Archives - Details
Record ID
HKRS209
Title
Plan of City of Victoria and Miscellaneous Maps and Plans of Hong Kong
Date
1845 - 1984
Level
Series
Archival History
The series was maintained in the custody of the creating agency until transfer to the PRO.
Creating Agency
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, CROWN LANDS AND SURVEY OFFICE
Transferring Agency
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, LANDS AND SURVEY DEPARTMENT, CROWN LANDS AND SURVEY OFFICE, SURVEY BRANCH, HONG KONG AND ISLANDS SECTION
Administrative / Biographical History
A Surveyor General was first appointed on 9.5.1844. By 1871 the title 'Survey Department' was being used and in 1883 this was changed to Public Works Department (PWD). In 1892 the position of Surveyor General was renamed Director of Public Works. By 1901 the PWD's organisation included a Crown Lands and Survey Office (CLSO). The PWD resumed its functions on the return to civil administration in 1946 after the Second World War. On 1.8.1973 the Town Planning Branch of the CLSO was separated to form the Town Planning Office. By 1974, the PWD comrpised six sub-departments, including Lands and Survey. The Lands and Survey Department was retitled Lands, Survey and Town Planning Department from 15.3.1978 having reacquired responsibility for the town planning function. When the PWD was abolished on 1.4.1982, one of its successor agencies was the Lands Department which included the Crown Lands and Survey Office and the Town Planning Office.
Scope and Content
The series comprises a collection of maps and survey plans relating to Hong Kong. These include: a plan of Victoria City, 1901, covering the built-up area between Kennedy Town in the west and Tai Hang in the east; survey plans of Ap Li chau, Cheung Chau, Wong Nei Chung village and the Military Cantonment in Victoria; maps and plans of New Territories 1904, Kowloon City c1884, Boundary Stones of Anglo-Chinese frontier 1927, Kowloon-Canton Railway boundaries from Tsim Sha Tsui to Kowloon Tong, and Hong Kong and Kowloon showing harbour defences against submarine mines, 1876. The series also includes a set of master transparencies of the 1:2400 map series covering Kowloon Peninsula and areas to the east as far as Junk Bay and of Hong Kong and the immediately adjacent islands.
Physical Description
Maps and plans of various sizes: 62 x 107 cm - 78.5 x 100 cm
Arrangement System
Several numbering systems appear to have been used to control the arrangement of parts of this series. Most of the maps and plans are marked with one or more single numbers and a letter prefix. The master transparencies use a grid system of arrangement combining compass direction with a single number, viz: 161 - SW, 180 - SE, etc.
Conditions Governing Access
Public Records (Access) Rules 1996
Language and Scripts
English