Fragrant no more
Victoria Harbour has been abused for decades, but the opening of the new Maritime Museum marks a softening of the government's attitude towards it. Nevertheless, writes Stuart Heaver, the battle for our 'jewel in the crown' - not to mention the rest of our coastline - is far from over. Pictures by Dickson Lee
When Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying officially opens the relocated Hong Kong Maritime Museum tomorrow, it will mark a sea change in the attitude the city has towards its harbour and rich ocean-faring past.
Amid the sound of champagne corks popping at Pier 8, at the heart of Central's waterfront, there is likely to be mutual congratulations and backslapping as the great and the good of the city offer gushing speeches full of the usual clichés about Victoria Harbour being a Hong Kong icon, the jewel in its crown and its lifeline. The harbour's more ignominious recent history - decades of abuse and neglect at the hands of the city's government - may well be glossed over.
It's a history that has left residual feelings of distrust and suspicion, and much of the harbour buried under concrete. Even today, it is impossible to walk along most of the front of our harbour, the majority of citizens have no easy access to it and, on some days, the air pollution is so dense you can hardly see across it.
So why has Hong Kong done such an awful job of looking after its most prized asset and appeared largely uninterested in its own maritime heritage? And are things really changing for the better?
Richard Wesley, is a cultural-heritage professional from Australia. He was recruited to oversee the relocation of the museum from Stanley to its new home.