsi 1/2/5(73)/6
Nasserwanjee FramjeeParsi 6
Eneas Fraser Jr.UK
Unconf.
 5(2/)
A.D. FurdonjeeParsi 1/2
GouldsboroughUK
Unconf.
 5(12)
Alladinbhoy HabibbhoyParsi  
Silas Aaron HardoonUKHardoon was a Baghdadi Indian Jew and a naturalized British subject 
HendersonUKRelated to Jardine, Matheson & Co.2
Bomanjee HonsanjeeParsi 1/2
Dossabhoy HormusjeeParsi 1/2/6
Bomanjee HosonojeeeeParsi 5(3)/6
James InnesUK 1/2/3
Framjee JametjeeParsi 1/2/5(12)
MacdonaldUK 2/3
Bomanjee ManuckjeeParsi 1/2/6
Burjoorjee ManockjeeParsi 1/2/6
Nasserwanjee Bomonjee ModyParsi 5(92)
Burjorjee MonackjeeParsi 5(54)
Pallanjee NasserwanjeeParsi 1/2/5(9)/6
Hadjee Abdoola NathanParsi n/a
Framjee NowrojeeParsi n/a
Edward PereriaPT 5(33)
Jamasetjee PestonjeeParsi n/a
Ahmadbhoy RamtoolaParsi n/a
Heerjeebhoy RustomjeeParsi 1/2/5(1,700)/6
Jamsetjee RutonjeeParsi 1/2
Shasmkkshaw RustomjeeParsi 1/2/6
Dadabhoy & Manockje RustomkeeParsi 1/2/5(970)/6
Bomanjee RuttonjeeParsi 5(4)
Cowasjee SaporjeeParsi 1/2/5(67)
S.A. SethParsi
Undonf.
 n/a
Muncherjee Pestonjee SetnaParsi 4
Cursetjee ShapoorjeeParsi 1/2/6
A.I. Smithunk. 5(7)
Abaden and Jam SoodenParsi 1/2/5(25)
James StarkeyUK
Unconf.
Captain of the ship "Thistle"5(10)
Burjorjee SuradjeeParsi 5(59)/6
Cowasjee Saporjee TabackParsi 5(13)/6
StewartUKpossibly William Stewart who later joined Jardine, Matheson & Co.2/3
John ThackerUKship captain
1939 - bought opium in Bombay and brought them to Canton in February; later surrendered to Charles Elliot
5(86)
David WilsonUKship captainn/a

*Jardine , incldung 5,000 owned by its Parsee partners

[1] Those who were signatories of a letter titled "The Foreign Merchants to the Imperial Commissioner"

Canton, March 25, 1839

The foreign merchants of all nations, in Canton, have received with profound respect the Edict of his Excellency the Imperial Commissioner; and now beg leave to address his Excellency, having already communicated through the Hong merchants their intentions of doing so with the least possible delay.

They beg to represent, that being now made fully aware of the Imperial commands, &c., the entire abolition of the traffic in opium, the undersigned foreigners in Canton hereby pledge themselves not to deal in opium, nor to attempt to introduce it into the Chinese Empire.

Having now recorded their solemn pledge, they have only further most respectfully to state to his Excellency, that as individual foreign merchants they do not possess the power of controlling such extensive and important matters, as his Excellency's edict embraces; and they trust His Excellency will approve of their leaving a final settlement to be arranged through the Representative of their respective nations.

(Signed)

[2] Those who were held in imprisonment (house arrest) between March 25 and May 4 by order of Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu.

[3] Those British (including Anglo-Indian) merchants were discharged on signing a bond on May 27, 1839, guaranteeing that they would never return to China.

[4] Founding Members of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce.

[5] All opium merchants were asked to surrender their inventories of opium to Charles Elliot on March 27, 1939, who in turn surrendered the same to Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu. This shows the known quantity of opium surrendered to Elliot.

[6] Those who were signatories of a letter titled "Memorial from Her Majesty's Subjects to Viscount Palmerston", Canton, May 23, 1839, in which opium merchants were appealing their claims on account of the opium surrendered for Her Majesty's service. I found at least one record that shows the British Government had indeed compensated opium merchants against their claims. Abdoolally Ebrahim and Co. was paid in 1864.

Free Traders - post Opium War

Opium related operations of the following companies and individuals began after the First Opium War. Their operation was mostly Hong Kong based.

Augustine Heard and Co.
American, [4]

Fletcher and Co.
British, [4]

Emmanuel Raphael Belilios 庇理羅士
Baghdadi Indian Jew, longest serving director (1868-1888) of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, became HSBC Chairman in 1876, a position he held until 1882. He was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1881 and as the Council's Senior Unofficial Member between 1892 and 1900.

Douglas Lapraik - British, [4]


George Duddell
George Duddell
British

Alexander Martin Mathieson
British (of the firm of McEwen and Co.), who together with George Duddell, secured Hong Kong's first ever opium monopoly at a public auctionat 2pm on February 28,1845, for a period of one year at the monthly rate of $710. Duddell was the Government Auctioneer at that time. Entirely unable to enforce their monopoly, Duddell and Mathieson negotiated the surrender of the lease within three months.

Lo Aqui 盧亞貴
Chinese, and partner Fung Attai bought opium monopoly, the one surrendered by Duddell and Mathieson, at an auction in July 1845 at the monthly rate of $1,710.

Fung Attai
Chinese, partner of Lo Acqui in operating the opium monopoly in 1845.

Chan Tai-kwong
Chinese, who was a protégé of the Bishop of Hong Kong and the front man of Wo Hang company 和興 – a syndicate of merchants from Xinhui 新會, obtained the opium monopoly in 1858, paying GBP7,075 for a twelve-month period. Wo Hang was heavily involved in coolie trade and the general entrepot trade of Hong Kong. Wo Hang's well known brands of opium included Hong Kong Hop Lung 香港合隆 and Hong Kong Wa Hing 香港華興.

Yan Wo company 仁和
A syndicate of merchants from Dongguan 東莞 and rival of Wo Hang company, obtained the monopoly in 1859 at a annual rent of GBP 6,812. Well known brands of opium produced by Yan Wo included Sheung Wan Fook Lung 上環福隆, Sheung Wan Lai Yuen 上環麗源 and Wik To Lei Victoria Tai Shun 域多厘泰巽.

Sun Yee company
In March 1874, Wo Hang, Yan Wo and a third copmany named Chap Sing formed a new syndicate known as the Sun Yee company, Wo Hang's headman Li Tak-cheong became the headman of Sun Yee.

It was estimated that by 1876 each Chinese person in Hong Kong, in average, smoked half a kilogram of opium in that year. Also, a total of 4,638,750 kilogram of Bengal opium 公班土 and Malwa opium 白皮土 were imported to Hong Kong.

Man Wo Fung company
The firm in 1878 paid $205,000 per year for three-year monopoly. The company's front man in Hong Kong is Singaporean Tan King-sing. He represent the company's principle shareholder and manager - Ban Hap (aka Ngan Chan Wai), a Hokkien Chinese based in Saigon.

Man Wo Sang company
In 1880, Yan Wo abandoned Sun Yee and went into partnership with Ban Hap, in a new enterprise known as Man Wo Sang.

Lee Keng-yam
A Singaporean who led a syndicate from Singapore in 1885 paid $182,400 a year for a three-year monopoly.


The Lee Theater
Lee Hysan 利希慎 (b.1879 Hawaii - d.1928 Hong Kong)
Hong Konger, American-Chinese (born in Hawaii), highly respected land developer and entrepreneur, also known as the 'King of Opium', inherited opium business from his father Lee Leung Yik 利良奕, held opium monopoly in Macao at one time, shot death on April 20, 1928 while go to lunch in Central; son Harold Hsiao-Wo Lee 利孝和 was co-founder of Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB); granddaughter Vivienne Poy 利德蕙 is Canadian Senator, owner of fashion house ' Vivienne Poy Mode' and Chancellor of the University of Toronto; Lee at one time owned an area in Causeway Bay that is bordered by Hysan Road (a road named after him), Percival Steet, Pak Sha Road, and Yun Ping Road, and the land lot that housed the Lee Theater that he built in 1925.


Holders of Opium Monopoly 1844-1910 (updated 2015/12/02)

11845George Duddell and Alexander Martin Mathieson; the farm was surrendered after 3 months.$1,710 p.m.
21845Lo Aqui and Fung Attai; actual period held unknown.
31846$1,560 p.m.
41858/03/20Wo Hang firm; one year; the farm was annulled prematurely for unknown reason.$33,000 p.a.
51858/04/01Chan Tai-kwong 陳大光 front man of Man Cheong Shop 萬祥行; one year; the farm was annulled prematurely for unknown reason.
61858/05/22Ing Ayu 吳雨, Fook Loong Shop 福隆店 (#319 Lower Bazzar); six months.
71859/04/01Cheong Asun 張新. Manager, Foo Tai Pawnbroker Shop 孚泰店 (#59 Queen's Road, West) and Lum Ki 林基, Too Loong Shop 道隆店 (#2776 Bonham Strand, Broker); one year.
81860/04/01Ho Alaong 何良福, Chee Loong Shop 兆隆店 and Ing Atu 吳雨, Fook Loong Shop 福隆店; one year.
91862Lee Asseng, See-Tye Shop (#181 Bonham Strand, West); one year.
101864/04/01Ho Leong [or Ho Alaong] 何良 [or 何良福], Chin Loong [also Chee Loong] Shop 兆隆店 (#541 Jervois Street) and Ng Yu [or Ing Ayu] 吳雨, Fook Loong Shop 福隆店 (#77 Jervois Street); one year.
111865/04/01Hu Nu, Peng Kee Shop (#25 Jervois Street); one year.
121866/04/01Hu Nu, Peng Kee Shop; one year.
131867/05/01Ho Leong 何良, Chiu Loong Shop 兆隆店 and Ng Yu 吳雨, Fook Loong Shop 福隆店; one year.
141868/05/01Ho Leong 何良, Chiu Loong Shop 兆隆店 and Ng Yu 吳雨, Fook Loong Shop 福隆店; one year, license annulled prematurely for unknown reason, was up for sale by tender on Augsut 1.
151874a partnership of Sun Yee, Wo Hang, Yan Wo, and Chap Sing firms
161878-1880Man Wo Fung firm; brought in by Governor John Pope Hennessy
171880-1882Man Wo Sang firm, a new alliance between Yan Wo and Sun Yee
181882/03/01 - 1883/02/28See Song-kai and Wan Hiu-seung.$210,000 p.a.
191883/03/01 - 1884/02/28Hung Kwong 孔廣, Kwong Shang Lung firm 香港中環廣生隆 and Luk Hing 陸慶, Wing Cheung firm 香港中環榮昌; 1 year
201884/03/01 - 1885/02/28Kwok chiu 郭釗, Tak On Gong Yin firm 德安公煙 and Tang Cheung 鄧長 [1], Tin Po Wah firm 天寶華
211885-1887Lee Keung-yam; 3 years license
221890sFook Hing firm; also exported opium to North America
231890sFook Hing firm; also exported opium to North America
2418923 years.$340,800 p.a.
2518953 years.$296,000 p.a.
261898Man Fook and Fook Hing firms; 3 years.$372,000 p.a.
2719013 years.$750,000
281904Chin Joo Heng firm; 3 years$2,200,000 p.a.; reduced to $2,040,000 p.a. from 1904/11/01
2919073 years.$1,452,000
3019103 years.$1,183,200

The bond pertaining to the opium monopoly for 1884
executed by monopoly holders Tak On and Tin Po Wah firms
By this time, the opium monopoly was providing around 20% of government revenue.

Shipping Information

The following Hong Kong shipping report from the Friend of China, March 24, 1842 showed date of movement, ship name and tonnage, etc.

January Ship Movements:

2nd - Sri Singapore 85T to Whampoa with opium. Mavis 113T from Macau to Whampoa with opium.
13th - Young Queen 85T from Macau to Macau with opium.
24th - Sylph 317T arrived from Calcutta with General cargo; departed for Macau 2.2.42 with opium. Caroline 85T to Whampoa with opium.
26th - Young Queen 85T to Macau with opium.
28th - Lady Grant 236T to East Coast with opium.

February Ship Movements:

4th - Harlequin 292T from East Coast with specie for Macau.
6th American ship Anglona 108T to Macau with opium.
7th - Australasian Packet 194T to East Coast with opium.
13th - Thistle 140T to Macau with opium.
15th - Aurora 90T to Macau with opium.
16th - American ship Ariel 105T East Coast with opium.
17th - Young Queen 85T to Macau with opium. Anglona 108T to East Coast with opium.
24th - Harrier 163T to East Coast with opium.
28th - Young Queen 85T to East Coast with opium.

Opium Nomenclature

These are streets or places named after people connected with the dealing of opium, one way or the other:

Street NameEtymology
Anton Street
晏頓街
Charles Edward Anton; the 16th Taipan of Jardine, Matheson and Co.
Duddell Street
都爹利街
George Duddell; government auctioneer; the first opium farmer; land speculator.
Gresson Street
機利臣街
William Jardine Gresson; grandson of Elizabeth Jardine, daughter of William Jardine's brother David; director of Jardine, Matheson and Co. (1901-1906) and director (1916-1910).
Gutzlaff Street
吉士笠街
Karl Friedrich August Gutzlaff; Prussian missionary; interpreter of Jardine, Matheson and Co.; Chinese Secretary of the Hong Kong Government.
aaabbb
aaabbb
aaabbb
aaabbb
aaabbb
aaabbb
aaabbb
aaabbb
aaabbb





Gutzlaff Street 吉士笠街 was named after Karl Friedrich August Gutzlaff – Prussian Missionary; interpreter of Jardine, Matheson and Co.; Chinese Secretary of the Hong Kong Government.

Hysan Avenue 希慎道 was named after Lee Hysan – opium dealer nicknamed “King of Opium of Hong Kong and Macau”; single largest land owner in Causeway Bay

Jardine's Bazaar 渣甸街, Jardine's Crescent 渣甸坊 and Jardine Terrace 渣甸台 were named after William Jardine – co-founder of Jardine, Matheson and Co.

Keswick Street 敬誠街 was named after James Johnstone Keswick – 10th Taipan of Jardine, Matheson and Co.; co-founded Hong Kong Land with Paul Chater; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1893-1894)

Lan Fong Road 蘭芳道 was named Wong Lan Fong 黃蘭芳 – wife of Hysan Lee

Landale Street 蘭杜街 was named after David Landale – 13th Taipan of Jardine, Matheson and Co.; Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council (1946-1950); Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1915)

Lee Garden Road 利園山道 was named after the amusement park Lee Hysan envisioned for building in the area but didn’t build

Matheson Street 勿地臣街 was named after James Matheson - co-founder of Jardine, Matheson and Co.

Percival Street 波斯富街 was named after Alexander Perceval – the 7th Taipan of Jardine, Matheson and Co.; a relative of the wife of James Matheson; founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1861); Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council (1861-1864)

Spring Garden Lane 春園街 was named after the villa of John Dent built in that area in the 1840s; Dent is the Senior Partner of Dent and Co.


___________________________________________________________