Hong Kong 1960s & 70s : Mike Cussans' photos

Great photos Mike - thanks for sharing.  They bring back lots of memories.  I lived there during the 50's and 60's and have lots of photos as well, but yours are in great condition.  Like you I went to KJS and then Peak school and finally was sent to boarding school in the UK - life was different then!

By the way, I think the last photo was in Tai Po area - I remember a house like that which had ghost stories galore!  I still have all the articles relating to the visits by various ghosts and I think a book was written about it.

Mike, thanks for the photo. Your photos do bring back alot of memories. Any photos of old Kai Tak, I suppose I could provide supplementary comments. Cheers!

Thanks for the great photos and memories,especially those of Kowloon Tong.  I grew up in Kowloon Tong in the 50's. We lived at 227 Prince Edward Road after the war, then moved to 5 La Salle Road.  the photos of the street taken fromKadoorie Ave is so familiar.  Our house on PE Road had a beautiful front and back garden.  The street was wide and many Macanese families lived in the neighborhood.  Went to Maryknoll Convent School, then worked for BOAC both in Hong Kong and London - guess we never met as your Hong Kong stay just missed mine,  Most British kids we knew went to KGV.  Thanks again.

An amazing collection of old photos of Hong Kong especially for the Ho Man Tin and Kowloon Tong areas.

More thanks from me too.  Wonderful photographs,  a bit after my husband's time in HK but so interesting nevertheless.  Sad to see how sky scrapers now obscure the lovely views though.

Regards,  Pauline.

Michael:

Wow! Some fantastic photos! It's amazing how much it has changed since then!

Ian:

Great stuff!

Richard:

This is absolutely brilliant ! Exactly my era !

Great photos, precious memories. Many thanks for sharing.

If you are on Facebook, there is a group with similar experience:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HK60s/ 

Thanks Mike for taking the time to scan and posting these photos of HK. I was born in HK in 1953. These photos bring back my memory of HK when I was a young man. Thank you so much!!

Anthony...thanks, glad you enjoyed the memories of such a wonderful place.

Mike

Many thanks Mike for taking the time and trouble to upload these photos. Fantastic. I also lived in Kowloon Tong - La Salle Road - during that period, a lasting memory being the jets coming in to land so close overhead. We soon recognised the distant sounds and learned to stop talking about about 20 seconds before the plane actually arrived above !  A neighbour was a Cathay training captain and I mentioned to him the noise of Cathay Pacific's early morning  training flights - predictably at 7.00am when the overnight noise restrictions were lifted. He invited me aboard an early morning traing flight - 'Stalls and Bumps' he called it. The 'stall' was acheived by slowing until the plane stalled - dropped like a stone for a few thousand feet, it seemed - before powering into a steep climb. The 'bump' was by a controlled 'touch down' berfore powering into another steep climb.  Repeated, again and again. The secret, he told me, was not to actually touch down because the resulting puff of blue smoke would trigger a 'landing charge' ! All this in a Convair 880 with just my neighbour, the trainee and a qualified standby pilot fast asleep in First Class.  I didn't complain about the early morning noise ever again.

Thanks again.

Harry.

Harry....glad you enjoyed them.Could you recognise 27Lasalle road where we lived in the late 50/early60s?Hope to load a few more photos but for me its a winter job!

Mike

Yes, Mike, I recognised No.27 having driven past it many times ! I have a feeling that a colleague moved into 27 probably some time after you left. Paid a nostalgic visit to HK and  La Salle Road in February this year over the CNY. Very few, if any, of the older buildings remain with the developers having taken  advantage of the relaxed height restrictions. By building over the garden, there are now three blocks shoe-horned into my old address at 51/53,  parking meters all along La Salle, recognised bus stops and  regular mini-bus route. Quieter in the air above, perhaps, but much busier than what we remember trafficwise. 

Best regards, Aye -

Harry.

Mike

Great photos and thanks for all the memories. Maybe we were at the Kowloon Junk Shop at the same time.

We moved to HK in 1958 from Perth in West Australia, travelling on the Blue Funnel Line "Gorgon" to Singapore and then on a Cathay DC4 to HK. Dad stayed in HK flying for Cathay until 1978 and during that time I went to KJS and KGV although I left in 2nd form to go to boarding school. Many wonderful times spent at the USRC (where I am still a member...although absent most of the time).

Worked in HK, Korea dn Japan for the past 35 years and now retired but never fail to feel a bit nostalgic when I see some old photos. There is one someone sent me of a start of the cross harbour swim...and there I am...my ears have never recovered!

My very best.

Geoff Walker

[email protected]

Hi Geoff -

Your Dad would most likely know the Cathay captain I referred to in my previous post - he was flying with Cathay about the same time - Ray Daw ? And his children - Warwick, Rodney and Bromwyn were at Kowloon Junior and KGV about the same time as you.

Lifetime membership of the USRC was money well-spent You will no doubt remember club manager  Dion Matthews, with his pipe and carrying an ever-present half-pint of warm San Mig.

Harry.

Hello Mike ,

 I was more than a bit shocked to recognize the photos of 27 La Salle Road. I lived there from 67 to 69.  I was told it was built by a man with both a wife and a mistress. It was a split unit with an upstairs and down. We lived in the upstairs unit. I recall it as being very large. I used run along the top of the wall that went to the gate . I cannot tell you how errie and yet delightful it was to see the pictures of it. Should this find it's way to you, I would dearly love to speak with you about the place at some point.  Gary           [email protected]

After hiking to Lion Rock from Kowloon Tong, I would tour Amah Rock (my 1950s days) before heading to Shatin station. The photo here taken from a Shatin farm reminds me of the moment I turned around, while in that general vicinity, to see Amah Rock one more time.  The memory of that hillside landscape is coming back.  Thank you Mr. Cussans.

Hi! Greetings from Hong Kong! I enjoy the pics you shared a lot! Espeically those taken in Kowloon Tong. I am a teaching staff in Urban Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Me and my students are now working on a public exhibition about Kowloon Tong Garden City, hoping to bring all the old memories back to community. Do you mind if we use some of the pics you posted here for public exhibition? Do you have more pictures? And do you mind if I contact you diectly (my email address is: [email protected])? Many thanks! I am looking forward hearing from you!

Best regards,
Helen 

Hi Gary,

Think I remember you as I lived on the G/F of No 27 from 1968-72 and have fond memories of the area.

Kind regards

Gordie

Hi, I read your comment re Mike photos of old HK. Since you wrote "Most British kids we knew went to KGV" I wonder if you know of Malcolm Foster and his family living in Stonecutter Island. He graduated from HKU in 1965.

Classmates of his would like to know where he is and how he is doing. I am posting this hoping someone knows him.

Hi Mike,

Wonderful collection of old photos.  I played for Jardines FC, and in Jock's pot in 1969. Lived at Stewart Terrace on the Peak.

Thanks for the comments re the photos glad you enjoyed the memories.

I played as goalkeeper in the annual Cup game against Swire's...dont think we every lost during my time there!

Also played cricket for Jardine's in the Hung Trophy matches...HSBC/Dodwell's/Swire's.

My Chinese New Year bonus seemed to be directly linked to my sporting achievements not the job at Kai Tak!

Mike Cussans

Prior to moving to  Stewart Terrace in 1969, we lived a few months at 20 Mount Austin Road, up in the clouds.  Do you have any photos of that old building. I think soon after, it was demolished and replaced with a block of Apartments. 

The views from that building over the harbour were fantastic.

Pete Piriou. 

Pete...sorry no photos.

Stewart Terrace was where I was born...my Dad was with BOAC at the time.

Mike

Harry

Yes indeed. I think Ray is still on deck and living in Sydney somewhere. His son Warwick was flying with Virgin I understand.

Dion Mathews...yes also. I think the San Mig may have got him in the end!

Geoff

Mike

I loved the photos. I lived in HK from 1962-1966. I was 12 to 16 years old. We lived at first at the old Gloucester Hotel, then at the Peninsula Hotel, then to a couple flats at St. George's Court and finally at Chan Gardens on Argyle Rd, right behind KGV where I attended from 1st through 4th forms. I LOVED HK and want to someday go back to visit...haven't been there since we moved to California in 1966. Thanks for the pics. They brought back some wonderful memories. 

Rick Severn

Rick,

Thanks for the comments,glad you were able to enjoy the memories.HK was an amazing and wonderful place

to live and grow up in during that era.

Mike

Hello

I'm just wondering if you have any pictures of the old Gloucester Hotel? Thanks.

Rick Severn

My Dad's office was in Windsor House two doors down on Des Voeux Rd. (Dairy Lane on the ground floor) Then came Lane Crawford and then what I remember as the gloomy Gloucester Arcade. Where was the hotel entrance?  Do you remember the ground floor being gloomy ?

A photo of Gloucester Building circa 1965 appears at http://gwulo.com/atom/24148

We moved from suburban Seattle straight to the Gloucester Hotel, completely out of our element. We walked past lepers huddled in doorways on the way to the hotel. Not something you see in suburban Seattle. Everything seemed gloomy at the time, hot and steamy and kind of smelly. But looking back our stay there was wonderful...I think it was only a couple months. Our room was indeed gloomy, but we as kids found a way to have fun. There was a real live elevator operator who became our friend and we joked around with him every day. Also, the Saddle and Sirloin was a great restaurant to dine at. I still remember regularly ordering Scottish smoked trout with a crab-meat cocktail as an appetizer. Not many 12 year old boys had that kind of privilege. I would love to see pictures of the entire hotel inside and out, but sadly, they probably don't exist, only in my memory.

Mike,

Thanks for sharing these great photos. I  was looking for photos of the old China Fleet Club and came accross the photo of an aircraft carrier, the first one from the top, entitled Coral Sea. Further down you do have a photo of the actual Coral Sea, however the first photo is probably U.S.S. Ranger a larger class carrier than the Coral Sea. I served for three years aboard Coral Sea (1967-1970) and was probably aboard when the photo's were taken. Hong Kong has changed so much in the past 49 years, it is hardly recognizable any more to those of us who were there in the 60's.

Thanks for the identification of the aircraft carrier.I recall the Navy had an open-day onboard the Coral Sea,and my

Dad took me along to visit the carrier.During the 60s we had so many US Navy ships in the harbour as the Vietnam war

was at it's worst,and HK was an R&R centre for the military.

I Mike, great photos-I moved to HK in September 1968 as my father took up a flight engineer job with Cathay Pacific-We lived in the Fortuna Hotel for the first six weeks we were there, before Cathay found us a flat in Kadoorie Ave, but in 1969 we moved to Tailoo villas (if you could call them villas they were just flats!} with a view directly across to Whisky beach-fantastic! In 1974 Mum and Dad bit the bullet and decided to build their own house which was kind of unheard of back then, especially amongst the cathay fraternity, but they went ahead and the house was completed in Tai Hang Hau, almost at the end of clearwater bay road in July 1975. I attended St Katherines kindergarten, not far from Kadoorie ave, and then Beacon Hill school in Kowloon Tong, until September 1976 when I too came back to Sydney for Boarding School, until my father retired from flying in 1983 and I finished school and we left Honkers-very very sad to leave as I had a wonderful childhood growing up there and miss it still today, although it is vastly different to era I was there-Wouldn't trade it for the world!! What a life experience. Will try to get some old photos on here

Enjoyed looking at your photographs Mike, they brought back many memories of places when I lived in Hong Kong.  I imagine that our paths must have crossed now and again as I was born in Hong Kong in 1948, went to Kowloon Junior School (before boarding the Lollipop Specials for the trips to school in England) and my father was Airport Commandant at Kai Tak until his retirement in 1962.  I will try and dig out some photographs in the not too distant future.

Clive....so glad you enjoyed looking at the photos,they were great days to be living there.

Hope you have some photos to bring to Gwulo,look forward to seeing them.

When your Dad left,Fred Lillywhite must have taken over from him,if I'm right.I worked with his son,

Tim Lillywhite in Jardines Airways Dept.

Regards Mike

Hello, I especially enjoyed the photo from St George's looking down Kadoorie Ave. We briefly lived in the first floor flat in 1964, moving up to the 3rd floor for the remaining 2 yrs we lived in Hong Kong. My brothers' shortcut to the parking garage underneath the flats was to drop off the edge of the ledge. I tried it once.

My brothers and I loved sitting in the Pan Am Clipper Club at the Kai Tak, and we were on one of Boeing's first fleet of 747's out of Hong Kong. We loved the Peninsula Hotel, the chicken curry at the Embassador, the Kowloon ferry, the Ocean Terminal, and Repulse Bay. We especially loved jumping off junks or friends' yachts into small bays when no jelly fish were present. We were guests on Mr Kadoorie's yacht once, and we appreciated that the Peninsula had catered the event. I bought my first Swiss watch at the Peninsula jewelry shop for US $12.

My dad took us for drives in the mountains in his black Jaguar with spoke wheels, which he kept immaculate despite having the contents of someone's lunch chucked out a window now and then. I was a Brownie at KJS, learned the violin there, went on a fieldtrip to Macau, and jumped rope longer than all my friends. The warm milk for snack was not as good as the huameis from the vendor after school. My memories of KJS are my fondest childhood memories of school.

Mike's photos brought a wealth of joyful memories back. Thank you for the experience of seeing Hong Kong once again as I knew it!

Small world, I too went aboard for the Coral sea open day in the 1960s. It partially led to a life in Aviation!

Hello M Johnson

I lived at Saint George's Court also in 1964. We lived in a couple different flats there. I had a friend down the hill on Kadoorie Avenue, named John Shoemaker. We went to see the Beatles together at the old Princess Theater. My friend Eric Mache and I used to go to movies at all the different theaters in town too. And my mom also used to take us to the Princess regularly. We'd have lunch at the Golden Phoenix. I remember we could select the seats we wanted at the theater and that the popcorn was sweet, not like it is here in the States. Those really were magical times snd I don't think anyone except people who lived in HK at that time could appreciate what a great time it was to live there. 

I went to KGV and absolutely loved it there. We ended up renting a flat after we left St. George's at a place called Chan Gardens right behind KGV. When we first moved to HK we lived at the old Gloucester Hotel. I was a kid but I really wish I had taken a lot of pictures there. Who thought about those things as a kid? Not me anyway. So thanks, Mike, for the pictures you've posted. Pictures of a time and place never to be duplicated.

Rick Severn

http://cnac.org/shoemaker01.htm

Mike-

So you knew Tim? - We were at KGV together. Do you know his whereabouts now?? - Would love to send him a G'day message. I was in HKG from 1946- 63- Did the Old Peak School / New Peak School / KGV trek and then came to Australia,, where I've been eve since.

Regards

Joe Meredith (lived in Magazine Gap, whilst in HKG)

Joe.....hope you enjoyed the photos of old HK when you lived there.

I'm afraid I can't really help regarding Tim,I believe he lives in the UK,I think it would be near Gatwick airport.

Thanks for the great photos!  I lived in HK from 1959 to 1962.  My family spent Christmas of 1959 at the Gloucester Hotel where we lived until moving to Burnside Estates in Repulse Bay.  I went to the Peak School while my older brother went to KGV.  I have many happy memories of the Repulse Bay Hotel, the "Castle", going to the beach on Sundays at Stanley Prison, shopping at Lane Crawford, definitely some of the most exciting and happy days of my childhood!

Curious where that ghost house was? The most famous one be a storm drain. A bunch of young children brought by their teacher went there on a wknd picnic. When it rained these kids thought to hide under the storm drain under a bridge. Sadly the rain was very heavy washed all the kids down to sea. Sadly none had survived. That was circa 54? A few yrs before I was born. There after the section of taipo hwy became very haunted. Bus and mini bus will get people waiting for them or flagging them. Only stopped for empty air! And if u are into ghost stories hk has no shortage of them. God bless and Cheers.

I went on several of those training flights as I was stationed at RAF Kai Tak in the early sixties.I was there in 1962 when Typhoon Wanda struck HK.An oil tanker was thrown on top of the runway.Five of my RAF friends were killed on High Island and I was a pall bearer for an australian friend.I worked at a radar station on Mount Taimoshan.

Hi Mike,

I've just joined the site. Thank you so much for the photos. When we got the internet i looked up HongKong but nothing looked like i remembered it. Lived in Kowloon from 1954 (i was 9 months old)-57 and then HongKong 57-63. I am amazed how many people remember street names etc. perhaps that depends on time spent there and age. We moved to Australia before the riots and after the 'fabulosity' of HongKong Oz was a severe disappointment. Perhaps if we'd lived in Sydney but my father wanted us to be safe so it was a small suburb in the Blue Mountains. Boring. We children had a lot of freedom in HongKong to explore by ourselves and then, my mother was an adventurous woman who took us pretty much everywhere.

Hi Mike,

I lived right behind you at 14 Oxford Road in 1964 as a 13 year old, we would have shared the alley!  I wished we had met, it was a little lonely there.  We could have yelled across our rooftops.  Thank you for all the wonderful pictures, it certainly summed up my time and memories there.  We also lived in Clearwater Bay for a while and I enjoyed your pictuires of that isolated area.  I had to take the jitney from Kowloon City to get to and from KGV.  I went back last May for a long visit and stayed at the Salisbury Y.  All changed of course but enough the same to evoke the nostalgia I feel for my time there 1964 - 70.

Your fellow Hong Konger,

Scott Glenn

Scott....glad you enjoyed the pictures of that era,just wish I had more to upload!

Kowloon Tong was a lovely residential area in those days...you must have good memories.

Mike

Thanks for the great photos, Mike.  I lived in Hong Kong in the 70s, so after the time of most photos but was delighted to see a lot of familiar places, especially Repluse Bay Hotel and Tiger Balm Gardens.  I lived in an actual house with a balcony in Broadwood Road, Hong Kong side, and then in Tantallon Terrace in Hung Hom Docks (sadly neither there now).  Best wishes, Margaret

Kudos to Mike Cussans for sharing such a marvelous collection of pictures. Prince Edward Rd, Kadoorie Ave, La Salle Rd...all sound so familiar. I lived on Waterloo Rd and attended La Salle. Do you happen to know Marilyn, a Portuguese who used to live on Ho Man Tin St attended Maryknoll?

regards,

David