Hong Kong WWII military site deserves sprucing up so people can visit, learn about history, experts say
- Complex of installations at Jubilee Battery mostly in good condition, but shrouded in vegetation
- Area’s history includes periods when Kuomintang soldiers, squatters and detainees were there
Researchers from the University of Hong Kong want a deserted World War II site in western Hong Kong Island to be turned into a conservation park instead of being left neglected and covered by overgrown vegetation.
They say Jubilee Battery, a complex of military installations built by the British as World War II loomed, deserves to be cleared of overgrown vegetation and repaired to provide better access to the public.
The place provided an understanding of what happened in Hong Kong during the Japanese invasion of December 1941, said Professor Lawrence Lai Wai-chung, an expert in urban planning from HKU’s real estate and construction department.
He believed it was also worth considering for heritage grading and conversion into a park.
The battery, built along the coastline below Mount Davis, includes three gun emplacements with prepared artillery positions for coastal defence, and three so-called defence electric lights, or fortified structures from which spotlights were shone to track down targets.
The site also has an engine room used to supply electricity to the defence electric lights. Several thick cement magazines in the area were used for storing ammunition.