Statue Square (; lit. "Empress' Statue Square") is a public pedestrian

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. Built entirely on

reclaimed land Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

at the end of the 19th century, Statue Square consists of two parts separated by

Chater Road Chater Road is a three-lane road in Central, Hong Kong named after Sir Paul Chater. It begins at its intersection with Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road Central in the west, and ends at Murray Road in the east. It divides Statue Square int ...

into a northern and a southern section. It is bordered by

Connaught Road Central Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delb ...

in the north and by

Des Voeux Road Central Des is a masculine given name, mostly a short form (hypocorism) of Desmond. People named Des include: People * Des Buckingham, English football manager * Des Corcoran, (1928–2004), Australian politician * Des Dillon (disambiguation), severa ...

in the south. The name is a reference to the statues, mainly of British royalty, which stood on the square until the

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surr ...

during World War II. Today, the only statue on the square is the one of

Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet, (; 1841 – 1915) was the third Chief Manager of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. He was responsible for financing the development of Colonial Hong Kong under the first large scale bank. Early yea ...

, an early HSBC banker.

History

The square was built at the end of the nineteenth century on land reclaimed by the

Praya Reclamation Scheme The Praya Reclamation Scheme () was a large scale land reclamation project carried out by the Hong Kong Land company in Colonial Hong Kong under Sir Catchick Paul Chater and James Johnstone Keswick. Early proposal The project was first proposed i ...

. The idea of a square of statues dedicated to royalty was conceived by Sir

Catchick Paul Chater Sir Catchick Paul Chater ( hy, Փոլ Չաթեր; ; 8 September 1846 – 27 May 1926) was a prominent British businessman of Armenian descent in colonial Hong Kong, whose family roots were in Calcutta, India. Biography Early life Chater was ...

.The Statues of Statue Square
Hong Kong by Liz Chater, privately published July 2009 Initially named "Royal Square", it gradually became known as "Statue Square", as it originally contained the statue of Queen Victoria, in commemoration of the Queen's

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

in 1887. The statue of the Queen should have been made not in bronze but in marble, an error that was not discovered until the bronze statue was almost completed.Wordie, Jason
"The square that put an old queen in her place"
'' The Standard'', 2 May 1999 It was officially unveiled at the centre of the square on 28 May 1896, the day officially appointed for the celebration of the 77th birthday of the Queen. A

statue of Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet The statue of Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet is a bronze sculpture by Mario Raggi, installed in Statue Square, a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong. It was unveiled on 24 February 1906 by the Governor of Hong Kong The gove ...

, the chief manager of

the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...

was unveiled in 1906. Apart from Jackson's statue and the two bronze lions in front of the HSBC building, the rest of the statues were displaced to Japan to be melted by the Japanese occupiers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

The Cenotaph The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War, was rededicated in 19 ...

, a replica of the

Cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

, London,Brief Information on Proposed Grade I Items, pp. 53–54
was unveiled on 24 May 1923 (

Empire Day Commonwealth Day (formerly Empire Day) is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, since 1977 often held on the second Monday in March. It is marked by an Anglican service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by the monarch a ...

) by the Governor Sir

Reginald Edward Stubbs Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs (; 13 October 1876 – 7 December 1947) was a British colonial governor, who was once the Governor of Hong Kong. He caused controversy while Governor of Ceylon over the Bracegirdle Incident. Early life and educat ...

. It was built on the northeastern section of Statue Square, facing the

Hong Kong Club Building The Hong Kong Club Building () is a 25-story office building located in between Chater Road and Connaught Road Central at the junction of Jackson Road, in Central, Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Club Building is currently in its third generation, in ...

. This area is now only uncommonly referred to as part of Statue Square. After the war, some of the statues were brought back to Hong Kong. Sir Thomas Jackson's now stands roughly in the middle of the square, facing the

Court of Final Appeal Building The Court of Final Appeal Building, also known as the Old Supreme Court Building, is the home of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong. It housed the former Supreme Court from 1912 to 1983 and the Legislative Council from 1985 to 2011. ...

. Queen Victoria's statue was placed in

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

, and the two

HSBC lions Various headquarters and branch buildings of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (and later the HSBC Group) feature a pair of lion sculptures. The HSBC lions have become distinctive landmarks in their own right in Hong Kong and Shangha ...

returned to the front of the HSBC building. The bronze statue of George V, also removed by the Japanese, was lost and never replaced after the war. Since the 1980s, it has been a tradition for thousands of

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

domestic workers A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

to congregate in and around Statue Square every Sunday, their usual rest day of the week. A parallel tradition has since been developed in

for

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

Surrounding buildings

;South The

HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building HSBC Main Building is a headquarters building of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which is today a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based HSBC Holdings. It is located on the southern side of Statue Square near the location of the ...

is located along the southern side of the square, across

. The site was previously occupied by the old

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

(built 1869, demolished 1933) and smaller earlier generations of the HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building. ;East * Legislative Council Building, along the eastern side of the southern section of the square *

, along the eastern side of the northern section of the square ;West Several buildings with names reminiscent of British royalty were built on the western side of the square. Prince's Building and Queen's Building were built directly along the square (southern section and northern section respectively), while the others were built further west. *

Prince's Building Prince's Building is an office tower with a six-level shopping centre, known as Landmark Prince's. Located along the western side of the southern section of Statue Square in Central, Hong Kong near Central station, the building is connected to ...

1904–1963, replaced by the current Prince's Building (1965) * Queen's Building 1899–1961, replaced by the

Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong The Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is a five-star hotel on Connaught Road Central in Central, Hong Kong, owned and managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. History Construction of the hotel on the site of the colonial Queen's Building on ...

hotel (1963) * King's Building 1905–1958, home to Marconi Wireless and now part of the footprint for

Chater House Chater House () is an office tower in Central, Hong Kong. Opened in March 2003, it is a part of the Hongkong Land portfolio of properties. It has a three-level retail podium, known as Landmark Chater. The building was built on the site of th ...

* St George's Building (聖佐治大廈) 1904–1966, home to Millington Limited and replaced by the current St. George's Building office tower (1969) * Alexandra Building (亞歷山大行) 1904–1950, named for Princess of Wales, later

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...

, replaced by modernist Alexandra Building (1952–1974) and now

Alexandra House Alexandra House () is an office building in Central, Hong Kong near Central station. The building has 37 levels. It hosts a shopping arcade, Landmark Alexandra, and it is connected to the Central Elevated Walkway. The block formed by Alexan ...

(歷山大廈) (1976) ;North The square was initially bordered by

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

on its northern side, but following

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

, it is now separated from it by

Edinburgh Place Edinburgh Place is a public square in Central, Hong Kong, adjacent to the Victoria Harbour. The Hong Kong City Hall is located in the square. In addition, the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier and Queen's Pier were also located in the square before t ...

, which housed the Star Ferry pier, among others, until 2007.

The statues

Today, the only freestanding statue on the Square is the statue of Sir Thomas Jackson. Additionally, a 2.7 m high blind-folded statue of

Themis In Greek mythology and religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, fai ...

, the Greek Goddess of Justice and Law, stands on top of the pediment of the

, and is facing the Square. The statues that have been historically on display on the square include: * Statue of Queen Victoria. Unveiled on 28 May 1896. Taken by the Japanese during World War II and returned to Hong Kong in 1952. It is now in

. * Statue of Prince Albert, added before 1902.Wiltshire, Trea. irst published 1987(republished & reduced2003). Old Hong Kong – Volume One. Central, Hong Kong: FormAsia Books Ltd. Page 8. * Statue of the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

. Donated by

and erected in 1902. It was moved to the waterfront at

and

Pedder Street Pedder Street is a major thoroughfare in the core of Hong Kong's Central District. It runs south–north from Queen's Road Central, continues through Des Voeux Road Central, and ends at its intersection with Connaught Road Central. History ...

in 1907,Arthur Hacker
"Statue Square: Arthur Hacker digs up the history on Hong Kong statues"
CityLife near Blake Pier.Liz Chater
Details of statues in Statue Square
Gwulo: Old Hong Kong website *

Statue of Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet The statue of Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet is a bronze sculpture by Mario Raggi, installed in Statue Square, a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong. It was unveiled on 24 February 1906 by the Governor of Hong Kong The gove ...

, the chief manager of

. Unveiled on 24 February 1906 by the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Sir

Matthew Nathan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Quee ...

. * Statue of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

. Bronze statue created by George Edward Wade. Donated by

and unveiled on 6 February 1907 by the Duke of Connaught. * Statue of the Prince of Wales who later became King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

. Donated by John Bell-Irving, a director of Hongkong Electric Company and unveiled on 6 February 1907 by the Duke of Connaught. * Statue of

. Bronze statue created by George Edward Wade. Unveiled on 25 November 1909. It was removed during the Japanese occupation.Gwulo.com
1909 Unveiling statues in Statue Square
/ref> * Statue of

Mary of Teck Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 Janua ...

, Princess of Wales and future Queen Mary. Bronze statue created by George Edward Wade. Donated by

Hormusjee Naorojee Mody Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody (12 October 1838 – 16 June 1911) was a successful Indian Parsi businessman in Hong Kong. He made Hong Kong his home for 50 years, during which he did much for the benefit of the colony and finally founded the Univer ...

as "a genuine token of the loyalty and esteem of the Parsis for their King and Queen". Unveiled on 25 November 1909. It was removed during the Japanese occupation. * Statue of Sir

Henry May Henry May may refer to: *Henry May (American politician) (1816–1866), U.S. Representative from Maryland * Henry May (New Zealand politician) (1912–1995), New Zealand politician * Henry May (VC) (1885–1941), Scottish recipient of the Victoria C ...

, 15th Governor of Hong Kong. Unveiled on 3 May 1923. * The HSBC World War I memorial statue, "Fame". Unveiled on 24 May 1923. In addition, statues of royalty and colonial administrators located outside of Statue Square included: * Statue of Sir Arthur Kennedy, in the Botanical Gardens
picture
. Erected by public subscription following his death at sea in 1883, it was unveiled in November 1887 by the newly arrived Governor

William Des Vœux Sir George William Des Vœux (22 September 1834 – 15 December 1909) was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of Fiji (1880–1885), Newfoundland (1886–1887), and Hong Kong (1887–1891). Early life Des Vœux was born ...

and stood "above the second terrace looking down on the fountain". It was removed during the Japanese occupation, and never recovered. * Statue of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

, in

Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often b ...

. Erected in 1941 and still standing.

In popular culture

This location was the "Pit Stop" for the tenth episode of ''

The Amazing Race 17 ''The Amazing Race 17'' is the seventeenth season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on September 26, 2010, with a speci ...

''.

Gallery

File:HKClubQVstatue ca1905-10r.png, Statue of Queen Victoria and its canopy at its original location in 1905. File:Hkhsbc jap.jpg, Sealed canopy during the Japanese occupation. File:HK CWB Victoria Park Queen Statue 1.jpg, Statue of Queen Victoria in

in October 2006. File:Victoria Park 0606.JPG, The relocated statue of Queen Victoria in Victoria Park in June 2006. File:Victory Duke of Connaught statue (cropped).jpg, Statue of the

at the end of

in 1919. File:Hong Kong Central in 1930s cropped.jpg, Statue of

in the 1930s. File:Governor1930.jpg, Statue of Sir

c. 1930. File:Statue Square, Hong Kong, Mar 06.JPG,

, with

in the background, in March 2006. File:HK Central Statue Square Legislative Council Building n Themis s.jpg, Statue of

on the Legislative Council Building. Image:HK Statue Square Founatin1.jpg, One of the water fountains on Statue Square, in June 2008. File:MTR CEN (19).JPG, Central MTR station Exit K in May 2009.

References

External links

Antiquities and Monuments Office: Statue Square
* Alain Le Pichon,
In the Heart of Victoria: the Emergence of Hong Kong's Statue Square as a Symbol of Victorian Achievement
, Revue LISA/LISA e-journal nline Vol. VII – n°3, 2009. Online since 25 May 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2011. * Ng, Chi-ho
"Metamorphosis of Statue Square"

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

, 1994 {{Coord, 22.28106, 114.15974, display=title Central, Hong Kong Squares in Hong Kong Urban public parks and gardens in Hong Kong