Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2000

Story of the Red Brick House On Shanghai Street in Yaumatei stands a red brick house. I twas rumoured to have been a post office in the 1920s. But a study on the history o fwater supply in Hong Kong shows otherwise: the house was th eearliest pumping station for fresh water supply on Kowloon Peninsula. In the late 19th century, as there were no reservoirs on Kowloon Peninsula, the government took advantage of Yaumatei's low lying terrain to dig a few big water wells. A mud dam was also built several tens of feet underground near the outlet to the sea to trap water for centralized allocation. And a pumping station was erected to service the entire Kowloon Peninsula. When researchers first searched for information on the pumping station i n th e files o fthe Water Supplies Department, they were told that it no longer existed. There were only floor plans indicating its location t obe on Station Street. This 'station' wa spreviously interpreted a s'railway station', which had long been demolished. But in fact, 'station' refers t o 'police station', that is, the pre-war Yaumatei Police Station, which was located on the same street (now renamed Shanghai Street) where the red brick house stands. Comparison with the old floor plan and architectural design further confirmed th ereal identity of the red brick house. The building is now listed as a first-grade protected building by the government. It is frequently due to historical research o fthis sort that the true value of many old buildings is revealed. The red brick house is listed as a first-grade protected building by the government. Rennie's Mill Following the civil war in China, ma n y mainlanders fled to Ho n g Kong after 1949. They first settled i nthe Sai Ying Poon area. As more and more refugees arrived, the Ho ng Kong government mov e d some o f them to Mount Davis, an d later to Rennie's Mill i nthe Junk Bay area. Ma nd a r in wa s then the lingua franca i n those communities an d the Taiwanese flag could be seen flying on the Double Tenth. The Protestant and Catholic churches figured prominently in t h e history of Rennie's Mill. Missionaries b e g an offerin g medical relief to the inhabitants in 1951, wh e n the first make- shift clinic with only a stone slab a n d scanty equipment wa s established. From such humble beginnings grew Ha v e n of Ho pe Christian Service, which n ow operates a vast networ k of 25 service units, including hospitals, rehabilitation centres , hospices, an d clinics in Tseung Kwa n O. The old Rennie's Mill, once k n own a s 'Little Taiwan', was demolished in 1996, and its memo ry eclipsed b y t he h i g h rises i n t he area. Prof. La u Yee-cheung o f t h e Department o f History, wh o grew u p in Rennie's Mill, sets ou t o rediscover its history, specifically the role played by the church and other institutions, its language development, and educational services available t oits inhabitants. CHINES E UNIVERSIT Y BULLETI N 10 Autumn Winter 2000