Victoria, Hong Kong

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The City of Victoria,[1] (Template:Zh,[2] or Template:Zh)[3] often called Victoria City or simply Victoria (Template:Zh), is an area in Hong Kong de jure[1] and was the de facto capital of Hong Kong during its time as a British dependent territory.[4] It was initially named Queenstown but was soon known as Victoria.[5] It was one of the first urban settlements in Hong Kong and its boundaries are recorded in the laws of Hong Kong.[1] All government bureaux and many key departments still have their head offices located within its limit.

Present-day Central is at the heart of Victoria City. Although the city expanded over much of what is now Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui, Lung Fu Shan, Sai Ying Pun, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, Happy Valley, the Mid-Levels, East Point and parts of Causeway Bay,[6] the name Victoria has been eclipsed by Central in popular usage.[7] However, the name is still used in places such as Victoria Park, Victoria Peak, Victoria Harbour, Victoria Prison, and a number of roads and streets. It is also retained in the names of various organisations such as the Victoria City District of the Hong Kong Scout,[8] and the Victoria Junior Chamber.[9] The name Victoria District Court had been used into the 1980s,[10][11][12][13] when it was moved to the Wanchai Tower and later on combined with other district courts in the territory.

History

"City of Victoria" had appeared on the statute books early in the 1845,[14] although names such as "Town of Victoria" can be found as well.[15] Letters patent that formally confers the city status and creates the City of Victoria was made on 11 May 1849.[16]

In 1857, the British government expanded the scope of Victoria City and divided it into four wans (Template:Zh):

"Sai Wan", "Sheung Wan" and "Choong Wan" retain the same Chinese name today. The four wans are further divided into nine yeuks (Template:Zh, similar to 'district' or 'neighbourhood'). The coverage also included parts of East Point and Happy Valley (west of Wong Nai Chung Road on the east side of the racecourse). In 1903, boundary stones were established to mark the city's boundary and six of them are still preserved today. The stones spread from Causeway Bay to Kennedy Town.[17]

In the 1890s, Victoria extended Script error: No such module "convert". west to east along the coastal strip. Buildings were made of granite and brick. Buses and the new tramway would become the main form of transport in the area.[18]

The city is centred in present-day Central, and named after Queen Victoria in 1843. It occupies the areas known in modern times as Central, Admiralty, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, East Point, Shek Tong Tsui, the Mid-levels, the Peak, Happy Valley, Tin Hau, and Kennedy Town, on Hong Kong Island.

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Boundaries

File:Map of Victoria City, Hongkong (2023) (cropped) edited.png
Map of Victoria City with location of boundary rocks marked in red

The city boundaries are defined in the laws of Hong Kong as follows:[1]

  • On the north – The Harbour;
  • On the west – A line running due north and south drawn through the north-west angle of Inland Lot No. 1299 and extending southwards a distance of Script error: No such module "convert". from the aforesaid angle;
  • On the south – A line running due east from the southern extremity of the western boundary until it meets a contour in the vicinity of the Hill above Belchers Script error: No such module "convert". above principal datum, that is to say, a level Script error: No such module "convert". below the bench-mark known as "Rifleman's Bolt", the highest point of a copper bolt set horizontally in the east wall of the Royal Navy Office and Mess Block Naval Dockyard, and thence following the said contour until it meets the eastern boundary;
  • On the east – A line following the west side of the Government Pier, Bay View and thence along the west side of Template:Ill, then along the north side of Causeway Road to Template:Ill. Thence along the west side of Moreton Terrace to the south-east corner of Inland Lot No. 1580 and produced in a straight line for Script error: No such module "convert"., and thence along the north side of Cotton Path and produced until it meets the west side of Wong Nei Chong Road on the east side of Wong Nei Chong Valley and thence to the south-east angle of Inland Lot No. 1364, produced until it meets the southern boundary.

First streets

According to the 1845 map of Victoria City, 16 streets were initially named for the city. These streets exist mainly in the areas of Central and the Mid-Levels, with two being in Sheung Wan. These street names were finalised by the second governor of Hong Kong, Sir John Francis Davis. All 16 streets were named after persons of great prominence in Great Britain or in Hong Kong, with the location and layout determined according to the position and prominence of the eponymous person:

Street Name Location Person named after Eponym's position
Queen's Road Central Queen Victoria Monarch of Great Britain
Arbuthnot Road Central George Arbuthnot Auditor of the Civil List
Caine Road Mid-Levels William Caine Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong
Cochrane Street Mid-Levels Sir Thomas John Cochrane Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station
D'Aguilar Street Central Sir George Charles d'Aguilar Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong
Elgin Street Central James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine High Commissioner and Plenipotentiary in China and the Far East
Gough Street Sheung Wan Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough Commander-in-Chief, British Forces in China
Graham Street Central Sir James Graham Home Secretary and First Lord of the Admiralty
Lyndhurst Terrace Central John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
Peel Street Mid-Levels Sir Robert Peel Prime Minister of Great Britain
Pottinger Street Central Sir Henry Pottinger Governor of Hong Kong
Stanley Street Central Edward Smith-Stanley, Baron of Stanley

Later 14th Earl of Derby

Colonial Secretary of Great Britain, later Prime Minister of Great Britain
Wellington Street Central and Sheung Wan Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field Marshal and Prime Minister of Great Britain
Wyndham Street Central William Pedder Royal Navy Lieutenant, Harbour Master and Marine Magistrate of Hong Kong

Boundary stones

File:Victoria City and Kowloon 1915.jpg
A 1915 map showing Victoria in the north shore of Hong Kong Island (below); Kowloon peninsula (above) was not part of the colony until 1860

In 1903, the Hong Kong Government erected several boundary stones to mark the limits of Victoria, measuring 98 cm in height, tapered at the top and with the inscription "City Boundary 1903". As the city’s boundaries were clearly defined by ordinance, these stones were more just physical markers.[19]

Three additional boundary stones were found in 2021,[20] adding the total of discovered stones to 10, including the one disappeared in June 2007.[21]

Boundary stones of Victoria from west to east
No. Location Region Notes
1 File:City Boundary 1903 - Kennedy Town Temporary Recreation Ground.jpg Sai Ning Street Kennedy Town Re-erected in Kennedy Town Temporary Playground a few metres away from original location in 1970s[22]
2 File:09摩星嶺.jpg Slope of Mount Davis, south of Victoria Road Mount Davis Discovered on 12 December 2021[20]
3 File:Boundary Stone-Pok Fu Lam Road.jpg Pokfulam Road, near Smithfield Sandy Bay Gap
4 File:07龍虎山.jpg Slope of Lung Fu Shan, near Hatton Road Lung Fu Shan Discovered on 5 December 2021[23]
5 File:City Boundary 1903 - Hatton Road.jpg Hatton Road, near Kotewall Road
6 File:City Boundary 1903 - Old Peak Road.jpg Old Peak Road, near Tregunter Path Mid-Levels
7 File:City Boundary tone 1903 Magazine Gap Road No16.JPG Magazine Gap Road Removed in June 2007, whereabouts unknown[24][21]
8 File:City Boundary 1903 - Bowen Road.jpg Bowen Road, near Stubbs Road
9 File:03玫瑰崗.jpg Slope near Rosaryhill School, Stubbs Road Discovered on 12 December 2021[20]
10 File:Boundary Stone-Wong Nai Chung Road.jpg Wong Nai Chung Road Happy Valley

Districts

File:Victoria Town, Hong Kong.jpg
Victoria Town, 1850
File:City of Victoria.jpg
Victoria City, 1860–65

In 1866 the nine districts, also called yeuks, are:[25]

Other places that might be considered as yeuks include:

Territorial designation

On 21 May 1982, Sir Crawford Murray MacLehose was made a life peer, weeks after the end of his governorship in Hong Kong. His peerage was announced on 31 December 1981 in the 1982 New Years Honours. He was therefore styled as Baron MacLehose of Beoch, of Maybole in the District of Kyle and Carrick, and of Victoria in Hong Kong. Victoria was listed as the barony's territorial designation, alongside MacLehose's hometown Maybole. The barony went extinct on 27 May 2000 when MacLehose died.[26][27]

See also

References

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  1. ↑ a b c d Template:Cite law
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ "Hong Kong"
  5. ↑ Shelton, Barrie; Karakiewicz, Justyna; Kvan, Thomas (2011). The Making of Hong Kong: From Vertical to Volumetric. Routledge. p. 41. Template:ISBN.
  6. ↑ Wordie, Jason (2002). Streets: Exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong University Press. p. 12. Template:ISBN.
  7. ↑ Tsang, Steve (2004). A Modern History of Hong Kong. I.B. Tauris. p. 17. Template:ISBN.
  8. ↑ Victoria City District
  9. ↑ Victoria Junior Chamber
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ CACC497/1986 The Queen v. Chan Ngai Hung
  12. ↑ CACC186A/1987 The Queen v Currency Brokers (H.K.) Ltd and Robert Lee Flickinger
  13. ↑ CACC133A/1986 The Queen v. Wai Hin Keung
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  17. ↑ Wordie, Jason (2002)
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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