Group of Hong Kong heritage enthusiasts urges authorities to declare century-old Bishop Hill reservoir a monument
- Panel finds in its research report the Shek Kip Mei facility played a significant role in shaping Kowloon’s water supply history in the early 20th century
- Antiquities Advisory Board chief Douglas So says Hongkongers can share their research findings on the structure before meeting on March 11
A group of conservationists, architects and urbanists has urged Hong Kong heritage authorities to declare a century-old service reservoir a monument ahead of a meeting of the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) next month.
The group has released a research report on the striking colonial structure at Bishop Hill in Shek Kip Mei that came to light in December last year. The report has been published by tour organisation Walk In Hong Kong.
Members of the group, some of whom are graduates of the University of Hong Kong and Chinese University’s master’s programmes in architecture or heritage conservation, have studied and compiled historical records and information on the structure since early January.
“Some of the important aspects of this project were gathering resources from a lot of contributors, fact-checking and peer-reviewing,” said architectural historian Charles Lai Chun-wai, who has taken part in the research.
“We hope this incident will encourage the government and society to care more about local heritage.”