Governorship Exit Strategy

“Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel.”
John Quinton quotes

Well, the pockets of the past governors of Hong Kong weren't very deep; as the tunnel that opens directly underneath the Government House only goes so far to the Lower Albert Road. It was said to have been built in the 1930s but unknown today for what purpose --- no one is at liberty to tell, … According to military records, special attentions were given to strengthen the protection of the tunnel on the final days of defending the Hong Kong Island from Japanese invasion, but why? Chris Pattern, the last British Governor of Hong Kong, denied any knowledge of the tunnel that runs beneath his official residence. The Chief Executive's Office acknowledges the existence of the tunnel, and said nothing further except that the tunnel was no longer in use. There is no record of the tunnel in the Office of the Public Records.

The South China Morning Post gave a not-so-in-depth report on the subject on March 7, 2009, so did Radio Television Hong Kong on the following day, finding no new information on why and who gave the order to build the tunnel. I guess we've just had to wait and see when and who will break the silence.

Caption: An architectural drawing showing the position of the air raid tunnel directly beneath the Government House, but this is not it, ...

Hot Place to Break in

A burglar(s) broke in to the the residence of the first governor, Henry Pottinger, on April 26, 1843. A year later on July 16, the residence was again broken in to, but this time, the occupant was John Francis Davis, the second governor. Records did not show what were stolen; or whether it was the same people who committed these 2 burglaries a year apart, …

The governor's residence, located at 1, Battery Path, Central, was built in 1842-43. The present three-story building that housed the French Mission and later the Court of Final Appeal was built in 1917.

From Police Chief to Governor

July 4, 1912, Francis Henry May (梅含理), In Office as Captain Superintendent of Police1893-1901

F. H. May (right) with wife and guests on the opening day of the Hong Kong section of the KCR - 1910. May was the Acting Governor at that time