In early 1900, the successful tender for the construction of the new Naval Dockyard was announced. Five British contractors and one local firm Messrs. Leigh & Orange were invited to tender for the works, which covered the extension of the shore-front from Murray Pier to Arsenal Street. The contract was awarded to Punchard, McTaggart, and Lowther Company Limited (PMLC) at a cost of one million pounds.[37] Work started in the middle of 1900 with the demolition of the Victoria Recreation Club. The process of clearing away soft mud for the sea-wall foundation commenced with the assistance of a dredger from the HKWDC. This powerful dredger, with a storing capacity of 750 tons, was built by Fleming and Ferguson of Paisley, and renamed the Canton River.[38] The dumping of the mud was arranged by the Harbour Department, and a site off Green Island was selected for this purpose.
On 15 January 1902, Mrs. Powell, wife of Commodore F. Powell, laid the foundation stone.[39] Fifty-seven years later, in 1959, when the dockyard closed, the relics buried beneath the stone were found untouched: three newspapers (The China Mail, The Hong Kong Daily Press and The Hongkong Telegraph), six Hong Kong coins, and a plan of the dockyard extension.[40]
The first retrenchment after the Second World War
In February 1948, the Hong Kong Governor, Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham, announced that the British Parliament had decided on a reduction in the size of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet. The Hong Kong Naval Yard was no exception, and there would be a 15% staff cut by the end of March and a further 20% cut by the end of June, making a total reduction of 35%. There was a total of some 9,000 employees working for the Naval Dockyard in Aberdeen, Kowloon and Central. The staff association responded that compensation should be paid to the workers, and that laid-off workers should have priority in all future recruitment. The staff association, with the support of the Mainland, stood firm on their request, but it was all to no avail. Both the local dockyard and the Governor, though sympathetic, had no choice except to follow the general compensation policy applicable to all British Colonies. The retrenchment was subsequently completed despite opposition from the staff association.
Closure of the Naval Dockyard: birth of a continuous shore front
On 29 November 1957, all local newspapers published the news that the British Government had decided to close the Hong Kong Naval Dockyard. The closure would be in stages, to be completed on 30 November 1959. Some 4,000 members of staff would be affected. However, more land would be released, and the hundred years of traffic bottle-necks would vanish together with the dockyard. The whole issue was succinctly summarised by Grantham, the then Governor, in his book, Via Ports: From Hong Kong to Hong Kong.[41] He wrote: “I remember saying to Mr. Sandys, ‘Very well, if you reduce the size of the garrison, we’ll reduce the size of our military contribution’, to which he replied that he would not be blackmailed. The issue was not settled until after I had left. Hong Kong lost on both counts; the garrison was reduced, and the military contribution was increased.”
Notes:
- [37]The Hong Kong Daily Press, 12 February 1900.
- [38]The Canton River was launched on 2 June 1897. The 155-horsepower twin-screw vessel measured 177 x 35 x 13.7 feet and had a speed of 9 knots. It was sold to the HKWDC in 1902.
- [39]The China Mail, 15 January 1902.
- [40]The China Mail, 2 October 1959.
- [41]Alexander Grantham, Via Ports: From Hong Kong to Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1965), pp. 193-195.
Part 2 Chapter 1.9 – The mega project: Construction of the Naval Dockyard
