Peak Reservation Ordinance
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The Peak District Reservation Ordinance 1904,Text of the Peak District Reservation Ordinance, 1904
/ref> originally enacted as the Hill District Reservation Ordinance, is commonly called the Peak Reservation Ordinance and was a zoning law that reserved most of the
Victoria Peak Victoria Peak is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak only generally. With an elevation of , it is the highest hill on Hong Kong Island, ranked 29 in terms of elevation in H ...
as a place of residence to non-Chinese people except with the consent of the
Governor-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...
.Wiltshire, Trea.
irst published 1987 An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...
(republished & reduced 2003). Old Hong Kong – Volume Two. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. Page 21. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-60-6. pg 21
The law was in force from 1904 to 1930 where the deadly Third Pandemic of
Bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
took place in China, causing 100,000 deaths, and enormous number of Chinese influxed into Hong Kong, causing the
1894 Hong Kong plague The 1894 Hong Kong plague, part of the third plague pandemic, was a major outbreak of the bubonic plague in Hong Kong. While the plague was harshest in 1894, it returned annually between 1895 and 1929, and killed over 20,000 in total, with a fata ...
. Contemporary historians’ views toward the Ordinance vary, with some attributing the Ordinance to health segregation, whereas others attribute it to social status segregation. The debate on the second reading of the Bill is recorded in the ''Hong Kong Hansard'', which shows that the two Chinese members,
Ho Kai Sir Kai Ho, CMG, JP, MRCS (; 21 March 1859 – 21 July 1914), better known as Sir Kai Ho Kai, born Ho Shan-kai (), was a Hong Kong barrister, physician and essayist in Colonial Hong Kong. He played a key role in the relationship between ...
and Wei Yuk, did not oppose the Bill but a minority of the "leading Chinese" in the community were against it.


Background


1894 Hong Kong plague

In 1894, the deadly Third Pandemic of
Bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
spread from China to Hong Kong, causing 100,000 deaths in
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
alone within two months and subsequently the
1894 Hong Kong plague The 1894 Hong Kong plague, part of the third plague pandemic, was a major outbreak of the bubonic plague in Hong Kong. While the plague was harshest in 1894, it returned annually between 1895 and 1929, and killed over 20,000 in total, with a fata ...
. Dr. Gomes da Silva, the Principal Medical Officer of
Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, in recording the sanitary condition of the Chinese population, observed that they usually threw house refuse into the street, where it accumulated until such time as the torrential summer rains and the overflow of the
Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...
cleared it away. A study by
City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is a world-class public research university located in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. Currently, CityU is ...
also attributes the spread of plague to the hygiene and sanitary condition among local population at the time.
Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...
Sir William Robinson reported to the British Government that "the filthy habits of life amongst the 210,000 Chinese who reside here have rendered Hong Kong liable to the invasion and development of the germ of the bubonic plague". In the late 1890s, Europeans who resided in the
City of Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
gradually moved to places of higher altitude to evade such living conditions. But as the
ethnic Chinese The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...
population continued to increase in the city, and the Europeans were reaching
Victoria Peak Victoria Peak is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak only generally. With an elevation of , it is the highest hill on Hong Kong Island, ranked 29 in terms of elevation in H ...
thus could not move any higher, the
Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...
decided to reserve the Peak for Europeans and other non-Chinese. In the 1904 Government Gazette explained that such reservation of the district was to address such concerns over the health of European people. Between 1894 and 1929, the plague caused 24,000 case of infection in Hong Kong, of which 90% were fatal. In 1929, the plague was eradicated and the law was repealed in 1930 by the Law Revision Ordinance 1930.


Segregation by social status

20th century Journalist
Trea Wiltshire Trea Wiltshire is a Western Australian based writer. She has worked at University of Western Australia in its publication ''Uniview''. Hong Kong She had lived in and written books about Hong Kong: * (1971) ''Hong Kong; an impossible journey t ...
, in her book "Old Hong Kong", believes the Hill District Reservation Ordinance was a law based on social segregation as its goal. At the time one's social status was measured by the altitude of one's residence. One incidental benefit that came with the law included the reservation of the
Peak Tram The Peak Tram is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. Running from Garden Road Admiralty to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels, it provides the most direct route and o ...
at certain hours of the day. From 8 to 10 am, the tram service was for top officials, first class passengers only, thus guaranteed good commute time. The front seat of the tram was always reserved for the governor, who further accorded its desirable social status by building a summer retreat, the
Mountain Lodge Mountain Lodge was the former summer residence of the Governor of Hong Kong on Victoria Peak on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The second building was a two-storey Renaissance style home and was demolished in 1946. The site is now the ...
. The Peak at the time was referred to by the British as "Little England".Courtauld, Caroline. Holdsworth, May. The Hong Kong Story. Hong Kong publishing, Oxford university press. . pg 46. Many of the upper-middle class household members would have a dozen to 20 Chinese servants.


Extent

According to the ordinance, the peak District means "all that area in the Island of Hongkong situated above the 788 feet contour and to the west of a line drawn in a north and south direction through Middle or Cemetery Gap, including the hills known as Mount Cameron, Mount Gough, Mount Kellett and Victoria Peak".


Similar ordinances

Other historical racially based zoning law in Hong Kong. *Light and Pass Ordinance, 1888 **The law exclusively required Chinese residents to carry a
lamp Lamp, Lamps or LAMP may refer to: Lighting * Oil lamp, using an oil-based fuel source * Kerosene lamp, using kerosene as a fuel * Electric lamp, or light bulb, a replaceable component that produces light from electricity * Light fixture, or ligh ...
when passing at night. The law was believed originally established under the assumption that all Chinese residents of the colony were potential criminals. *Peak District (Residence) Ordinance, 1918, repealed in 1946Minutes of the meeting of the Hong Kong Legislative Council held on 19 July 1946
/ref> *
Cheung Chau Cheung Chau (lit. "Long Island") is an island southwest of Hong Kong Island. It is nicknamed the 'dumbbell island (啞鈴島)' due to its shape. It has been inhabited for longer than most other places in Hong Kong, and had a population of 2 ...
(Residence) Ordinance, 1919 repealed in 1946 Other historical zoning laws in Hong Kong. *European District Reservation Ordinance, 1888 (April 1888) **It applied to parts of the City of Victoria that already had European-style
single-family detached house A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwellin ...
s. The Ordinance was classified as a town planning and rent control law under Governor Des Vœux's administration. It required buildings in certain areas of Hong Kong to comply with the
single-family detached home A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelling ...
model, rather than the native, extremely crowded, Chinese model that land owners usually offered, which maximised profits. There was no exclusion by race, only by the type of buildings that could be built and a limit on the number of occupants.Society By David Faure
/ref>


Exemption

The ordinance stated that "It shall be lawful for the
Governor-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...
to exempt any Chinese from the operation of this Ordinance on such terms as the Governor-in-Council shall think fit". Such exemptions were invoked for such personalities as First Lady of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
Madame Chiang Kai-shek Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling, ; March 5, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang, was a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of Generalissimo and ...
and
Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...
millionaire Sir Robert Ho-Tung and his family who already had a retreat on the slopes of the Peak.


See also

*
First houses on the Peak Hong Kong's Peak District was original named the "Hill District". It included Mount Austin (with Victoria Peak), Mount Gough, Mount Kellett and the area around Magazine Gap. Many homes were for summer use only, to escape the heat of Central, and ...


References

{{Central and Western District History of Hong Kong 1904 in law Zoning Real property law Urban planning in Hong Kong Hong Kong legislation Racial segregation 1910s establishments in Hong Kong Victoria Peak