1881 Hertiage — Of Hong Kong's Maritime Past

At the current site of the 1881 Heritage, only the structures at the highest level are heritage buildings, and those are the the Main Building of the Former Marine Police Headquarters, the Old Kowloon Fire Station, the Fire Station Accommodation Block, the two cannons and the Time Ball Tower. All of these structures are declared monuments.

The Main Building

The Hong Kong Marine Police occupied the Main Building between the 1880s to 1996, except during the Japanese Occupation. In 1996, the Marine Region moved to its current headquarters in Sai Wan Ho. The whole former venue at the 1881 heritage gave home to the Commander of the Marine Police, as well as the Captain Superintendent of the Police.


The Time Ball TowerIn 1884, the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was established. In that same year, the Time Ball Tower was constructed for the purpose of indicating the standard time for the marine community that sailed the then very busy Victoria Harbor.

The Time Ball is of a six-foot diameter and mounted on a pole above the tower. There is a ball-raising mechanism. At 1pm sharp every day (except Sundays and public holidays), the ball would be raised manually and then dropped. This was done so that the vessels at the harbor could synchronize their on-board chronometers at the sight of the drop of the ball. The accuracy of the timing was kept meticulously. The Hong Kong Observatory would send a telegram to indicate the arrival of 1pm.




#1881heritage #tsimshatsui #kowloon #hongkonghistory #historicallandmarks #china



#历史古迹

Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Feb 4, 2025