Teachers and students of Department of Real Estate and Construction of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) discovered a long forgotten boundary marker stone from the very earliest days of the British presence in Hong Kong. This B.O. No4, boundary stone, is located in the Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village in Sai Wan Shan.
Research by Dr Stephen N.G. Davies, Lecturer of the Department, has identified the stone’s provenance. “B.O.” stands for ‘Board of Ordnance’, the British military authority in charge of surveying and mapping before 1855. That clue led to its identification on Hong Kong’s oldest scientifically surveyed map, the Ordnance Map of Hong Kong of 1845 by Lt. Thomas Bernard Collinson Royal Engineers. In late 1843 or early 1844 Lt. Collinson had placed the stone exactly where the HKU students found it 172 years later. It had served as one of his survey’s 27 trigonometric stations on Hong Kong Island, as well as marking the northern boundary of the military land of the long abandoned Saiwan Barracks of which it is today the only surviving reminder.
The stone has suffered some damage over the years but all the original markings are still legible. The Department proposes that the HKSAR government conserve the stone as an AAB Grade I listed object.
Members of the media are cordially invited to a site visit and on-site press briefing on the findings. Below please find the details:
Date: December 15, 2015 (tomorrow)
Time/Activity/Venue:
1:35pm HKU shuttle bus to pick up reporters at Shaukeiwan MTR station B1 exit (Map) (Contact person: Ms Julie Chu ,Mobile phone number 6347 2221)
1:50pm For those media who will drive to Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village, please gather at the main entrance of the Park (Map) (Contact person: Ms Rhea Leung, Mobile phone number 9022 7446)
2:00pm All media to gather and have a short walk to pavilion
2:30pm Presentation at pavilion
3:00pm Walk up to marker stone B.O. No4, photo taking and Q&A
4:00pm (Optional) Leave LYM for Chung Hom Kok Beach to view the neglected open air machine gun stand and the pillbox by the drain
5:00pm End of press briefing
N.B. As the Hong Kong Observatory forecasted that the temperature in the territory will drop in the coming days, would the journalists joining this outdoor press event please wear sufficient clothes.
Speakers:
Professors Lawrence Lai Wai-chung, Department and Chair Professor of Real Estate and Construction
Dr Stephen N.G. Davies, Lecturer of the Department of Real Estate and Construction
Mr Chan Yiu-hung, teacher of the Common Core Course
Dr Ken Ching Siu-tong, an alumnus of the Department, who led a team and closely surveyed the stone
Media enquiries:
Communication and Public Affairs Office
Ms Rhea Leung (Tel: +852 2857 8555/ +8529022 7446; email: rhea.leung@hku.hk) or
Ms Julie Chu (Tel: +8522859 2437/ +8526347 2221; email：juliechu@hku.hk)
