Nearly 11/2 centuries ago, when the Diocesan Home and Orphanage was set up in a small concrete house in a paddy field near Bonham Road, Pok Fu Lam, its roll listed 23 boarders and a few day pupils.
Few at that time could have imagined that the orphanage, later renamed Diocesan Boys' School (DBS), would become one of the city's most prestigious secondary schools, and that it would nurture generations of well-rounded people talented academically and in sport and the arts.
To celebrate the 140th anniversary of the school, a book titled To Serve and to Lead: A History of the Diocesan Boys' School, Hong Kong will be published by the University of Hong Kong Press this month.
The book is co-written by Fung Yee-wang, an old boy and former teacher of the school, and Dr Moira Chan Yeung Mo-wah, a graduate of Diocesan Girls' School who studied physics and chemistry at DBS in the 1950s. It took the duo years to check meeting memos, documents and records, rediscovering the school's history and interesting anecdotes.
'In my understanding, what makes DBS unique is its free and open atmosphere, emphasis on self-confidence and courage, and traditions in sports and arts education,' said Fung, who spent 16 years at the school.
Research into the school's early days showed it originally accepted pupils of both sexes. This changed after George Piercy, one of the longest-serving headmasters at DBS, took office and decided not to admit girls any more. Under his leadership, DBS and three other schools - Queen's College, St Paul's College and St Joseph's College - were ranked as the four best secondary schools in Hong Kong in the 1890s.