====== ! ! ! ! ! " ! ! " " ! " " # # " " # # " # # $ $ $ $ % $ $ % % % % & % & & & ' ' ! & ' ' ' & ( ( !"#$%&'()* " ( ( ) ' ) ! ( ) * !"# $%&'() ( * " ) * + + ) + ) # * * , , ! "#$%&' ! , * - $ + + + - % " , - !"#$%&'()*+,-./ # , !"#$%&'()*+,-.. !"#$%&'()&* !"#$%&'()*+,-. Wong Tai Sin Temple is one of the !"#$%&'(')*!"#+ famous religious places in Hong Kong !"#$%&'()
!"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&"'() !*+ !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()#*$%+, !"#$%& '()*+,-. !"#$%&'()*+,-./
!"#= !"#$% The old Wong Tai Sin Temple, 1930s
VV Section 2
Wong Tai Sin Chapter 2
stablished in 1921, Sik Sik Yuen brought to this community a Eunique name: Wong Tai Sin. The worship of the god Wong Tai Sin has attracted a lot of disciples. Mr. Peter Lo from Sik Sik Yuen says that in the early days elderly people did not know the exact location. So they just told the bus drivers to stop at “Wong Tai Sin”. Soon “Wong Tai Sin” became the alternative name for this little village.
Mr. Lo Suk Ching from the New Territories Association of Societies lived in Wong Tai Sin during his youth. He remembers that at that time, Wong Tai Sin was no different from Sai Kung. They were both country areas. The land from Wong Tai Sin to Kai Tak Airport was all farmland and there was neither electricity supply nor proper forms of transportation. Later, after the road to San Po Kong was finished, the traffic network was started, to link the area with the other regions of Kowloon.
!"#$%&'( Industrial area in Wong Tai Sin, 1951
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!"#$%&'()* !"#$%&'()* !"#$^ !" !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()*+,-.& !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()$*+,)- !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()*
NMN !"#$ %&' Tze Wan Shan, 1951 he postwar Wong Tai Sin was soon developed into a
Section 2 T community of industries and public housing. The Star Industrial Co. Ltd., which manufactured the famous “Red A” brand plastic products, was the most famous plastic producer in the 1950s and 1960s. Mr. Stephen Leung, who grew up with this
Chapter 2 company, tells of the lives of the workers in the 1950s. Most of them lived in hostels. They had to work over 10 hours every day on shift. It was very harsh for them and their monthly salary was around $300. He also thinks that the success of the factory was greatly related to the relatively cheaper electricity generated in those times.
!"#$%&'()*= ! "# Kowloon City and Wong Tai Sin as viewed from Ngau Chi Wan, 1951
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!"#$%&'()* !"#$%&'()* !"#$%&'()* !"#$%&'()*+,-$. !"#$%&'()*(+, - !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"# $%&'()*+,-. !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()*+,-. !"#
!"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()*+,-$. !"#$%&'()*+ ,-. !"#$%&'()*+, -. !"#$%&'()!*+,-! !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()*+&,-./ !"#$%&&'(!)
!"#$%&' Wong Tai Sin, 1963
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NMP ituated near Kai Tak Airport, San Po Kong started to develop in
Section 2 Sthe 1960s from an unused piece of land into an industrial region. Mr. Tony Chow of Wong Tai Sin Industry and Commerce Association participated over a long period in the development of this area. He remembers in those days that the major
Chapter 2 large-scale factories were mainly making plastics, garments and metal wares. The workers lived nearby. Upper and Lower Wong Tai Sin Estates and Tung Tau Estate, completed later, provided the large labour force needed by the San Po Kong factories. The 1960s and the 1970s were the golden age of San Po Kong. It was also CLP’s most important period of development in this region.
As for the people’s accommodation, this community lived in a mixture of public housing and wooden huts. The quality of electrical equipment was obviously better in the former. However, the economic situation of the people was still not good. In the early 1960s, the people in some of the resettlement areas had to use instalment plan buying to install even two electric lamps. They would first pay 50¢, though the cost of the whole work required a total of $16. The debt had to be cleared in a year. The electrical appliance shops even had an “electric fans club”. People could enjoy the use of electric fans by paying several dollars !"#$%&'(%)#*+,-./ a month. Advertisement handout tells how to buy electrical appliances on the instalment plan in Wong Tai Sin resettlement house, 1962
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!"#$%&'()$*+,-. !"#$%&'()*+,-.& !"!#$%&'() *+ !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'() !"#$%& Squatter area of Tai Hom Village, 1970
NMR y comparison, the situation of the wooden hut dwellers was far
Section 2 B different. In a wooden hut area at Tsz Wan Shan, electricity theft was very serious. Mrs. Elsie Tu fought for the welfare of the people of this area for many years. When she talked about the conditions in those years, she still became very angry. She
Chapter 2 remembers that the electricity supply was controlled by triad societies. They built their own electricity network and connected it to the electricity mains. Then they sold this electricity to the people. This situation improved only at a later period.
With this historical background, in 1974 the electrification of Upper Lion Rock Village was completed. Chairman Lawrence Kadoorie of CLP hosted the inauguration. CLP installed legal electricity meters and lamps for each wooden hut. It was an extremely impressive scene, especially for Mr. Mak Chang, an employee of CLP at that time who also attended the inauguration ceremony.
!"!#$%&'()*+,-. Inauguration of power supply to Upper Lion Rock Village by Chairman Kadoorie
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