Surveying & Built Environment Vol. 22 Issue 1 (December 2012)

BACKGRouNd
From the beginning of British control
of Hong Kong, defence of the port
Victoria Harbour was a high priority.
Initially, this was primarily by fixed
gun batteries against naval attacks,
but as more territory was obtained,
and movement on land became easier,
consideration had also to be given to
land based attacks. This finally became
reality with the Japanese invasion from
China on 8 December 1941.
The Treaty of Nanking, which ceded
Hong Kong to Britain, only covered
Hong Kong Island itself and the small
islands immediately off the island
shore (Green, Little Green, Kellett,
Tweed, Round, Apleichau). The Island,
although relatively small (roughly 72
square kilometres) has a high land mass
running east-west across its length, with
several passes, locally called “gaps”,
allowing easier access north – south.
This resulted in initial growth being
concentrated along the relatively flat
area of the northern coastline of its
excellent harbour. The rest of the Island
remained inhabited only in small local
villages and boat harbours. Transport
in these areas was by boat, or by foot
along village paths. This difficulty
in movement had the advantage of
deterring potential enemies from
landing in the less populated areas.
At a distance of 1.6 km from the rapidly
developing town of Victoria (initially
Sheung Wan), was the southern tip
of the Kowloon Peninsula with an
Imperial Chinese fort at Tsimshatsui
built after 1842 . This promontory,
although difficult to appreciate today,
was hilly and populated with only a
Surveying and Built Environment Vol 22, 8-18 Nov 2012 ISSN 1816-9554
few small villages. Its position and the
presence of a fortified Chinese garrison
presented a threat to the town and
harbour. Following the Second Opium
War with the Manchu Chinese, The
Treaty of Tientsin ceded the promontory
of Kowloon and Stonecutters Island to
Britain in 1860 to become a new part of
the Crown Colony of Hong Kong. The
northern boundary of this piece of land
ran along what became called Boundary
Street. Shortly after, gun batteries
were built by British engineers on both
sides of the Peninsula to enhance the
defence of Victoria Harbour. For a
while the ruggedness of the terrain to
the north beyond the northern boundary
of Kowloon was considered enough to
deter even small scale attacks.
By the beginning of the 1880s, Hong
Kong had developed into a major
international trading centre and hub
of British influence in Asia, as well as
becoming an important Royal Navy
station for her China Station, which
could be used for support, or persuasion.
Authorities in Britain and Hong Kong,
still worried that Western rivals,
particularly Russia and France, would
use their forces in the area to disrupt the
port and facilities by naval gunfire, now
began to seriously consider defending
against small raiding parties, landed
either on the southern beaches of Hong
Kong Island or the mainland to the
north of Kowloon. The first defensive
plans were for Redoubts, manned by
infantry, to be built on various heights
with the purpose of defending the
nearby passes and paths, limiting any
expansion of the landing until reserves
could be sent to the area. This plan
was cancelled in 1894, largely because
the Redoubts were often above the fog
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