Sir Henry Arthur Blake (1840–1918), nicknamed 'Po Kung', was born in Limerick, Ireland. Before coming to Hong Kong he governed the Bahamas (1884–1887), Newfoundland (1887–1888) and Jamaica (1889–1898), and took office as the colony's twelfth Governor on 25 November 1898, favouring as peaceful an approach as possible to the New Territories question. He sent Chief Superintendent Francis May to take over the New Territories and build police stations under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory; in April 1899 the British flag-raising at Tai Po met armed resistance in what became known as the Six-Day War, after which troops entered Kat Hing Wai at Kam Tin and removed its iron gates, and by the end of the year land registration and revenue systems were extended across the territory. During the Boxer crisis of 1900 refugees poured in and, in June, plague was traced to rats around Tai Ping Shan Street; the government briefly paid two cents a rat before switching to rat boxes, and Chinese leaders including Ho Kai lobbied him that year over a proposed South China republic. Tram tracks were laid during his term and opened in 1904, and the Star Ferry, the Sincere department store and the South China Morning Post were all founded. In November 1903 he left to govern Ceylon (1903–1907). Blake Pier in Central, Blake Garden in Sheung Wan and the Hong Kong orchid tree Bauhinia x blakeana are named after him.
Blake implemented the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory and took over the New Territories, and his administration's handling of the 1899 armed resistance and its introduction of land registration and revenue systems established the administrative framework of British rule there. Tram tracks were laid in his term, several firms and institutions that proved enduring were founded, and Blake Pier and Blake Garden still carry his name.
Achievements
- 1898 · Became the twelfth Governor of Hong Kong.
- 1899 · Took over the New Territories, where the Six-Day War broke out and troops entered Kat Hing Wai.
- 1903 · Left Hong Kong to become Governor of Ceylon.