Unlocking The Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1934

The Golden Key that Unlocked The New
Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1934 Is Still In Existence Today

It is incredible how a piece of memorabilia can turn up with no documentation or background information but with a little time, a perfect attribution can be made to it.   

The golden key seen here is part of a private family archive related to Sir Paul Chater. The family have owned it since it passed to them in the 1980s. This is the original golden key that was used in the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1934 and reported in the local Hong Kong newspapers. The premises were in Ice House Street, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, George Hutton-Potts used it in the grand opening.

The inscription reads 

Hong Kong
Stock Exchange
Opening
23 May 1934
By
G. Hutton Potts Esq.
Chairman
Contractors
Sang Lee and Co
The Inscription on the reverse side reads

H.K.S.E. Architects
Little, Adams and Wood.