Chronicle / 1890s
1890s — Hong Kong milestones
9 checked, dated milestones (1890 to 1898-06-09). Each entry carries the date, the fact and a primary official source; 9 of them also carry a hand-written English memory note or background paragraph.
中文原句、引用格式同背景聲明只有中文版：見香港大事記 · 1890 年代。 本頁唔會機翻任何中文內容；缺英文欄位嘅條目會照實標明。
1890
The Hong Kong Electric Company is founded, beginning electricity supply on Hong Kong Island.
Memory It went on to supply electricity on Hong Kong Island as part of the early local power industry.
Background In 1890 the Hong Kong Electric Company was founded and began supplying electricity on Hong Kong Island. Its task was to serve the Island, and it went on to be responsible for that supply as part of Hong Kong's early power industry. As demand from industry, commerce and lighting grew, electricity supply became part of the city's modernisation. The date is recorded at year level, meaning the event is placed within 1890 rather than on a precise day of that year.
Source Hong Kong Chronicles: Overview and Chronology (c. 5000 BC–2017, over 6,500 events)（Hong Kong Chronicles Institute） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1890-12-01 · 灣仔（港燈首座灣仔發電廠）
HK Electric's Wanchai power station starts operating, lighting Hong Kong's first electric street lamps as the colony's first public electricity supply.
Memory At 6 pm on 1 December 1890, Central's first electric street lamps, powered by the new Wan Chai station, were lit, gradually superseding gas lighting.
Background On 1 December 1890 HK Electric's first power station at Wan Chai began operating, and that evening at 6 pm it lit Central's first electric street lamps, the colony's first public electricity supply. These lamps gradually superseded the existing gas lighting and changed the way the city was lit at night. The Wan Chai station's operation marked the starting point for building an electricity network on Hong Kong Island, and electric lighting spread gradually across the urban areas as that network expanded.
Source HK Electric: Our history（The Hongkong Electric Company） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1891-02-03 · 中環（香港會所）
Hong Kong's first stock exchange is established, early brokers trading at the Hong Kong Club.
Memory Early trading followed the brokers' club model; a second association formed in 1921, the two merging into the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 1947.
Background Hong Kong's first stock exchange was established in 1891, with early brokers gathering to trade at the Hong Kong Club in Central. Trading at first involved only a small number of shares. It operated on a brokers' club model, and a second body, the Hong Kong Stockbrokers' Association, was formed in 1921. The two merged in 1947 to become the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, laying a foundation for the later growth of the city's securities market and its role as a financial centre in the region.
Source Hong Kong stock market historical events（Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1892 · 大埔（太和市／富善街）
The Tai Po Seven Yeuk establish Tai Wo Shi (later Tai Po Market) at Fu Shin Street to counter the Teng-dominated old market.
Memory Tai Wo Market (Tai Po Market) was set up by the seven yeuk of Tai Po to break the Kam Tin Tangs' grip on the old market.
Background The seven yeuk of Tai Po set up Tai Wo Shi, later known as Tai Po Market, on Fu Shin Street in 1892 to break the Kam Tin Tangs' monopoly over the old market. The new market was opened with joint funding from the seven yeuk, and the Man Mo Temple was completed around the same period, serving as a gathering and worship place for the market community. The case shows that New Territories markets were not only places of rural trade but also arenas of rivalry between different clans and commercial interests.
Source AMO: declared monuments in Hong Kong (Tai Po Man Mo Temple)（Antiquities and Monuments Office） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1893 · 西營盤（那打素醫院）
Nethersole Hospital is built as a London Missionary Society hospital providing western medical care to the poor, and Hong Kong's first nursing school is launched that year.
Memory Founded by the London Missionary Society and named after a donor, it was an early mission hospital providing Western medicine to poor Chinese.
Background Nethersole Hospital was built in 1893 in Sai Ying Pun by the London Missionary Society, providing Western medical care specifically for poor Chinese residents. It was named after its donor, Nethersole, and was among the early mission hospitals offering Western medicine to the Chinese community. In the same year it launched Hong Kong's first local nursing school, training nurses locally. At a time when Western medicine was not yet widely available, such mission hospitals served both to treat the poor and to train medical staff.
Source HA: Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital history（Hospital Authority (Nethersole Hospital)） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1893 · 橫瀾島（離島區）
Waglan Lighthouse opens in 1893 as the beacon for Hong Kong's eastern approaches.
Memory Run by the Chinese Maritime Customs; its opening rendered Cape D'Aguilar obsolete; automated 1989; declared monument 2000.
Background Waglan Lighthouse stands on Waglan Island and opened in 1893 as the beacon for Hong Kong's eastern approaches. It was run by the Chinese Maritime Customs based in Shanghai. Lighthouses were essential to a port whose trade depended on safe passage through the surrounding waters. By guiding shipping on the eastern route, it rendered Cape D'Aguilar Lighthouse obsolete. The lighthouse was automated from 1989, was declared a monument in 2000, and continues to serve as a navigation aid on the eastern approach.
Source Declared monuments in Hong Kong（Antiquities and Monuments Office） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1894
A severe bubonic plague outbreak hits Hong Kong, causing many deaths and prompting public health reforms.
Memory Plague spread from the mainland into Chinese quarters around Tai Ping Shan Street, prompting public-health reforms.
Background In 1894 a severe outbreak of bubonic plague struck Hong Kong, causing a large number of deaths and prompting the government to carry out public-health reforms. The disease spread from the mainland into the Chinese quarters around Tai Ping Shan Street, an area of dense settlement on Hong Kong Island. The outbreak led the authorities to give greater weight to sanitation, water supply and building supervision, and it became a turning point in the development of the city's public-health system. The date is recorded at year level, so the event is placed within 1894 rather than on one particular day.
Source Hong Kong Chronicles: Overview and Chronology (c. 5000 BC–2017, over 6,500 events)（Hong Kong Chronicles Institute） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1898-05 · 尖沙咀
The Kowloon ferry service, the predecessor of the Star Ferry, begins cross-harbour ferry operations.
Memory Founded by a Parsi businessman and later run by firms including the Wharf, the Star Ferry plies between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui.
Background In 1898 the Kowloon ferry service, predecessor of the Star Ferry, began, opening up cross-harbour ferry travel in Victoria Harbour. Founded by a Parsi businessman and later taken over by firms including the Wharf and given the name Star Ferry, it plied between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. Before the cross-harbour tunnel and the MTR existed, ferries were the main way for people to cross Victoria Harbour, and the Star Ferry became one of Hong Kong's most recognisable forms of transport.
Source Star Ferry: company profile (incorporated May 1898)（The Star Ferry Company, Limited） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
1898-06-09
A treaty signed in Beijing leases the area north of Boundary Street to the Shenzhen River plus 235 islands to Britain for 99 years.
Memory The New Territories were leased, not ceded, so at the 1997 handover only the lease territory reverted, while Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were ceded territory.
Background On 9 June 1898 Britain and Qing China signed a treaty in Beijing leasing the area north of Boundary Street to the Shenzhen River, together with 235 islands, to Britain for ninety-nine years. Unlike Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, which had been ceded, the New Territories were leased rather than ceded, a materially different arrangement. That is why the 1997 handover returned the leased territory covering the New Territories, while Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were ceded land. The lease also greatly expanded Hong Kong's territory.
Source Hong Kong Yearbook 2021, Chapter 22: History（Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region） · official publication
Chinese original & citation →
