Arthur Edward Kennedy (1810–1883) was born in Ireland and served in the army before moving into Irish administration and, from 1851, into colonial service, governing possessions in West Africa, Australia and the west coast of North America; by the time he reached Hong Kong he had nearly twenty years of administrative experience. He became the colony's seventh Governor in April 1872. His hardest test came on 22 September 1874, when a typhoon struck Hong Kong head-on: more than a thousand vessels in Victoria Harbour were sunk or damaged, buildings along the waterfront collapsed and more than two thousand people died, close to eight per cent of the population, making it one of the worst storms since the colony was founded. Trade and daily life came to a standstill, and afterwards the government reviewed harbour management, shelter for shipping and building standards, and set about improving the seawalls and piers. He also pushed the city's growth east and west, reclaiming land along the Western District shoreline, where an abattoir, a gasworks and other municipal facilities were built; the new land took his name as Kennedy Town, and a road above it became Kennedy Road. He left office in 1877 to become Governor of Queensland, and died in that post in 1883. During his term the colony's population and entrepot trade grew steadily, and demand for piers and warehouses kept rising.
After the 1874 typhoon the government reviewed harbour management and shelter for shipping and improved the seawalls and piers, a turning point in Hong Kong's early handling of disasters; the land he reclaimed in the Western District took his name, and Kennedy Town and Kennedy Road survive as places that recall the colony's early urban growth.
Achievements
- 1872 · Became the seventh Governor of Hong Kong
- 1874 · The 1874 typhoon struck the colony directly, sinking or damaging over a thousand vessels and killing more than two thousand people, prompting a review of harbour management and shipping shelter
- 1877 · Left office at the end of his term; the reclaimed Western District land and a local road were named Kennedy Town and Kennedy Road after him