Whampoa Dockyards
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Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock was a
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 ...
dockyard, once among the largest in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
.


History

Founded in 1866 by
Douglas Lapraik Douglas Lapraik (7 October 1818, London – 24 March 1869, London) was a British watchmaker, shipbuilder and shipping magnate of Scottish origins, most famous for his business empire and his role in the founding of many of Hong Kong's early co ...
and Thomas Sutherland, the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company (known as Hong Kong Kowloon and Whampoa Dock Company). In 1865, it was known as Kowloon Docks and located on the west Kowloon coast between
Hung Hom Hung Hom () is an area in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Including the area of Whampoa, Tai Wan, Hok Yuen, Lo Lung Hang and No. 12 Hill are administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of Hung Ho ...
and Tai Wan, facing Hung Hom Bay in the
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 ...
. It is also known as Whampoa Dock for short. The "Whampoa" part of the name comes from the harbor located at was then known as
Huangpu Island Pazhou is a subdistrict of Haizhu in southeastern Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, in China. , formerly Whampoa Island, has a total area of and is the site of Pazhou Pagoda. Its eastern bay was formerly the chief anchorage for ships partic ...
(previously transliterated as ''Whampoa''), adjacent to the city of
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
(previously transliterated as ''Canton''), where the company owned another dockyard. On the eve of Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the dockyard was heavily bombarded by Japanese
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
due to its importance, causing many casualties. In the mid-1960s, the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company was controlled by Douglas Clague through Hutchison International but he was forced to leave following financial difficulties with Hutchison International. Hutchison International was acquired by Li Ka Shing's Cheung Kong Holdings and eventually merged with Whampoa to become
Hutchison Whampoa Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) was an investment holding company based in Hong Kong. It was a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL was an international corporation with a dive ...
. In 1985, the dockyard land was transformed into a
private housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States a ...
, the Whampoa Garden, the second-largest private housing estate in Hong Kong, after Mei Foo Sun Chuen. The only portion of the dockyard that exists is Bulkeley Street. The dockyard is now part of the Whampoa Garden site residential complex. The dockyard operations merged with Swire's Taikoo Dockyard on the Island to become Hongkong United Dockyards on the new territories western shore of
Tsing Yi Island Tsing Yi, sometimes referred to as Tsing Yi Island, is an island in the urban area of Hong Kong, to the northwest of Hong Kong Island and south of Tsuen Wan. With an area of , the island has extended drastically by reclamation along almost all ...
Wok Tai Wan. Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock helped converted Hong Kong Tramways second and third generation tram cars built by United Electric and English Electric. These cars were eventually retired from 1924 to 1930 as the fourth-generation cars were introduced. Other facilities: * Hope Dry Dock in
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, opened 1867.


Ships

Ships built at this yard include: * ''Foo-mun-tsai'' (1881); Built for the Qing government's Canton Customs Authority. * * ''Con-rong'' (1887); French steamer. * ''Mellong'' (1901); Steamer built for German company
Norddeutscher Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...
for river use around Bangkok. * (1904) * USS ''San Felipe'' (YFB-12) (1907) * USS ''Banaag'' (YT-104) (1910) * ''Kwai Sang'' (1917) * S.S Suddhadib 1918 (Maiden voyage; Hong Kong 22 April 1918)Built for the Siam Steam Navigation Company (part of the East Asiatic Company (EAC) - Bangkok-based, Danish owner) Shipwrecked: 01-06-1945 Allied Bombing - Siam Bay. * S.S Valaya 1918 sistership to s.s.Suddhadib above.(Maiden voyage; Hong Kong June 15th )Built for the Siam Steam Navigation Company (part of the East Asiatic Company (EAC) - Bangkok-based, Danish owner) Shipwrecked: 13 Jan 1944(sunk by mines in the mouth of Chaopraya River 1944) * ''War Bomber'' (1919); 5,226 ton (8,000 ton deadweight), 400 foot warship, largest ship to date built at the Kowloon Docks for
Shipping Controller Shipping Controller was a post created by the Lloyd George Coalition Government in 1916 under the New Ministries and Secretaries Act (6 & 7 George 5 c.68) to regulate and organize merchant shipping in order to supply the United Kingdom with the m ...
, London. Later, would come into Japanese service during WWII and be sunk on 4 September 1942 as ''
Kaimei Maru ''Kaimei Maru'' was a Japanese troop transport ship operated by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II which was sunk off Honshu on 4 September 1942 by the American submarine . The ship was a British WWI Type B military cargo ship built b ...
''. * ''War Trooper'' (1919); 8,000 ton (deadweight), 400 foot warship, sister ship of the ''War Bomber''.Later entered Greek service as ''Ambatielos'', returning to British service in 1923 as ''King Gruffydd''. In 1939, pressed into Admiralty service as HMS ''Maunder'' (X-28), torpedoed and sunk in 1943. * for
Australian Oriental Line The Australian Oriental Line was a shipping company that operated between Sydney, Japan and Hong Kong. It was formed in 1912 by G.S. Yuill & Company. The company closed in 1961 due to the high costs of acquiring new vessels or refitting the existi ...
; later became
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
Naval Stores Issuing Ship RFA ''Y1-9''. * ''Sang Wo'' (1926) * for
Australian Oriental Line The Australian Oriental Line was a shipping company that operated between Sydney, Japan and Hong Kong. It was formed in 1912 by G.S. Yuill & Company. The company closed in 1961 due to the high costs of acquiring new vessels or refitting the existi ...
* USS ''YAG-3'' (1926) * SS Prince Narisra 1929. Yard no. 336. Siam Steamship Navigation Company, Bangkok. Damaged during bombing 1945 in Bangkok. Scrapped 1949 BKK * USS ''YAG-4'' (1931) * (1938); 1,000 ton passenger ship later converted as a patrol vessel for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
; sank near
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
in 1942 as HMS ''Li Wo''. * (1938) * ''Ranger'' (1940), ocean-going tugboat * (1941) * (1942) * and many of the Hong Kong
Star Ferry The Star Ferry is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Com ...
vessels in service today.


See also

* Cosmopolitan Dock


References

Hung Hom Dockyards in Hong Kong Former companies in the Hang Seng Index Predecessors of CK Hutchison Holdings Shipbuilding companies of Hong Kong Companies formerly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Former buildings and structures in Hong Kong Ships built by the Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Company {{Kowloon-stub