Peak District Reservation Ordinance 1904 Explained

Short Title:Peak District Reservation Ordinance 1904
Legislature:Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Long Title:An ordinance for the reservation of a Residential Area in the Peak-District.
Enacted By:Legislative Council
Introduced By:Sir H. S. Berkeley, Attorney-General
1St Reading:28 March 1904
2Nd Reading:19 April 1904
3Rd Reading:26 April 1904
Repealed By:Law Revision Ordinance 1930
Status:Repealed
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The Peak District Reservation Ordinance 1904,[1] originally enacted as the Hill District Reservation Ordinance,[2] [3] [4] is commonly called the Peak Reservation Ordinance and was a zoning law that reserved most of the Victoria Peak as a place of residence to non-Chinese people except with the consent of the Governor-in-Council.[5] The law was in force from 1904 to 1930 where the deadly Third Pandemic of Bubonic plague took place in China, causing 100,000 deaths,[6] and enormous number of Chinese influxed into Hong Kong, causing the 1894 Hong Kong plague. Contemporary historians’ views toward the Ordinance vary, with some[7] [8] attributing the Ordinance to health segregation, whereas others attribute it to social status segregation. The debate on the second reading of the Bill is recorded in the Hong Kong Hansard,[9] which shows that the two Chinese members, Ho Kai and Wei Yuk, did not oppose the Bill but a minority of the "leading Chinese" in the community were against it.

Background

1894 Hong Kong plague

In 1894, the deadly Third Pandemic of Bubonic plague spread from China to Hong Kong, causing 100,000 deaths in Canton alone within two months [6] and subsequently the 1894 Hong Kong plague. Dr. Gomes da Silva, the Principal Medical Officer of Macao, in recording the sanitary condition of the Chinese population, observed that they usually threw house refuse into the street, where it accumulated until such time as the torrential summer rains and the overflow of the Pearl River cleared it away. A study by City University of Hong Kong also attributes the spread of plague to the hygiene and sanitary condition among local population at the time.[10] Governor of Hong Kong Sir William Robinson reported to the British Government that "the filthy habits of life amongst the 210,000 Chinese who reside here have rendered Hong Kong liable to the invasion and development of the germ of the bubonic plague".[11]

In the late 1890s, Europeans who resided in the City of Victoria gradually moved to places of higher altitude to evade such living conditions. But as the ethnic Chinese population continued to increase in the city, and the Europeans were reaching Victoria Peak thus could not move any higher, the Hong Kong Government decided to reserve the Peak for Europeans and other non-Chinese. In the 1904 Government Gazette explained that such reservation of the district was to address such concerns over the health of European people.Between 1894 and 1929, the plague caused 24,000 case of infection in Hong Kong, of which 90% were fatal.[12] In 1929, the plague was eradicated and the law was repealed in 1930 by the Law Revision Ordinance 1930.[13]

Segregation by social status

20th century Journalist[14] Trea Wiltshire, in her book "Old Hong Kong", believes the Hill District Reservation Ordinance was a law based on social segregation as its goal. At the time one's social status was measured by the altitude of one's residence. One incidental benefit that came with the law included the reservation of the Peak Tram at certain hours of the day. From 8 to 10 am, the tram service was for top officials, first class passengers only, thus guaranteed good commute time. The front seat of the tram was always reserved for the governor, who further accorded its desirable social status by building a summer retreat, the Mountain Lodge. The Peak at the time was referred to by the British as "Little England".[15] Many of the upper-middle class household members would have a dozen to 20 Chinese servants.

Extent

According to the ordinance, the peak District means "all that area in the Island of Hongkong situated above the 788 feet contour and to the west of a line drawn in a north and south direction through Middle or Cemetery Gap, including the hills known as Mount Cameron, Mount Gough, Mount Kellett and Victoria Peak".[16] [17]

Similar ordinances

Other historical racially based zoning law in Hong Kong.

Other historical zoning laws in Hong Kong.

Exemption

The ordinance stated that "It shall be lawful for the Governor-in-Council to exempt any Chinese from the operation of this Ordinance on such terms as the Governor-in-Council shall think fit". Such exemptions were invoked for such personalities as First Lady of the Republic of China Soong Mei-ling[7] and Eurasian millionaire Sir Robert Ho-Tung and his family who already had a retreat on the slopes of the Peak.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Text of the Peak District Reservation Ordinance, 1904 . 22 January 2014 . 5 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211105115944/https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/archive/files/24f2010e0de63d845e7551701de18300.pdf . live .
  2. Web site: Text of the Hill District Reservation Ordinance . 6 April 2013 . 4 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111004202456/http://webb-site.com/codocs/HillDistrictReservationOrdinance.pdf . live .
  3. Council Sitting Record of Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Legislative Council of Hong Kong. 28 March 1904. 14 August 2008. 6 February 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110206031016/http://www.legco.gov.hk/1904/h040328.pdf. live.
  4. Book: Lai , Lawrence Wai-Chung . Weicong Li . Ki Fong . Town Planning Practice: Context, Procedures and Statistics for Hong Kong . Hong Kong University Press . 2000 . Hong Kong . 13 . 9789622095168 . 21 February 2024 . 1 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231001080523/https://books.google.com/books?id=pMikv58lxdIC&q=%22Hill+District+Reservation%22 . live.
  5. Wiltshire, Trea. [First published 1987] (republished & reduced 2003). Old Hong Kong – Volume Two. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. Page 21. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-60-6. pg 21
  6. Book: Cohn , Samuel K. . The Black Death Transformed: Disease and Culture in Early Renaissance Europe. A Hodder Arnold. 2003. 336. 0-340-70646-5. registration.
  7. Book: Wordie , Jason . Streets: Exploring Hong Kong Island . . 2002 . Hong Kong . 74–75 . 962-209-563-1 .
  8. Web site: 香港早期醫療 . 6 April 2013 . 2 August 2012 . https://archive.today/20120802004209/http://www.cciv.cityu.edu.hk/website/?redirect=/field/2000-2001-b/0224B/index.php . dead .
  9. Web site: Hansard for the Legislative Council meeting on 19 April 1904. . 6 April 2013 . 31 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191031224629/https://www.legco.gov.hk/1904/h040419.pdf . live .
  10. http://www.cciv.cityu.edu.hk/website/?redirect=/field/2000-2001-b/0224B/index.php Early history of medical service in Hong Kong(香港早期醫療服務)
  11. Pryor. E.G.. The Great Plague of Hong Kong. Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 1975. 65. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Hong Kong Branch (Hong Kong Branch). Hong Kong. 1975. 6 April 2013. 12 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110612133432/http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4401304.pdf. live.
  12. Pryor. E.G.. The Great Plague of Hong Kong. Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 1975. 69. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Hong Kong Branch (Hong Kong Branch). Hong Kong. 1975. 6 April 2013. 12 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110612133432/http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4401304.pdf. live.
  13. 1930-12-05 . Ordinance No. 25 of 1930 . Hong Kong Government Gazette . 620 . 21 February 2024 . 21 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240221052511/https://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/index.jsp . live .
  14. Web site: FormAsia Books Online - Authors . https://web.archive.org/web/20200204022804/https://www.formasiabooks.com/authors/ . 2020-02-04 . www.formasiabooks.com.
  15. Courtauld, Caroline. Holdsworth, May. The Hong Kong Story. Hong Kong publishing, Oxford university press. . pg 46.
  16. Web site: Hill District Reservation Ordinance . https://web.archive.org/web/20230410144713/https://webb-site.com/codocs/HillDistrictReservationOrdinance.pdf . 2023-04-10 . webb-site.com.
  17. Web site: Historic Building Appraisal: Peak Fresh Water Service Reservoir. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20231001080525/https://www.aab.gov.hk/filemanager/aab/en/content_4/20210616_historic_4_new_items.pdf . 1 October 2023. Antiquities Advisory Board. 14 November 2024. N369. 8–14.
  18. Jung-fang Tsai. [1995] (1995). Hong Kong in Chinese History: Community and Social Unrest in the British Colony, 1842–1913. Columbia University Press. 1995., .
  19. Munn, Christopher. [2001] (2001). Anglo-China: Chinese People and British Rule in Hong Kong, 1841–1880., .
  20. Web site: Minutes of the meeting of the Hong Kong Legislative Council held on 19 July 1946 . 6 April 2013 . 31 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191031230617/https://www.legco.gov.hk/1946/h460719.pdf . live .
  21. Web site: Legislative Council Report 27 March 1888 . 6 April 2013 . 31 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191031224438/https://www.legco.gov.hk/1887-88/h880327.pdf . live .
  22. Book: Town planning practice By Lawrence Wai-Chung Lai, Weicong Li, Ki Fong . 978-962-209-516-8 . 21 February 2024 . 1 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231001080439/https://books.google.com/books?id=pMikv58lxdIC&dq=peak+reservation+ordinance+1888+hong+kong&pg=PA191 . live . Lai . Lawrence Wai-Chung . Li . Weicong . Fong . Ki . 28 April 2024 . Hong Kong University Press .
  23. Book: Hing-fung Leung , Lawrence Wai-chung Lai, Daniel Chi-wing Ho. . Change in Use of Land: A Practical Guide to Development in Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press. 2004. 15. 9780873386777. 21 February 2024. 1 October 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231001080507/https://books.google.com/books?id=1653hGljnfgC&q=%22Hill+District+Reservation%22. live.
  24. Book: Society By David Faure . 978-962-209-393-5 . 21 February 2024 . 1 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231001083248/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ytg98pAFdk4C&dq=European+District+Reservation+Ordinance&pg=PA46 . live . Faure . David . 28 April 1997 . Hong Kong University Press .

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