Where: We're looking east along Des Voeux Road West. In the distance you can see the road bends away to the right at the junction with Western Street. It still has the same layout today:<!--break-->
When: This is a hand-tinted postcard, published by "K.M. & Co." This style of postcard was popular in the 1910s and 20s, so I'll guess a date of 1915 for now. Corrections welcome.
What: The big building identifies itself:
The Sailors' Home [1], built in 1864 to provide accomodation to sailors visiting Hong Kong.
Later a corner of the site was set aside to build a church. It was built in 1871, and opened as St Peter's Church [2] in 1872. You can see the church spire peeping over the trees:
Today this area of land is the site for the Western Police Station [3], so the church and Sailors' Home are long gone. Their descendants live on though:
- Christ Church [4] in Kowloon Tong describes itself as "a rebirth of St. Peter's Seamen's Church, West Point" [5].
- Tthe Mariners Club in TST [6] traces its roots back to this Sailors' Home [7].
Who: Judging by their hats, we can't see any European sailors here:
Would they really have worn such colourful clothes, or is the painter using his imagination to liven up the view?
Regards, David
Trivia: Though the old buildings are all gone you can still see a large, 100+ year-old remnant of this site. Look at the wall behind the people. It's clearest on the right of the photo:
It's a solid wall, built from stone slabs. When the home first opened, it stood on the seafront so a strong perimeter wall was a good idea to keep the typhoons at bay. Whoever built it did a good job, as it is still standing today:
References:
- Sailors' Home, Sai Ying Pun
- St. Peter's Church, Praya West
- Western Police Station
- Christ Church, Kowloon Tong
- http://www.christchurch.com.hk/servlet/idxPubb6c5.html?db=christchurch&id=home&pid=12
- Mariners' Club, TST
- http://www.marinersclub.org.hk/history.html