皇后码头.pdf

Page 1 of Annex B A Historical and Architectural Appraisal of Queen’s Pier, Central HISTORY The existing Queen’s Pier, built in 1953-1954, was the second Queen’s Pier in Hong Kong. The first one, located near the present-day carpark at Edinburgh Place, was completed in 1925. The old Queen’s Pier was demolished to make way for the reclamation of Victoria Harbour in the 1950s-60s. The existing pier was constructed at the new harbourfront, replacing the old one as a royal and public pier. Reclamation in the Early Colonial Years 2. After the British occupation of Hong Kong Island on 26 January 1841, the first land sale was held on 14 June. Purchasers were mostly the British, Indian and Parsee traders such as Dent, Jardines, Lindsay, etc. The traders were mainly import and export merchants and land lots chosen all had water frontage along the seashore of Victoria Harbour. The first road opened up was to the south, Queen’s Road. The land lots were then much expanded and reclaimed from the sea without paying rent to the government. The shoreline was made very irregular. The first land reclamations after 1841 were private ones without any planning at all. Praya Reclamation Scheme in the 1880s 3. The rapid increase of Hong Kong’s population after the British occupation drove the government to consider reclamation as a means to alleviate the high population density, housing and hygiene problems. In 1875, there were plans to carry out large-scale reclamation from Western District to Central. However, due to funding shortages and disputes with the existing Marine lot holders and the military over land rights along the Praya in Central, the plans did not materialize. The plans were revived in July 1887 when the taipan of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown Co., Paul Chater, suggested the Praya Reclamation Scheme. With some revisions, reclamation was carried out in stages from 1889 and was completed in 1903. Page 2 of Annex B Praya East Reclamation Scheme in 1921-1931 4. In 1897 when the Praya Reclamation Scheme from Western District to Central was in full swing, the government commenced planning for the Praya East Reclamation which was to start from the junction of present-day Hennessy Road and Johnston Road, and terminate at present-day Percival Street, in order to relieve further the population density in the City of Victoria. But the scheme was held up for 20 years. It was not welcomed by the Royal Navy as it required the relocation of the Naval Hospital on Hospital Hill. The plan, through the persevering efforts of Paul Chater, by then an Executive Councillor, was endorsed by the Executive Council on 4 May 1920 after the Royal Navy agreed to relocate the Naval Hospital to Stonecutters Island. The reclamation was begun in November 1921 and completed in 1931. The focus of reclamation was shifted from Central to Wan Chai in the two decades before the outbreak of the Second World War. Central Reclamation After the Second World War 5. Reclamation at Victoria Harbour took place again after the Second World War. A large-scale reclamation, started in 1953, was completed in 1968. The impact of the reclamation on Queen’s Pier will be elaborated in the following paragraphs. Queen’s Pier Amidst Central Reclamation 6. The Queen’s Pier, originally named “Queen’s Statue Wharf”, was first built in the form of a wooden wharf. Reconstruction was proposed by the Public Works Committee in July 1921. Thereafter, contract drawings and documents were prepared for the construction of a reinforced concrete pier, which would provide accommodation for four launches lying alongside. The contract, awarded to Messrs. Sang Lee the roof and façade; and the entrance porch of the pier formed separate contracts. 7. This reinforced concrete pier was located near the present-day carpark at Edinburgh Place (Fig. 1 the old one, built in 1867, was demolished in 1947 to make way for the construction of the old Bank of China building) were also established on the reclaimed land, forming the backdrop of Queen’s Pier (Fig. 8). Queen’s Pier as a Ceremonial Pier 11. The old Queen’s Pier was purposely built as a ceremonial pier. It was mooted that it would be opened at the time of the Prince of Wales’ arrival. However, due to serious delays in the construction, the pier was not completed until some time before October 1925. 12. As a royal, ceremonial pier, the old Queen’s Pier was the landing place for the Governors of Hong Kong as well as prominent officials and figures within and outside Hong Kong, upon their arrival in and departure from the colony. Sir Reginald Stubbs (1919-1925) was the first governor who used the pier, from which he left the colony upon the end of his term of office as the Governor of Hong Kong. A final farewell gathering attended by important government officials, members of the Legislative and Execu。