This book, the tenth in our series, is unique in that it is a compilation of largely unpublished material from a number of different sources. The title of the book is deliberately misleading. The south of today’s Hong Kong, in the middle of which sits Hong Kong Island, can in no way be described as remote. However, in the days of Hong Kong as a British colony, the Southern District comprised most of the islands, apart from Hong Kong itself, as well as the area around present-day Tseung Kwan O and the south of the Sai Kung peninsula. This was...

This book comprises the reports written about the rural areas of Hong Kong in the 1910–20 and 1950–60 periods by district officers responsible for the Southern Administrative District, Eric Hamilton, Walter Schofield, S. H. Peplow, Paul Tsui, Austin Coates and James Hayes.

These men, all “cadet officers” (now called “administrative officers”) were members of the small group that constituted the core of the governing system in the then British colony, regularly moving between different jobs so as to gain experience and to be able to see the big picture when making decisions.

These accounts differ in time and...

I took over as Assistant District Officer and District Officer Southern District in 1917 and served until 1923. ADO/S and DO/S were interchangeable. It made absolutely no change in the work of the job, as from my earliest incumbency I dealt directly with the Colonial Secretary. I took over from Arthur Dyer Ball, son of the sinologue and former interpreter in the Supreme Court.

I was never much good at Cantonese, I could get on with my colloquialisms with the delightful Chinese peasants of my district. I loved them all and I think they regarded me as a queer sort...

There were biggish patches of cultivation around Tung Chung and Tai O. My own view in those days was that the chief importance of Lantao Island vis-à-vis Hong Kong was: (a) the fishing industry based at Tai O (Wong Fa are delicious!) and (b) the salt pans at Tai O. These were rather mismanaged and I think we ought to have devoted more attention to them.

Lantau. Lan — broken, Tau — head. So-called from the shape of the Lantau Peak, which has a cleft or as the Chinese say, is broken. It is sometimes called Tai Yu Shan, Big Island Mountain....

Off the coast to the southwest of Aberdeen on Hong Kong Island was Lamma Island. There the late Fr Finn, a Jesuit historian, first discovered and dug up some prehistoric relics some years before the Second World War. Ever since then, the island began to attract visitors, not a few of them were Kwai Los. Because of its geographical proximity to Hong Kong Island, it also attracted a lot of picnickers, particularly those on private pleasure craft.

Topographically Lamma Island can be conveniently divided into two parts, North Lamma and South Lamma. Easy access to the latter can be by...

Lesser in size, not in importance, for the Lesser Islands include two of the District’s largest centres of population, Cheung Chau, with a population of 18,500, and Ping Chau, the population of which varies between 3,500 and 3,800, depending on the number of workers being employed by the Great China Match Factory, which is situated there. Tsing I has a population growing rapidly, and may be expected to become, in the course of time, an offshoot of Tsun Wan’s industrial zone.

Four of the islands are important as markets and noted for their industries: Cheung Chau (soy sauce, preserved fruit,...

Prior to the Second World War, Sai Kung was virtually inaccessible. There was one small ferry boat running only once a day, between Shaukiwan and Sai Kung market. The ferry had to take the route via Lyemun, Fat Tong Mun, crossed the open sea by Clear Water Bay, through Port Shelter to Sai Kung Market. Off the coast round Fat Tong Mun, the sea could be very rough, and it took over an hour each way. Seldom was the journey attractive to picnickers, particularly if they were not good sailors. Alternatively, travellers would have to take the route via Ngau...

An island in Port Shelter. Population 283. A Catholic village with church and school. Surname: Chan. The Village Representative here is dim-witted, but there are some energetic men available, working in Hong Kong, who give advice when needed. A village of some natural beauty, frequented by artists. 40 minutes by motor sampan from Sai Kung. I note with regret that on my first visit, in 1953, the atmosphere was one of broken Government promises. I have tried to put this right. In 1954 we helped with material and technical advice on an ambitious Local Public Works scheme, constructing a causeway...

One of the quietest parts of the District was the area of the Lyemun and Hang Hau peninsulas, where the traditional ways of life were kept going, and people rarely dealt in land, or brought their disputes to me. Hang Hau peninsula was served by only two good lines of communication: the Hang Hau ferry from Shaukiwan, connecting with a launch that ran from the east side of the Hang Hau isthmus to Saikung, and a solidly built Chinese paved road running along the ridge north and south down the peninsula. On Nam Tong, by the Fat Tan Mun stands...

Walter Schofield (1888–1968) was a cadet officer in the Hong Kong civil service from 1911 to 1938.

After serving in various posts, including that of district officer, South, he was first police magistrate in 1931–33, and again in 1934–37, it being customary for such posts to be filled by cadets up to 1941.

He was a keen amateur archaeologist who conducted digs at Shek Pik on Lantao Island in 1937 where he found six burials under a cultural layer which yielded bronze artifacts. A gulley adjacent to the site contained the remains of six sandstone moulds for...