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Life in the 1930s was perilousi n many parts of Asia withcontinuing civil war among the

provincial warlords in China, and Japangearing up for invasion. Immigration intowhat was seen as the safe haven of HongKong grew in these years. With thisinflux came capital and skills. The greatworldwide depression began in 1929 butdid not at f i r s t a f fect Hong Kongseriously. As a British colony, HongK o n g ’ s i n d u s t r i a l p r o d u c t s h a dpreferential tariffs within the BritishE m p i r e , h e n c e i n c r e a s i n g t h e i ra t t r a c t i o n a n d c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s .Entrepot—the lifeblood of Hong Kong—continued to flourish and new industriessuch as rubber shoes, garments, spinningand weaving, enamelware and light metalproducts became established.

Lighting up the New

Territories (1931-1941)The year 1931 marked a new era in thedevelopment of the New Territories. Thecoming of the light bulb to the NewTerritories was like the dawning of a newday to many villagers. Mr. Lau Wan Heiof the Sai Kung Rural Committee recallsthe use of bamboos as torches in the olddays. The bamboos were chopped downfrom the hillside, flattened at the ends,dried in the sun for four or five days,immersed in water for a month, and thendried again under sunlight before beingused as fire beacons. The light was saidto be bright and produced no dark smoke.

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According to Dr. Geoffrey Herklots,Mrs. Gloria Barretto, who was alsoprominently associated in the

postwar years with the Kadoorie AgriculturalAid Association (KAAA), was a long-timeresident of the New Terr i tor ies . Sheremembers when living in her Fanling homeduring the 1930s having kerosene lampsbecause their own domestic generator was sounreliable. The family also had to order a 50-pound block of ice each day from Kowloonfor the refrigerator, brought up by the traintogether with the day’s food supplies.

In 1931 CLP laid high-voltage cables throughthe Beacon Hill tunnel, together with 2.2 kVoverhead lines, supplying electricity to theregions along the railway line, forming thefirst supply network. CLP was ready to takeits next great leap forward to supplyelectricity to the New Territories, coveringSha Tin, Tai Po, Fanling, Au Tau in YuenLong, and Tsuen Wan. Even then only a fewlarger towns could enjoy electricity and mostof the New Territories did not benefit fromthis new development. A major achievementwas the laying of high voltage cables in timefor the building of the Shing Mun Reservoir,in the Kowloon hills, between 1933 and 1937.

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Daily Press, 1933

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Tai Po Market in 1927, where there was still no power supply

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By now, it was widely recognizedthat electricity needed close andregular supervision to avoid the

dangers of damage and deterioration toinstallations. The Government in 1931required anyone possessing electric lampsor cables to have them inspected by CLPstaff every five years, with repairs to beeffected immediately.

Light installations were one thing; liftsand elevators were now an increasingfeature of high-rise buildings. WhenNathan Hotel in Yau Ma Tei opened in1930, it told its residents: “no need to takethe stairs when you go up or down.” Andfrom the vantage point of your room youmight be able to see the “toweringAlhambra Theatre” and gaze on “thedazzling electric lamps.”

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Hong Kong in its colonial dayswas always ready to celebratea right royal occasion and this

came in 1937 with the coronation of KingGeorge VI. A grand parade was stagedi n w h i c h K o w l o o n a n d t h e N e wTerritories took part, with CLP givenresponsibility for the lighting. All publicplaces were lit up, but pride of place wentto Signal Hill in Tsim Sha Tsui where two20-foot tall illuminated letters, GR, wereset up. Private homes and CLP substationswere also festooned with electric lamps,particularly in Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kokand Kowloon City—with 36,000 lampsbeing used for the occasion.

It was Kowloon’s last big celebrationbefore the clouds of war loomed on thehorizon. Following the Marco PoloBridge (Lugouqiao) Incident in 1937,Japan launched full-scale war on Chinaand as the invading armies swept southtowards Guangdong province, HongKong took its own precautions with airraid drills and blackouts. People wereasked to “switch off all outdoor lightsand to cover any lights indoors when the(air raid) alarm is heard.”

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Newspaper report on the coronation of King George VI, 1937

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Despite the onset of war which broughtalarms and dangers, Hong Kong wass t r iv ing to mainta in i t s economicdevelopment, with many f irms andbusinesses moving from threatened areasin China, together with management andcapital. New industries were given aboost, and in 1938 a Hong Kong ProductsExpo was held to show off the new warescoming from local factories. In theseyears, Tsuen Wan became a majorindustrial area, with the opening ofbreweries, dyeing works and factoriesproducing soya bean products, preservedfood, and woven cloth. One of the biggestwas the Texas Oil Refinery at Mei Foo.Hong Kong was even supplying warmaterials to the Chinese armies with theWah Nam Steelworks opening in 1938;and following the outbreak of war inEurope, Britain turned to Hong Kong formany of the products it could no longerbuy from Japan or Europe. All theseindustrial activities were efficientlysupported by the supply of electricity.Another memorable event was theintroduction of air conditioning in whatwas then Hong Kong’s largest publichospital—Kowloon Hospital. In future,doctors and surgeons would be able tooperate in a cool environment for theirown and their patients’ comfort.

CLP not only had to expand the capacityof Hok Un, opened by the Governor, SirGeoffrey Northcote on 26 February 1940,but to plan construction of its well knownadministrative building at the junction ofArgyle Street and Waterloo Road, still inuse today. It would be the business centreof the company. A network of cashcollection offices were opened aroundKowloon for the payment of bills. Clearlythe threat of war was no barrier toexpansion and growth.

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CLP Deposit Receipt, 1938

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