The Prince of Wales visited Hong Kong as part of his world tour. He stopped off for two days and the whole of Hong Kong came to a halt. Sir Paul Chater played no small part.......
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| How the British address, read by Sir Paul Chater was reported. |
City en Fete
The Day Decorations
A thousand flags flaunting their colours in the breeze,
thousands of paper lanterns, swinging gaily to each puff as if desirous of
calling attention of their presence, was the city’s gala dress donned in honour
of her Royal visitor. The buildings which ordinarily are teeming with men bent
on business affairs today are closed, or filled with eager spectators whose
only care and desire is to show by the warmth and affection of their welcome to
His Royal Highness their loyalty and respect to the throne. Today and tomorrow
will be historic in the annals of Hongkong. Her citizens have seen to it that
the city’s beauty is worthy of the occasion and shall also remain historic.
The work of decorating has been long in hand. Its growth to completion has been watched
with interest. It is completed. Hongkong
may be satisfied. To wander through the streets
is but to add pleasure on pleasure.
Every thoroughfare in the centre of the city is a picture, each with
some distinctive note to hold attention until it is claimed by new beauties
which unfold themselves. The feelings of the people here are probably best
expressed by the legend above Marble
Hall [Sir Paul Chater's residence] which reads “God bless our
Prince”. Composed of huge white letters and surmounted by the Prince’s
feathers which will be illuminated at night, the decorating stands out in bold
relief from the dark background provided by the hillside. Viewed from the harbour or town it is a very
striking piece of work.
Queen’s Road has been well looked after, especially in the
bank district. Here there is a profuse display of flags and lanterns. The
International Bank Building seems one red mass, while further on comes Victoria
Building almost unrecognisable beneath its coat of greenery and flags.
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A personal note on the back of this photograph by Lilian Bagram wife of Sir Paul's nephew
Theo Bagram, is perfect confirmation that this was the office and centre of
Sir Paul's business empire, decorated for the impending visit of the Prince of Wales . Lilian often referred to Sir Paul and Lady Chater as"the aunt and uncle". |
One passes on to the Hongkong and Shanghai
Bank with its coloured electric lights, its pillars wreathed in bunting of the
national colours, its flags and, over-looking Statue Square its big electric
sign representing the hong flag. So by the red-outlined City Hall to the Indian
arch.
Naturally a centre of attraction is the corner formed by the
junction of Pedder Street, Chater and Des Voeux Roads. Here stands the fine building of Messrs.
Jardine Matheson and Co. The pillars have been covered with blue and white
bunting, the house colours the effect being heightened by lavish use of the
house flag and the Red Ensign. From the tower to the roof are long strings of
flags. Just opposite the Post office stands resplendent in its bunting-wreathed
verandahs and flags. Facing over the harbour is a big crown flanked by the
letters “G.R.”. The decoration of the
Hongkong Hotel has been carried out in electric light of various colours. The
effect should be arresting at night. Alexandra Building has its dressing of
flags and also some electric sign of the Prince’s feathers. From the corner Des Voeux Road looks simply a
red and beflagged avenue. There is not a
building but has contributed well to the general scheme.
Queen’s Buildings and Prince’s Buildings are in themselves quite
a feature. Decoration on both of them has proceeded along the same lines. The
verandahs have been transformed by the use of tri-coloured bunting, the spaces
between the verandah pillars are hung with lanterns. On the east side of Prince’s
Building facing on Statue Square, is a coloured electric sign depicting the
Persian flag - a lion holding a sword
with a rising sun as background.
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A rare image from the 1922 visit of HRH the Prince of Wales.
Prince's Building showing signage that until now, had only
been described in newspapers and not seen. Here it can be
seen the flag as described above, the lion holding a sword. |
Special attention has been paid to the adornment of Chater
Road. Flanking it on both sides are white pillars connected by strings of greenery
from which are suspended coloured lights. Above them rise the red glowing
masses of lanterns and the fluttering flags.
It is a wonderful scene on which the eye lingers until it loses itself
in the magnificence of Statue Square.
The buildings fronting on the Praya have not been overlooked
by any means. On both King’s Building and that in which the Telegraph Companies
are housed greenery has been tastefully combined with bunting and
lanterns. Butterfield’s has also a lot
of attention paid to it. Running
vertically down the walls are streamers of white and blue, the red being
supplied by lanterns. Amidst a profusion of flags the Prince’s crest is
displays, the house flag also being prominent. The main feature of the
decoration of the neighbouring V.R.C., building is the illuminated flag. The
Naval Yard wall is outlined with lanterns and over the main gate is erected an illuminated
anchor. The officers’ mess at the foot of Garden Road looks bright with its
profuse display of flags.
At the Taikon Dockyard, which provided the Prince’s first
glimpse of Hongkong, are two huge frames bearing the word “Welcome” whilst on
the China Sugar Refinery, in letters 10 feet high is the legend “Our Prince”.
The Tramway Company has its sign of “Welcome to our Prince” raised some 130
feet from the grounds. Messrs Ruttonjee and Son strike a somewhat original note
with the sign “Tell father we are all happy”.
In Statue Square
Lanterns, Lanterns Everywhere
Those who have spoken slightingly of the temporary beauties
adorning Statue Square must surely have wished their words unsaid when the full
glory of the finished product burst upon them this morning. Statue Square was really the heart of the
whole decorative scheme and, like red corpuscles bobbling about in the arteries
that radiated from it, were lanterns, thousand and thousands of them.
Red lanterns were everywhere. They bordered the cornices of
the Pavilion; they hung in rows from the garlands of ever-greens festooned
between the pillars; one danced merrily in the breeze on the very summit of the
Supreme Court dome. The Supreme Court indeed looked very unlike a staid hall of
justice – it had the rakish air of an exhibition building in full carnival rig.
Strings of bunting fluttered around the symbolical figures on the top of broad
bands of red white and blue swathed in colonnade and balconies.
Wisely the decorators had refrained from over-dressing the
Pavilion. Save for its effective boarding of lanterns and an odd cluster of
flags to relieve the monotony of the walls here and there its chaste lines were
left unembellished. It looked a noble
pile and one meet to be the scene of today’s historic function. Back of it the
Hongkong Club was hung about, at every available point it seemed, with lanterns
and the tall buildings that smiled down upon the square from the Western side
too, had decked themselves fittingly to greet the Prince.
The strings of evergreens hung with lanterns, which linked
up the pillars were an effective feature which harmonised finely with the
contribution to the scheme which had been made by old mother Nature. Her handiwork,
the green grass and the flowers and most of all the soft pink bloom of the
trees, made a charming setting for the other parts of the charming picture that
had been artificially evolved.
The Pavilion - A Temporary Structure
The build up to the impending visit in April 1922 to Hong
Kong by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales had been going on for months.
Committees were formed, duties allocated, buildings were painted, and streets
were swept, regimental bands practised, and the military rehearsed their marches and positioning, Chinese coolies were carefully selected as the chosen ones to carry the Prince, uniforms measured for, and several sedan chairs were spruced up. Decorations were planned, purchase and put up all over the city, and a Pavilion
specially erected for the occasion of the royal visit was placed in the same
location as the current Cenotaph in Statue Square.
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| The decorations were a spectacle |
The Pavilion was built of
lathe and plaster and was only a temporary structure. Measuring 180 feet by 150
feet and able to accommodate 3,000 people. For speeches and presentations it
had row upon row of centrally placed seating whilst there were also banks of side
seating. The cost of the Pavilion was around HK$50,000 approximately £7,000, at
today’s values that figure is in excess of around £330,000 or US$559,000. As
can be seen from the announcement in the local newspaper, there was meticulous
attention to detail with regard to arrangements for the various functions
taking place in the Pavilion, starting with the welcome speeches, the addresses
by the University, St. Stephen’s Girls’ College, the local Masons, the
Ex-Service Men’s reception, and finally the grand ball, they all had their own
instructions.
The illuminations at Night.
The great success of the illuminations was the appearance of
the warships in port. Ships have been picked out with electric lights before
but never in the history of the Colony, probably, has there been such a
splendid array of illuminated war vessels in the harbour. Outlined as they were
with white electric lights they looked like enormously magnified specimens of
the jeweller’s art or, if jewellery so large is inconceivable, then like design
sketched in phosphor paint by some superhuman artist, against the dark
background of the night. The Renown
could not be “picked out” with lights in the time available, but she exhibited
a splendid design of the “Feathers”. The only object on land in any way
similarly treated to the warships was Queen Victoria’s statue which, also was
outlined in white electric lights and had the appearance of a glass model of
St. Paul’s Cathedral dome, brilliantly lighted from without. Another departure
from the prevailing scheme was at the Hongkong Hotel which was be-jewelled with
vari-coloured electric lights.
All else was ruby red. The circular and vase-shaped lanterns
used were admirable for effective decorating and the wisdom of deciding upon
one type for the night illuminations was clearly apparent. In the streets last
night, Hongkong glowed with a strange unearthly radiance and the west macadam
reflected the soft light in a way that greatly added to the effect. From the harbour the scene was one of
extraordinary beauty. Solid masonry seems to have completely disappeared and to
have been replaced by ethereal palaces.
Where all were so successful it was invidious to mention names but some
were worthy of special note. The severe
Grecian lines at Messrs. Butterfield & Swire’s, the delicately outlined
tower and façade of Kowloon Railway Station, a kind of ruined Greek temple at
Holt’s Wharf, the wealth of detail at the Hongkong Club, the bold design at the
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank were amongst those that were generally admired. Sir Paul Chater’s Prince of Wale’s Feathers
design and the lighted inscription “God Bless our Prince” spoke by night, as
Sir Paul had spoken by day in the Pavilion, for the whole British Community.
The scenes by night it should be added, were greatly enhanced by the magnificent
firework display given by the Japanese community.
Racing – The Prince of Wales Stakes
There were five starters but the start of the race was
delayed pending the arrival of His Royal highness. Big crowds were lined up through the
enclosure and at 4.25pm the Prince, accompanied by H.E. the Governor motored
right into the enclosure to the accompaniment of loud cheering. He was met by
Sir Paul Chater and Sir William Rees Davies and other stewards of the Jockey
Club and as he appeared at the railing of his special stand he was again given
an ovation. The Prince watched the race from the Governors stand but afterwards
the Prince honoured Sir Paul Chater by a visit to his stand [private box].
