Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock
Encyclopedia
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
dockyard once among the largest dockyards in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Founded in 1863 by Douglas Lapraik and Thomas Sutherland
Thomas Sutherland (banker)
Sir Thomas Sutherland, GCMG was a Scottish banker and Liberal Party politician. He founded The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation which was the founder member of HSBC Group and directed the P&O Company....
, the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company (known as Hong Kong Kowloon and Whampoa Dock Company). In 1865, it was known as Kowloon Docks located on the south coast between Hung Hom
Hung Hom
Hung Hom is an area of Kowloon, in Hong Kong, administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of the railway in the Yau Tsim Mong District. Hung Hom serves mainly residential purposes though is mixed with some industrial buildings in the north.-Geography:Hung Hom is located...
and Tai Wan, facing Hung Hom Bay
Hung Hom Bay
Hung Hom Bay is a bay of Victoria Harbour, between Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong.Since 1850, the bay has been reclaimed many times: by 1996, it had nearly disappeared. All of present-day Tsim Sha Tsui East and Hung Hom Station of the MTR are on land reclaimed from the...
in the Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony and its subsequent...
. It is also known as Whampoa Dock for short. The "Whampoa" part of the name comes from the Huangpu
Huangpu District, Guangzhou
Huangpu District is one of the ten districts in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:...
, formerly Whampoa, area of Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
(formerly Canton), where the company owned another dockyard.
On the eve of Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began after the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the territory of Hong Kong to Japan on 25 December 1941 after 18 days of fierce fighting by British and Canadian defenders against overwhelming Japanese Imperial forces. The occupation lasted...
, the dockyard was heavily bombarded by Japanese aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
with large casualties due to its importance.
The Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company was controlled by Douglas Clague
Douglas Clague
Colonel The Honorable Sir Douglas Clague CBE, MC, QPM, CPM, TD was a British soldier and entrepreneur who spent most of his life in Hong Kong.He was born in Rhodesia ....
through Hutchison
Hutchison
-People:*Andrew Hutchison , Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada*Bruce Hutchison , Canadian author and journalist*Claude B. Hutchison , American botanist and educator*Craig Hutchison , Canadian freestyle swimmer...
International in the mid-1960s. Clague was forced to leave the company due to financial difficulty with Hutchison International. Hutchison International was acquired by Li Ka Shing
Li Ka Shing
Sir Ka-shing Li, GBM, KBE, JP is a Chinese business magnate based in Hong Kong. He is the richest person of East Asian descent in the world and the eleventh richest person in the world with an estimated wealth of US$26.0 billion on 10 March 2011...
's Cheung Kong Holdings and eventually merged with Whampoa to become Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world's biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14...
In 1985, the dockyard land was transformed to a private housing estate
Private housing estate
A private housing estate is a term in Hong Kong that refers to a housing estate developed by a private developer, as opposed to a public housing estate built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority or the Hong Kong Housing Society. It usually is characterised with a cluster of high-rise buildings,...
, the Whampoa Garden
Whampoa Garden
Whampoa Garden is the largest private housing estate located in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was built on the site of the former Whampoa Dockyards under Hutchison Whampoa Property's "garden city" concept and completed in 1991.-Features:...
, the second largest private housing estate in Hong Kong, after Mei Foo Sun Chuen
Mei Foo Sun Chuen
Mei Foo Sun Chuen or simply Mei Foo is a large private housing estate in Lai Chi Kok , Kowloon, Hong Kong. Mei Foo Sun Chuen was the first private housing estate in Hong Kong and at the time of completion, the 99 tower complex was considered the largest private housing development in the world,...
. The only portion of the dockyard that exists is Bulkeley Street.
The dockyard operations merged with Swire's Taikoo Dockyard
Taikoo Dockyard
Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Company was a dockyard located in the present-day Taikoo Shing and part of Taikoo Place of Quarry Bay on the north shore of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong.-History:...
on the Island to become Hong Kong United Dockyard
Hong Kong United Dockyard
Hong Kong United Dockyard or simply United Dockyard is a dockyard in Shek Wan, on the Tsing Yi Island of Hong Kong. HUD was formed in 1973 from the merger of Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock and Taikoo Dockyard . It is jointed owned by Hutchison Whampoa and Swire...
on the western shore of Tsing Yi Island.
Ships built at this yard include:
- USS Mariveles (1886)USS Mariveles (1886)The first USS Mariveles was a gunboat in the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War.A former Spanish unarmored gunboat, Mariveles was laid down in 1886 by Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company, Hong Kong; purchased by the War Department in 1898; transferred to the Navy on 2 May 1899; and...
- VSIS Changte 1925 for Australian Oriental LineAustralian Oriental LineThe Australian Oriental Line was a shipping company that operated between Sydney and Hong Kong. It was formed in 1912 by G.S. Yuill & Company. The company closed in 1961 due to the high costs of acquiring new vessels or refitting the existing fleet....
- later became Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Naval Stores Issuing Ship Y1-9 - Kwai Sang 1917
- Li Wo 1938; 1,000 ton passenger ship and later converted as a patrol vessel for the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
; sank near SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 1942 as HMS Li Wo - Sang Wo 1926
- VSIS Taiping 1926 for Australian Oriental LineAustralian Oriental LineThe Australian Oriental Line was a shipping company that operated between Sydney and Hong Kong. It was formed in 1912 by G.S. Yuill & Company. The company closed in 1961 due to the high costs of acquiring new vessels or refitting the existing fleet....
- Many of the Hong Kong Star FerryStar FerryThe Star Ferry, or The "Star" Ferry Company, is a passenger ferry service operator in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon...
vessels in service today.
Other facilities:
- Hope Dry Dock in Aberdeen 1867