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Gigi Choy

A century-old aqueduct at Hong Kong’s oldest reservoir has survived to this day, but only a small section of it has been declared a historic building, leaving most of the structure unprotected.
Now conservation and heritage experts want the government to do more to save the remaining sections of the Pok Fu Lam Conduit before they fall into ruin.
Their call came in the wake of the near-demolition last month of a century-old underground reservoir at Bishop Hill in Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po.
The site features striking brickwork arches and 100 stone columns, four of which were knocked down by workers before the demolition was halted after the authorities heeded public calls to preserve it.

Heritage buffs say not enough has been done to protect what remains of the Pok Fu Lam Conduit on Hong Kong Island.
The city’s first reservoir was completed at Pok Fu Lam in 1863 but soon proved inadequate to supply the growing population. A second reservoir completed in 1877 featured a 5.4km brick and masonry aqueduct that ran above ground level and carried water to various parts of the island.
Paul Zimmerman, a Southern district councillor and CEO of Designing Hong Kong, said he was hiking in Pok Fu Lam over the Christmas holidays when he noticed an arched structure marked No 5.


He immediately went looking for more of the colonial-era structures and found 16 of the 32 sections of the aqueduct still intact.
Zimmerman urged the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) to protect what he found.
Only one section, marked No 9, has been included among Hong Kong’s 1,444 historic buildings. It received a grade two rating in 2009, making it a building of special merit that should be selectively preserved. The board described it as a rare example of Victorian civil engineering.

Disappointed the entire aqueduct was not protected, Zimmerman said: “The government has been lazy with its grading and assessment. Why didn’t it know about the other [sections of the] aqueduct? They either didn’t investigate or look at the records.”
Sorry for not protecting century-old site, Hong Kong heritage office head says
He believed four sections could have been lost in landslides, and 12 others displaced by extensions of Queen Mary Hospital and the University of Hong Kong’s High West development.
“If you don’t recognise the aqueduct as a whole system, parts of it will disappear. It’s so easy to destroy parts of the conduit because people don’t recognise its significance in Hong Kong’s history,” he said.
A visit by the Post found most of the surviving sections covered with moss and ferns, with parts of their surfaces stained black. 

After last month’s excitement over the Bishop Hill underground reservoir, the government pledged to review how such sites were treated.
The authorities revealed that a similar structure at Hatton Road, in Mid-Levels, was demolished in 2011.

In 2009, 41 waterworks structures built before World War II were declared monuments for permanent preservation, but neither the Pok Fu Lam Conduit nor the Bishop Hill underground reservoir were among them.
In pictures: inside a century-old Hong Kong underground reservoir
Architect Paul Chu Hoi-shan, a member of the AAB, said that when it came to conservation of heritage sites, more collaboration across government departments was needed.
“The trees and other vegetation around the aqueduct structures should be cleared so they are clearly visible, but the Antiquities and Monuments Office cannot handle that because it is under a different department’s purview,” he said. “All government departments should work together to preserve these treasures so people can experience and enjoy them.” 

Dr Lee Ho-yin, head of the University of Hong Kong’s architectural conservation programmes, agreed with Zimmerman that a structure should be considered as a whole and not as individual parts.
“The significance of the aqueduct system is in its entire span, not the prettiest section. That would be the wrong approach to conserve this kind of structure,” he said.
Lee pointed out that some sites were conserved not only for their aesthetics or history but because they were used and loved by people.

Using the Bishop Hill reservoir as an example, he said people felt attached to the site because the hilltop was enjoyed by residents for many years as an open area.
The Pok Fu Lam aqueduct was along a popular hiking trail, so it ought to be conserved and maintained too, he added.
Agreeing that the aqueduct system should be assessed as a whole, former AAB member Tony Lam Chung-wai said there needed to be a revamp of the way historic buildings were assessed. 
“You can’t just grade the thumb and leave out the hand,” he said.


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Hong Kong heritage buffs want remains of historic Pok Fu Lam aqueduct saved from ruin

A section, marked No 5, of the Pok Fu Lam Conduit. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

A  Masonry Bridge of the Pok Fu Lam Conduit. The Pok Fu Lam Conduit  carried water from the Pok Fu Lam reservoir, the oldest in Hong Kong,  following the hillside above Pok Fu Lam Road and ending near the junction of Albany Road and Robinson Road.07JAN21 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

The graded structure (no. 9) is part of the Pok Fu Lam Conduit, which carried water from the Pok Fu Lam reservoir, the oldest in Hong Kong,  following the hillside above Pok Fu Lam Road and ending near the junction of Albany Road and Robinson Road.07JAN21 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Visitors visit the service reservoir in Shek Kip Mei's Wo Chai hill (Bishop Hill) is now being demolished. Officially known as the "Sham Shui Po Fresh Water Break Pressure Tank", the roman style architecture was built before 1930. The area is a popular hiking spot for residents.     28DEC20      SCMP / Winson Wong

Paul Zimmerman, a Dutch-born Hong Kong environmentalist, politician and businessman,  looks at a  Masonry Bridge of the Pok Fu Lam Conduit. The Pok Fu Lam Conduit  carried water from the Pok Fu Lam reservoir, the oldest in Hong Kong,  following the hillside above Pok Fu Lam Road and ending near the junction of Albany Road and Robinson Road.07JAN21 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

The Lung Fu Shan Environmental Education Centre, which  used to be where the water filter beds were and where the aqueduct manager and staff quarters were. The Pok Fu Lam Conduit carried water from the Pok Fu Lam reservoir, the oldest in Hong Kong,  following the hillside above Pok Fu Lam Road and ending near the junction of Albany Road and Robinson Road.07JAN21 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

The Pok Fu Lam Reservoir. The Pok Fu Lam Conduit  carried water from the Pok Fu Lam reservoir, the oldest in Hong Kong,  following the hillside above Pok Fu Lam Road and ending near the junction of Albany Road and Robinson Road.07JAN21 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

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The former Hatton Road service reservoir, which was demolished in 2011. Photo: Handout

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A view of the service reservoir in Bishop Hill, in the Shek Kip Mei area of Kowloon. The structure featuring Roman-style architecture is believed to have been completed in 1904. Photo: Sam Tsang

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The reservoir in Shek Kip Mei's Bishop Hill. Photo: Sam Tsang

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The effects of initial demolition work at the century-old service reservoir on Bishop Hill in Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po. The underground facility, believed to have been completed in 1904, has architectural features not commonly seen in Hong Kong. Photo: Winson Wong

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Critics say decision to protect only one section of conduit was ‘lazy’ and needs to be looked at
Calls to save aqueduct come after near-demolition of Bishop Hill underground reservoir



Critics say decision to protect only one section of conduit was ‘lazy’ and needs to be looked at.


History

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Hong Kong heritage buffs want remains of historic Pok Fu Lam aqueduct saved from ruin

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Critics say decision to protect only one section of conduit was ‘lazy’ and needs to be looked at Calls to save aqueduct come after near-demolition of Bishop Hill underground reservoir

Critics say decision to protect only one section of conduit was ‘lazy’ and needs to be looked at

Calls to save aqueduct come after near-demolition of Bishop Hill underground reservoir